Best Equestrian Camping in Florida

The place is gorgeous and if you want shade or sun it offers both. Quiet, relaxing, good trails that lead over to Hickory Hammock campground. Audrey is a excellent camp host.

They keep it very clean and is very helpful in showing you the campsites. It is right off the main road so no dirt road to get there though you have some road noise but you can get back away from most of it.  Lots of wildlife in the woods, nothing bothered the campsite.

There are bathrooms but no showers. They are a ways away from the campground. Its still shocking you can camp in Florida like this for free. Hope we can keep it this way for a long time.

Jonathon Dickinson SP, Jupiter Florida Dickinson SP Large park with miles of paved and off road trails for biking and hiking. Lots to do, horse back riding, boat tours, discovery center, bird watching, off road bike challenge course. We've seen otter, tortoise, birds, eagles so far.Nice sites in two campgrounds. We're in River CG, more shade, a few paved sites but most are dirt/mud. The Pine Grove CG close to entrance, more spacious, not much shade, paved and nice gravel sites. If you get the chance take the river tour. We went on the one that goes to Trapper Nelson's place where you get a ranger guided walk. Totally worth the$25 fee.

The Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve is one of the largest contiguous recreation areas in Hillsborough County.

There are lots of different parks and areas all contained within the Preserve with all park sites managed by the Hillsborough County Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department.

You can only camp within 2 of these areas, the Oak Ridge Equestrian Area and at Dead River Park.

Other parks and trails are located at the Wilderness Park Off Road Loop Trail System, Flatwoods Park, and the Jefferson Equestrian Area. The Morris Bridge Park, Trout Creek Park, and John B. Sargeant Park, offer day use areas and boat/canoe launch ramps.

The multiple purposes of the LHWP are easily overlooked while enjoying the natural beauty of this suburban woodland. Here one can paddle waters of the Hillsborough River amongst wading birds, turtles, alligators, lilies and cypress swamps; explore over 60 miles of forest trails; fish from riverside boardwalks; or enjoy a relaxing picnic or cookout.

Adjoining the Wilderness Preserve is the 3,000-acre Hillsborough River State Park, which in itself is an area of beauty and tranquility known as the Seventeen Runs of the Hillsborough River. This park also has wonderful camping.

Camping

Dead River Park

· Camping fee.

· Campsite available to youth groups by reservation only. Minimum of 6 and maximum of 30 campers allowed. Groups must have their own insurance.

· A 0.25-mile hiking trail for use by campers located adjacent to campground.

· Bathhouse and picnic facilities provided.

The Oak Ridge Equestrian Area has 2 different campgrounds.

The Oak Ridge Primitive Campgrounds and the Washburn Primitive Campground

· Camping free.

· Campsite available by reservation only and is required and must be displayed or available at campground

· Over 16-miles of equestrian/hiking trail for use by campers located throughout the campground.

· Sites have picnic tables, fire rings and/or grills and there are ADA portapotty and non-potable water available.

· The Oak Ridge Campground also has a pavilion

Ranked as an International Dark Sky campsite, this is one of the few in Florida that have this recognition. We came during a cloudy weekend but it broke one night for us to catch a glimpse of the Milky Way-beautiful. The campground itself is well maintained and peaceful. There are three sections for campers here: a family campground, an astronomy pad, and an equestrian site. We stayed in the equestrian area (you don’t need to have a horse to do so). Site 24 is right next to a new shower and bathroom house they added not too long ago. The facility is clean, and has four bathroom/hot shower combo stalls. There are more in the family campsite area. Hiking trails run through the area. The campground is far removed from civilization, so make sure you come prepared. The campground office sells ice, but that’s about it. Firewood is also available. Staff is very helpful and friendly, and they run tours on swamp buggy style OHVs out of the area as well.

This campground is an excellently maintained recreation area part of the [SouthWest Florida Water Management District](http://SouthWest Florida Water Management District). With the OakRidge campground being wonder part of the Lower Hillsborough Preserve just outside Tampa, FL.

The campground here is huge as you can use it either as a primitive site or an equestrian site. Although it's nice and open you actually have a ton of tree coverage. You can get the combination for the lock when you make your reservation (required) or just hike yourself in from the large lot off Highway 568 "Morris Bridge road" which is only about 3/4 of a mile.

While hiking in I came across several deer and some gopher tortoise.

