campground reviews

January Camping at Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest

Our experience with camping in winter at Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest in Florida.

In Florida, January can be a nice month weather wise, or it can be cold. If there are winter frosts and freezes this is usually the month for it. For some reason I chose this month to go camping – at a place without hookups!

I don’t know what I was thinking, but the reservation was made back when it was much hotter and cool to cold sounded great, I guess. We froze during our first night staying at Juniper Springs. Then, I read the sign about generators and we used ours to charge the battery for heat the following night. Temps were in the 30’s overnight!

We camped here for two nights and had sun the day we arrived and rainy drizzle the next day – our only full day. Check out is at 11:00am, so I didn’t do as much as I had hoped.

About Juniper Springs

Juniper Springs Campground and recreation area is located off Route 40 in the Ocala National Forest in northern Florida. The area features a natural spring with swimming hole, mill house with water wheel, historical information, and walking trails. In warmer weather I imagine this place is packed with swimmers and campers. In January there were only a handful of campers. There was no swimming or water adventures – “Paddle Out” area, and all the boardwalks, were closed for repairs.

paddle out area closed — Paddle Out – closed

Camping at Rodman Campground in Palatka, Florida

Our recent camping trip took us to Rodman Campground in Palatka, Florida. It was about a 1.5 hour drive north for us. We have stayed at Salt Springs twice, and Rodman was just a bit further north off Route 19. Rodman is a Florida State Parks campground.

Rodman does not offer swimming so a November trip seemed perfect. It turned out to be pretty warm, but nice enough to take bike rides on the roads and trails. We also took a walk around the dam, which was nearby.

Our Campsite #44

We were planning a trip with some friends and booked a bit late to be side by side. In fact all I found left was site #44 and there was no picture online. It was a gamble, but turned out fine. They were in site #52 just down the road. Our site was quite spacious, with one big tree for shade in the afternoon.

The downside to this site is the fact that it contains electrical equipment in the form of a big box and standing power box right behind the picnic table and in front of the fire ring.

The power box gives off a slight hum, but nothing really annoying – just noticeable when all else is quiet. And this place is quiet!

campsite at Rodman Campground — Our campsite

Hillsborough River Camping Trip

Camping review of our two day trip to Hillsborough River State Campground near Tampa.

We are camping for two nights at the Hillsborough River Campground in Thonotosassa, Florida. My son is going to a concert in Tampa which is about thirty minutes away.

Because it’s July and the weather is hot, I did not plan to do much outside during this trip. I work online and hoped to get a lot of work done, but internet was not great here.

The Campsite

Our site was number 56 on Loop 3 and it was nice. The site was big, with nothing but nature behind us. When booking a campsite, it’s tough to figure which site to choose because not a lot of info is given. Loop 3 seems to have a lot of very nice, shady sites. I did not closely check out either of the other loops, but did walk through one where the permanent tents were set up.

Ready to camp
Grilling supper
Lots of nature behind us
Our campsite #56

The Campground

On Saturday morning I took a walk. It was hot and I barely made it back (LOL) but I got some photos of what is offered at this state park. It seems that mostly there are a playground, picnic tables and little pavilion, kayak and canoe rentals, fishing, and trails to explore. This is what I found on my quick walk.