Campgrounds on drive to the Fort (Florida state parks, esp) -favorites?

[sweet maxine]

Thoughts on some of these parks for an overnight stay? Only one, Lake Louisa, has availability for the night I need before check-in to the Fort. Was hoping for a spot at Silver Springs, but am on the waitlist for now. Would really like something with manatees/activities. Thoughts?

Edit...I do have one night booked at FL Caverns, and a ticket for the tour

 

[bama_ed]

Would really like something with manatees/activities.

Blue Spring State Park is a little over an hour northeast of WDW through Orlando and up I4 and has manatees in the winter months. I stayed there with DD in December 2018 and did a trip report.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/camping-with-the-manatees-a-ccb-trip-report.3725426/

Not a LOT of campsites and popular with day trippers.

The best time to see manatees is on VERY cold days. In that case, they gather close to the spring water source. On warmer days, the water temps in the adjacent river or canals is comfortable enough for them to spread out so the likelihood of seeing them in any one place is less.









Hard to get a campsite on short notice but worth the try.

Bama Ed

PS we were at the Fort a few days before we went to Blue Spring

 

[sweet maxine]

That one is definitely on my radar! Only thing available right now is a cabin though. Just checked again, and there is actually only one site left at Lake Louisa for the night I need. Maybe I should go ahead and book that, but wondering if a waitlist comes through, how would i be able to change to the new campground? I don't think the system lets you book and then cancel the other site at another park, right? I know I'm not explaining myself very well here...

 

[Teamubr]

I really like Lake Louisa, but that is due to proximity and it isn't far off the route I normally take to WDW. It has a number of lakes, but I'm not sure about activities. We usually come in around dinner time and head out early morning.

j

 

[sweet maxine]

I really like Lake Louisa, but that is due to proximity and it isn't far off the route I normally take to WDW. It has a number of lakes, but I'm not sure about activities. We usually come in around dinner time and head out early morning.

j

I should have booked it when I saw it, instead of thinking it over. That one site has been booked already!

Most likely, I would be arriving around dinner time anyway. I don't have much of a window to play around with, and I can't move check-in day for the Fort. I did sign up for waitlist alerts for Lake Louisa.

 

[bama_ed]

That one is definitely on my radar! Only thing available right now is a cabin though. Just checked again, and there is actually only one site left at Lake Louisa for the night I need. Maybe I should go ahead and book that, but wondering if a waitlist comes through, how would i be able to change to the new campground? I don't think the system lets you book and then cancel the other site at another park, right? I know I'm not explaining myself very well here...

If you find another LL site then you can cancel it later if your waitlist comes through.

Thing is, though, the campsite is about $30 and you pay a small reservation fee of like $5 IIRC. But when cancelling I think you pay a $15 cancellation fee (regardless of how many nights the ressie was) and the reservation fee is non-refundable. So you will get about a $15 refund for 1 night.

There is also quicker ways now to get from LL to the WDW complex as new roads have been built between the two. No longer a need to go down to Hwy 192 as I used to do.

ED

PS - LL is my go-to night-before-the-Fort-arrival place. Easy in, easy out, and convenient and close. Only downside is as a non-Floridian I have shorter booking window (10 months) than Floridians do (11 months). But that practice is becoming more common...

 

[wabbott]

We're not campers, but we visited this state park a couple of years ago. A zoo and underwater viewing area. No camping facilities, but likely plenty of places close by.

We stayed in a hotel, and would go back in a heartbeat.

https://www.floridastateparks.org/p...chiller-homosassa-springs-wildlife-state-park