Welcome to the quaint village of Welaka, just due south about 20 minutes from Palatka, a central Florida destination with some great lakes to explore, outstanding rivers to kayak and plenty of succulent fish to be caught. When looking for a place to ‘drop anchor’ for the night, we had stopped by a few RV parking campgrounds, but because they were sold-out, we kept on looking around the area, which is when we stumbled across San Mateo Estates. So let’s begin there – I always find it amusing when RV parks or campgrounds use suggestive language like ‘Estates,’ which conjure up a thought that you’ll have a regal experience, right? Well, here at San Mateo, you couldn’t be further from reality.
Maybe it was the half-deserted (former parking) lot that had outbursts of grass and weeds poking out of what must have been at some time a nice level gravel parking lot for U-Haul trucks of all shapes and sizes. Seemingly, the business for U-Hual in these parts isn’t so good, so hey, they wised up and turned those empty spaces into RV slots. Not a bad business idea, but for us nature enthusiasts, this spot definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Let me quickly count those disadvantages: (1) open, non-descript overgrown parking lot; (2) chain-linked fence encircling the place emits an aura of a detention center; (3) land completely devoid of any nature; and (4) given the 10 or so U-Haul trailers and trucks parked here, you’ll feel like you are in the middle of some bizarre moving expedition.
While there were a few available spaces, half of these were filled by semi-permanent mobile homes, while the other were proper RV'ers that like us were simply looking for a place to layover for the night. There’s about 2 dozen back-in and pull-through RV slots with electric and water hook-ups, but that’s really where all the amenities end. No bathrooms, showers, BBQs or picnic tables. And while there’s not much of an outdoors offering immediately on or near the premises, just 15 minutes down the road you’ll discover Welaka State Forest, which has some pretty amazing trails and lots of natural, endemic wildlife.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Unless you absolutely have to, I wouldn’t recommend staying here at San Mateo Estates – it’s a very poor spot that is not run very well and is basically a spillover parking lot for U-Haul trucks and a handful of RV'ers who must have needed a spot pretty badly; (2) If you do stay here, arrive late and leave early; (3) I would recommend parking your RV either at Welaka State Forest where at least you can be surrounded by the purity of nature or Welaka Lodge & Resort, while more expensive, will be surely a much better experience; and (4) If you’re looking for some local nightlife or food, check out The Boat Bar at Welaka Lodge& Resort (ask for the rum runners) or Shrimps R Us for some amazing fresh seafood (prepared any which way you’d like) and plenty of liquid libations.
Happy Camping!
