Established Camping
Ortona South
About
US Army Corps of Engineers
Lake Okeechobee
Overview
Ortona South is a perfect campground for a quiet, sunny escape to South Florida. the campground is set along the Caloosahatchie River.
Recreation
Activities here are focused on simple, relaxing pleasures like fishing and strolling the grounds. If you walk across the dam in between 7AM and 4 PM, the road on the north side of the river provides a great place for walking and bicycling. Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Tilapia are the most commonly caught fish at the large wooden pier at the campground. Snook are commonly caught at the small north end pier which is also accessible by walking across the dam from 7AM to 4PM. Several large bird species frequent the area if you are a Bird Watcher.
Facilities
All campsites have concrete pads, electric, 30 amp and 50 amp, water hookups, a fire ring and grill, and a covererd picnic table. Other amenities include a sanitary dump station, restrooms with showers, dumpsters, Wifi (near west end restroom only), and a picnic pavilion for campers only. Day use visitors are allowed on site for fishing. The Ortona North Day Use Area has a boat launch and is a 25 minute drive by way of the Town of LaBelle. LaBelle is the nearest town and has stores, restaurants, etc. Laundry Facilities are not currently available on site.__
Natural Features
The campground's terrain is flat and lined with tropical greenery , including the Sabal Palm, the state tree of Florida. The Caloosahatchee River to your north and picturesque pastures to your south. The South Florida Water Management District is constructing a Water Quality Treatment and Testing Facility, adjacent to the South East end of the campground. Construction at that site may affect the serenity of your experience.
Nearby Attractions
Head west to LaBelle, Florida, where an annual Swamp Cabbage Festival is held the last weekend of each February. Or travel east to hike or bike along the Herbert Hoover Dike, part of Lake Okeechobee, and part of the 1,400-mile long Florida National Scenic Trail.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
Stay Connected
- WiFiGood
- VerizonGood
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileAvailable
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Water Hookups
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
River or Grassland Views
Ortona South Campground, ACE campground in Moore Haven, FL. We absolutely love staying here. There are no trails nearby (The unofficial trail near site 21 is closed off due to construction up river.)but a nice walk on the access road out to the highway is a 4 mile round trip from the back of the campground. Lots of dump truck traffic on this road from the nearby gravel yard. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(71yr olds in a 17’ trailer. Our rating of a campground is influenced by the following: The general ambiance- sort of wilderness feel the campground gives us. Also, a selection of campsites which offer some visual privacy and/or scenic view is valuable. Cleanliness of the facilities that are offered is important and usually noted in my review. ))
Overall Rating: 4 for the spectacular views in most sites.
Price 2023: $ 15 w interagency pass
Usage during visit: Full
Site Privacy: Open. In our corner site , #21, we were able to swing our 17’ trailer around to offer much more privacy with the water view. This could be done with a small van as well or an RV pulling in nose first. # 20 is the most private site.
Site Views: Some sites have very nice water views, others nice open grassland views. Noted below.
Site Spacing: Good
Site surface: Concrete
Reservations: Yes. Sites in this campground is in high demand.
Campground Noise: Quiet.
Road Noise: None
Through Traffic in campground: None
Electric Hookup: Yes
Sewer Hookup: No
Dump Station: Yes
Potable Water Available: At sites
Bathroom: One in each loop. Flush toilets. Old. Reasonably clean.
Showers: Two showers in each bathroom with curtains which share a dressing area.
Pull Throughs: Some - in the first of two loops. Pull throughs all are in the first loop and include a double site.
Cell Service (AT&T): 3 to 4 bars
Setting: Campground runs along a the Caloosahatchee River. Open grass land with scattered palm trees on the other side. The campground road runs between the campground and grass land in the first loop only.
Recent Weather: 80’s for 5 of our days. Then it cooled off with some rain.
Bugs: Mosquitoes are around in the evening, especially .
Solar: Would be available in all sites.
Host: Sites are near the entrance
Rig size: Large rigs are fine in most if not all sites.
Sites: First Loop, just after the entry station (31-50): SITES ALONG CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER but view is limited : 32-39. 23 ,24 have a nice view up a waterway. Largest site occupying largest area is on the corner (no real view): 31. Fishing dock, access is between site, 32 and 33, and across from site 51. 44 and 43 are pull throughs, and do not offer as much as other sites regarding location/view. Same with the double back in sites,45 and 46.
SECOND LOOP, furthest from entry station: (1 - 30): #29 has a palm barrier giving picnic side nicer privacy. Sites 21 - 30 are right along the river, all with nice water views. #24- 30 , are the best water view sites. 21,22 and 23 water views up the river are a bit limited due to vegetation on the riverbank up the river. All these sites view the river down to the dam. Sites on the river side have more space between sites than the grassland side, 1-20. Maybe that is so sites on the grassland side can still see the river in between the more spacious sites on the river side. Across from #2,3,4 sites is the access to the dam crossing which accesses the fishing dock on the other side. The corner site, #20, offers the absolute most privacy of any site with a grassland view. (I liked the grassland view sites, but I prefer the water views.)
#1 has a building right behind it which detracts from, but does not eliminate the grassland view.
There are fishing docks on both sides of the Calossahatchee, but I have been told that the fishing on the other side of the river is better. The dam crossing to access the other side is open from 7:30AM untill 4:30PM.
All sites have a covered picnic table .
- (8) View All
Excellent
Ortona is a great park! Very clean and well maintained. Excellent hosts that are friendly and helpful. Always monitoring the park. Sites are concrete and level. Long enough for our 38 ft coach. They just added two charging stations! Awesome!
- (11) View All
Very clean little place
Everyone's really nice there's electric hookups fishing up the little pier nice little river coming through right by the locks. Dog friendly I haven't tried the bathroom yet but I'm sure they're clean. You can hear the cows next door lol pet friendly I have my dog and my ferrets with me. And with my discount it was extremely affordable I'll definitely be back again.
Location
Ortona South is located in Florida
Directions
From LaBelle, Florida, travel SR 80 8 mi east to Dalton Lane. Turn north on Dalton Lane and follow the road into the campground.
Address
2410 DALTON LANE SW
Moore haven, FL 33471
Coordinates
26.7872222 N
81.3086111 W