This campground has 3 "sites", with tables and fire rings, and one nice pavilion. There is a good water pump (non-potable) which you'll need to boil or treat and an actual clean ADA toilet on site.

You then have access to miles and miles of trails and can really enjoy yourself out here.

Colt Creek State Park is one of the newest parks in the Florida State Park System. Their RV/Tent Campground just recently opened in early 2018. RV spots are spacious. There is not a lot of privacy between spots but cover will grow in in time. Most sites are in full sun most of the day. Tent camping areas are on grass not gravel. very nice dump and wash area at gate to campground. They also offer equestrian, group, and primitive camping at this location. The equestrian camp is well used and quite large with standard amenities for horses and campers. There are 2 primitive sites along a 10 mile loop trail. Group site does not have a pavilion but does have port o lets ( no water or electric). There are 4 lakes ( no swimming) on the property kayak/canoe rentals, nice fishing ares and a dock. Lots of wildlife. Great for biking as well.

As you approach Welaka State Forest, it feels as though you’ve arrived ‘at the end of the line,’ and not in a bad sense either. Here, you’ll feel as though you’ve escaped the crowds, left the commercial world only to discover a truly pristine natural jewel. You’ll be overwhelmed by the incredibly loud silence and solitude of this far-reaching outpost and the moment that you’ve crossed the threshold (or the gravel road) entering Welaka State Forest, you’ll be incredibly grateful for the wide open expanse of the place and the communion with nature that it provides. 

Just due south of Welaka – where there’s a minute scattering of local eateries and distractions, this spot is fairly off the ‘beaten path,’ a good half hour south of Palatka in central Florida, along the banks of the historic St. Johns River. This federal turned state park was founded in 1935 (under the Federal Resettlement Administration) and today is both a major conservation area as well as fish hatchery for the State of Florida. In all, there’s 4 miles of river frontage area on the east bank of Little Lake George, making for some decent kayaking and canoeing, although most of this is fairly difficult to navigate as it’s swamp-like, where overgrown Cypress and Pine trees provide a very thick canopy of forested shade throughout. 

If you’ve got horses en towe, then you have hit the ‘lottery of equestrian campgrounds’ as Welaka State Forest is perhaps the most perfect place to camp if you’ve brought your four-legged steeds and looking for a place that offers up nearly 20 miles of equestrian trails for plenty of galloping, including the 6-mile Sandhill Horse Trail (part of the Florida Trailtrotter Program: www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Our-Forests/State-Forests/State-Forest-Recreation/Recreational-Activities/Horseback-Riding/Trailtrotter-Program)..) The campground here at Welaka State Park is made for you horse-loving outdoor enthusiasts and provides 2 – I repeat that 2 – 24 stall horse-ready stables, show horse stage, training area, along with 6 primitive campsites along with 5 full hook-up RV drive-through sites. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you are looking to get some hiking in, there’s 2 decent trails (both integrated into the Florida forest Service’s ‘Trailwalker Hiking Program’ with the first, Spring Trail, offering a short 2-mile loop that ends in Mud Springs and the second, John’s Landing Trail, offering either a 3.5 or 4 mile loop; (2) Not interested in hiking? Not a problem, you can follow the scenic Indian Pond Road from the comfort of your own vehicle. Near here there are 2 primitive campsites that you can rent that places you right on the St. John’s River; and (3) While this SP doesn’t have much to offer apart from encounters with nature, if you find yourself missing civilization, in less than a 5 minute drive, you can join a sweltering crowd at either Shrimp R Us or, for amazing river-front gnashing, check out Welaka Lodge & Resort (for more details on this particular campground, check out my review on The Dyrt on this site). 

Happy Camping!

Equestrian campsites are nice and spacious, most sites are fairly big-rig friendly. The equestrian campsites have a garbage or two, fire ring, picnick table, 14 x 14 horse pens (uncovered but must are shaded), and some have a high-line (though ill strung). Most of the pens are kept in good repair, unfortunately my gate was off its hinges and had rusted sharp edges. I ended up wrapping it so my horse didn’t lacerate himself; this was a bit disappointing to see such disrepair in an otherwise pristine campground. Another pen had a dead and potentially dangerous limb hanging right over the area which was also unsafe. The bathrooms at the equestwian site were recently repainted and looked acceptably clean. Not the best I’ve seen but the update now makes them much more user friendly and less grimy. The grounds and trails are always very well kept. Would like to see the wild hog population controlled a bit more as we ran into a large group and saw the extensive damage the pigs left behind.