One thing’s for certain, this camping outpost located just outside the itty bitty village of Georgetown couldn’t be any closer to the mighty St. Johns River, which if you don’t know, is one of the largest and most prolific fishing rivers in all of Florida. Should you find yourself in north-central Florida and / or near Lake George and looking for a spot to call ‘home for the night’ (or many as it might be) then you’ll definitely want to plan a stay here at Rivers Edge RV Park, which is a little know campground jewel in the rough, but be sure to reach out well in advance, as with only 50 or so slots, this place books up quick.
Apart from the very close proximity to St. Johns River – so close that Rivers Edge RV Park actually offers up boat launch and slips exclusively for its guests, so if you have a boat, whether with motor or not (like those of us towing canoes and kayaks), be sure to call ahead and enquire about available boat slips – this is one very pristine, well-kept and easily organized campground. There’s a decent amount of top-grade amenities including spartan-clean restrooms, shower & laundry facilities with brand new washers & dryers, propane refueling station, a pup playground, trash stations and waterfront nature walk path.
What I appreciated most was that Rivers Edge RV Park offers up a distinct tent area, which places mi tent-pitchin’ bredren in our own canvassed-erected environ that is actually the closest camping option to the St. Johns River here. As for the RV or 5th Wheel crowd, the standard hook-ups are offered here including 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage back-in and pull-through sites with concrete patios. Complimentary WiFi is offered everywhere and actually isn’t too bad (although our ability to stream was slow). Most sites offer up picnic tables and fire-rings and there are community offerings like a riverside pavilion (also with another set of restrooms and showers), lawn games, horseshoes, pickleball court and enough space for a good game of jarts or frisbee.
As for the campground itself, you’ll access Rivers Edge RV Park simply by following Road 309 and just as this small country road bends making way for Drayton Island, you’ll want to turn in heading westerly, wherein you’ll be greeted by the main office where you’ll check in at the office immediately on the right. The layout for the campground is a simple loop, about the size of a junior football field with sites #1-28 on the right and the other sites through #54 on the interior of the loop. Should you not have a tent or an RV, no worries, the very good folks at Rivers Edge even have a handful of cabins that they’ll rent you. Overall, I found the pricing to be VERY affordable here – no matter what type of camping you might be interested in.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Rivers Edge RV Park offers up firewood for sale for a decent price, which I always like to flag, because if you don’t need to find additional space to haul firewood with you, it frees up space for other things, right?; (2) If you’ve got kids and need a much bigger space to let them run around, nearby this campground is a very nice kid’s playground as well as a soccer field; (3) For anyone wanting a bit of an off-the-grid adventure, just south of Rivers Edge is the Drayton Island Ferry (just take your second right after the US post office), where you can cross the channel over to Drayton Island for some decent off-the-trail biking & biking as well as zip-lining, which you can access on the far western side of the island at Grands Island Resort, which is a very cool camping outpost in its own right; and (4) Should you grow weary of trying to conjure up that next meal from the depths of your roto-molded Cordova cooler or mini-onboard fridge, you’ll only find meager options near you that include Mel’s River Pub Italian Grille & Liquor Store that offers up a very diverse menu featuring pasta, sandwiches and pizzas, The Oaks Golf Club Café serving up glorified bar fare such as burgers, po-boys, wings, fried baskets, tacos & quesadillas and southern comfort food or Renegades on the River, which is actually another campground, but offers up a super-cool restaurant featuring pizzas, wings, peel & eat shrimp and fried foodstuffs like pickles and gator bites as well as a Tiki Hut pouring some mighty strong Daquiris and Mai Tais.
Happy Camping!
