Florida River Island

Quiet. Birds are mostly what is heard. Two horses wandered in an stayed overnight. Two free roaming local dogs with ID collars came by later the next day. Ants can bite hard, look out. You might want repellant for insects just in case. Some gnats but they did not bite. Crazy large horseflies zooming around but none seemed interested in me in 1st week of May 2023. The dirt road in was good after it dried out. Stay on it or get stuck in wet Florida surface soil. Any rig can make it. Reservations were made by others but no one showed up. The reservation system seems like someone is gaming it.... You can be ok just camping without one but move if someone with a real reservation arrives 😆 Local fire services collect river water at the landing for controlled burns. No showers, no water, no electric and 1 nice toilet for 10 sites, the door actually opens and closes and locks easily 😆 I use a cell booster so cannot report beyond that I received excellent Verizon with both the omni antenna and the directional antennas of my InstyConnect system.

Stayed with granddaughter. Would have stayed longer but for the mega generator in an another camp that ran 24/7. No water, relatively clean pit toilet. Bugs of course- it’s summer in Florida. Stargazing was awesome. Sketchy ATT service. Verizon WiFi worked fine. Easy to get to dirt road in was smooth but if recent rain could be difficult.

We had a good experience staying here. Although there are designated camping spots, those of us staying this past weekend just spread out throughout the open field.
There are lots of downed trees and the day use area hasn't been maintained. There is a pit toilet, but I really didn't want to go take a look at it (sorry).
It was very quiet and we socialized with the other campers.
The night sky was amazing. So if you are a star gazer, you will love it.
The boat ramp is utilized, but no one was loud.
We also had a sherriff's deputy drive through one day. It looks as though they do this regularly...no issues.
There are garbage cans at the entrance of the camping area. Looks like animals got into it, so myself and another camper cleaned up before we left. The cans don't have locks, so I imagine critters get into it often.
If you're in this area, this is a great place to stay a few days.

Free camping at Florida River Island is both big rig and solar friendly; see video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. Free camping at Florida River Island is administered by the Northwest Florida Water Management District. A free camping permit is required. Both RV and walk-in only tent campsites may be reserved online. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 20.2 Mbps download speed and 0.15 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 1.86 Mbps download speed and 1.18 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 3.97 Mbps download speed and 0.42 Mbps upload speed.