When we arrived at tent campsite #32 we were shocked to see how close each site was to one another, with no trees or vegetation to create any sort of privacy. Our fire pit and picnic table were about 5 feet from one of the tents at the site next to our’s. When we noticed liquors bottles everywhere at our neighboring site, we packed up, knowing it would be a long, noisy night. We went to the rangers station to find another open site, but they required a fee. We left without a refund and probably won’t come back for camping, although the trails were beautiful.

We spent a night in Little Manatee River State Park, and were pretty happy with how easy it was to access the trails, canoe launch, playground and bathroom. We’ve spent time at various state parks and sometimes the trailhead is so far from camp it takes longer to get there than it does to hike it (exaggerating here but you know what I mean!). We could easily access all that we needed to keep busy, and better yet, took advantage of it!

Tons of birds, butterflies and great views of the stars. Few tent campers but still, everyone was respectful and quiet. We will definitely be back once the cooler months come around again!

We stayed on NYE 2020, and aside from the crazy noisy drunk people (as expected) the stay was really nice. We brought our dogs, were only a few minutes walk to the bathrooms, and generally had an average experience. The campsites were really close to one another, with little vegetation separating us. If you’re looking for a more primitive experience I’d skip this one.

We hiked out about a mile along the Florida Trail and stayed for a night at the Gator Hole campsite. It was so peaceful, lots of space to explore (we had a 3 year old and two dogs!) and the symphony of Sandhill Cranes and Coyotes as the sun set was a memory I’ll never forget. If you can pack all of your gear and carry it out to this site, I highly recommend for any beginner (or expert really) because of its peaceful beauty!