O'Leno State Park Campground

We stayed in the Magnolia Loop for 3 nights in early April of 2023. The sites are a bit tight getting into them some with overhanging trees and rocks to protect the connections. There were several large 5th wheels and RVs so it's doable. Just be aware.
Bathhouse was fine - took a bit to get the water hot.
Sites are treed and have some foliage between to separate.
What I loved: the river trail - gorgeous! But with the suspension bridge closed, the trail is not a loop - it's and in and out. The small museum was worth a stop too. We saw fireflies two nights!

Very quiet park CCC in the woods. Lots of hiking and biking trails directly from the campground. Several more mountain biking trails in the area. Sites are somewhat close together but still very quiet. The campground loop road is packed dirt and full of potholes. The dump station does leave something to be desired. No clean out hose and it’s tilted the wrong way so we had to get up on our Anderson levelers to dump properly. That being said, a nice quiet getaway with friendly staff.

The forest is beautiful with a mix of hardwoods and palms. Cypress in the river and sinks. Dogwood loop looks sucky. Magnolia is nice. Bathroom old but clean. Hot water yes. Very forested sites. With all the trails this park could be a cycling haven. The rangers are flat out worthless. I guess the park manager is just biding his time for retirement. Verizon cell worked for streaming Pandora and YTTV. Plenty of firewood on the ground.

We were delighted with this campground. Our site, as are many, was spacious and had vegetation surrounding it that gave us privacy. The sites are packed sand and mostly level. The bathrooms were kept very clean by the very nice campground hosts.

We enjoyed hiking to the river sink and further down the road, the river rise. There's a nice Winn Dixie grocery store in High Springs. We bought wood from a vendor on the road to High Springs at a great price.

Overall:
Older facility, no privacy, no apparent investment. Best part of the campground is the park and the hikes. (I didn't go for fishing, but there is a suggestion that is also good).

Site:
Mine was uneven and had flooded in a recent rain. Required rig leveling. Site wasn't raked, and was covered in leaves and mud.
many of the sites had little or no privacy and were almost as tightly packed as commercial campgrounds.
Electrical pedestal worked but could use maintenance.
Good water.

Bathhouse:
Showed its age in every regard.

Amenities:
Great hiking trails and natural attractions. Great history. Decent playground.

This campground would work best for those looking to spend a few days in the woods during good weather. We stayed in the Magnolia loop for a week that was mostly cool and rainy. After heavy rains our site turned into a lake. Roads are narrow and tree lined so not the easiest for larger rigs to get into some of the sites. Dump station is a long ways away down bumpy roads. The best part of staying here was that there were very nice hiking trails right in the park. Saw a large gator lounging by a lake. About 15 minutes to the grocery store. No big cities close by.

We enjoyed our stay at O'Leno State Park. Facilities are clean, but old. The trails around the river are very good. Sites are fairly separated, but not overly spacious. Sand/dirt which would be vastly increased by installing gravel. The river is interesting to view as it goes underground at one point and surfaces at another park. Watch YouTube for the divers in the tunnel. High Springs has restaurants and shopping. A Winn Dixie is a couple of miles from the park.

Sites are pretty wooded, but nice. The Dogwood campground loop road is narrow and more suited to smaller RVs, but there are some motor homes stuffed in. Be sure to follow the road to the end and visit the river where you’ll find a cool suspension bridge leading to the river trail. Well worth it. The showers and bathroom is very clean and nnot nearly as “backwoods” as you might expect walking up to it.

There is some noise in the evening from the main road.

Camped on site 49 relatively close to the restroom and showers which were actually very nice. I have Verizon and was able to get 2 bars but internet connectivity was kind of sketchy at times. All of the camp sites are heavily wooded. I couldn’t get my Directv. Bummer. The pads are all packed sand/dirt and mine was relatively level. I gave it 3 stars because I do like my Directv and internet and of course had issues. But if you do like secluded, quiet camping you will like this park.