Camping at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch Campground

In March we camped at Mike Roess Gold Head so my son could attend the Gator Nationals in Gainesville. This Florida state park campground is located in northern Florida in Keystone Heights, to the east of Gainesville.

Our Site

We reserved the site a bit late for the busy racing weekend and site #14 was the only one left. It’s not a horrible site, but the neighbors were close. Compared to the other sites in this loop, ours was the small one.

The fire pit was right behind the camper. We have a 28 foot camper and our truck and RV just fit. Behind us was an open area that led to the bathhouse.

The site on the other side of us was far away, which was nice. We still had enough space to set up the screen house, which we were happy to have. At times we had beetles and little black bugs flying around. And in March, the trees are shedding so stuff was constantly falling.

The Campground

The campground has two RV and tent camping loops and one Tent Only loop. We had a site in the Sandhill Loop. The other RV loop is the Lake Loop.

Our two cats came with us because we camped for four days. Usually we are only gone two, and the cats stay home. They did pretty well, and enjoyed some outside time inside the new screen house.

Mike Roess campground offers lots of trails, roads, hills and lakes. It’s a pretty sweet place.

If you are into swimming with gators, there is also a little beach and roped off swimming area. Just kidding, but be aware that alligators can be anywhere. Personally, I wouldn’t swim here, but even in March people were hanging around the beach area and kids were playing in the water.

I couldn’t capture it well in photos, but the hill leading down to this lake is full of beautiful oaks. Paved parking areas hold many cars, with pavilions and picnic tables all over. I suspect this is a bustling place in summer months.

Cabins and Tent Camping

Down the road, beyond the Sand Loop, are the cabins, dump station and the Lake Loop RV campsites. The cabins were nestled under the trees and faced a lake. Possibly there is more swimming here? I’m not sure.

We drove through the Lake Loop camping area. It was more hilly, and the sites seemed close together. A few campsites had a lake view. I don’t have photos from that loop.

The Tent Camping Area

The tents-only loop had some very nice, secluded sites like the one in my photo above. Back your vehicle in between overhanging trees, and camp near the picnic table in the back. All RV sites can be used by tent campers, but RVs can’t use the tent area.

I’ve noticed that the tent campsites are usually really nice at the Florida State Parks. When we stayed at Gamble Rogers, the tent sites were the only ones that were nice and shady.

Trails Within the Campground

For us, this campground was unique because of its sprawling size, and the hills! They were small hills, but still – hills! The trails meandered all over, and there wasn’t enough time to follow them all. Some went off to the lakes (I think there are five lakes here) and some cut through the forest. If you enjoy hiking, this is the place.

I followed the Loblolly Trail, which I walked to from my campsite, and meandered through the woods until I came to some flooding over the path. A beautiful, blooming thistle plant was growing just off the path. The gopher tortoise headed to his hole as I passed by while walking on the road.

Visit the Ravine by stopping along the road that comes into the camping area. It has boardwalks and stairs. This trail also connects to the Loblolly trail.

We totally enjoyed our time camping at Mike Roess. Florida’s state park campgrounds have always been nice, in our experience. We will be returning to this one later in the year, and probably once again next March for the races.

This is a great one to visit and explore the outdoors. For that reason, I would not camp here in the heat of summer.

Have you camped at Mike Roess Gold Head campground?

Thanks for reading…