Introduction:
This is a very small campground in a very small Florida State Park. There is wide variation in the sites, but most are pretty nice, and given the full hook-ups and low price, it's definitely worth a stop if you're traveling across the panhandle.
Click here to read about our criteria for campground reviews.
The Basics:
Overall Rating: 4/5
Price per night / Discounts: $25 / None
Campground website: Suwannee River State Park
Our Site #: 27
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
4.25/5: Our site, #27, was pretty spacious and well separated. Some other sites seemed closer to their neighbors, but generally, most were at a comfortable distance. There are a lot of trees and bushes throughout the campground, which makes everything feel a bit more private.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
3.5/5: This park is in the middle of nowhere, around the block from nothing. Other than the park itself, there is not much of anything to do or see for miles. The town of Live Oak is a 'blink and you miss it' kind of town, with a handful of restaurants, a Walmart, a Lowe's and not much else. There are a couple easy hiking trails within the park, and the river is right there, so if you have a kayak or canoe, or if you want to fish, it would be a good spot. Additionally, if you need a break while you're traveling along I-10, this park is just a few miles off the highway and super convenient (we saw a lot of people coming and going after just a night or two while we were there). But I wouldn't plan to spend more than a couple days here. While it worked for our purposes, I think it could get boring pretty fast.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
4.25/5: This was a full hook up site but the utilities were oddly placed. The sewer hook up was toward the front of the site, so instead of us backing all the way to the back of our very large site, we ended up about two thirds of the way back. It was a weird way to design the site. Otherwise, the site was nice - with a grill, a fire ring and a picnic table. For the bargain basement price of $22, we could not complain at all. As I mentioned above, not all the sites had a concrete pad and some were much smaller than ours, so it is worthwhile to check out the options on the web before choosing a site. The campground roads were well maintained, but there were definitely some tight turns for our 38 foot rig. I wouldn't want to deal with it in a much larger rig.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, and staff):
5/5: Like all the Florida State Parks, this one had all the info we needed online, and they utilize the awesome Reserve America system. No one was at the office when we got there. We were told by a passerby that the rangers don't show up until 3:00 in the afternoon, so we just went to our site and came back later. Everyone we dealt with was very nice and there were a lot of apparent work campers doing maintenance around the campground the entire time we were there.
Internet Availability Rating (Verizon coverage or campground wifi):
3/5: Verizon was available, but pretty weak. And there was no wifi. We were able to get by, but it was pretty slow. And we noticed that when we were out on the hiking trails, not far from the campground, we had no service at all on our phones.
Summary:
$22.00 per night for full hook ups in a state park is pretty dreamy as far as we're concerned. The sites were decent and it certainly felt private. Unfortunately, there's just not a whole lot to do around the campground. If you have your own kayaks, it would be great, but there are no rentals available through the park. You have to go through an outside vendor. And there is basically nothing to do outside the campground. On the other hand, for $22 per night, if you just need a break for a couple days near I-10, you really can't go wrong.
