Oscar Scherer State Park

We didn’t camp here but definitely will in the future. We visited the park with our daughter, son in law, and four grandchildren yesterday, Christmas Day. The park is immaculate! We brought our bikes and enjoyed the trails along with all of the nature. The girl at the gate was very helpful in explaining the park and pointing out all the things we could do. She did this with a smile on her face- working on Christmas Day! How refreshing as I personally know that working on a major holiday can be lonely. Nervertheless- she was happy to be there and it showed in her mannerisms and in her voice. We had a great afternoon and will do it again!

Check in was quick, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The drive through the park and campground is paved. There is a narrow wooden bridge at the entrance to the campground that looks a little sketchy, but I managed it just fine, and I'm a total newbie when it come to towing. From my understanding, that bridge is scheduled to be replaced in 2019.
Most of the campsites in this park have tress and vegetation between them for privacy, and many of them are shady. I have a small camper, so I don't have experience with those huge rigs, but there were several of the big guys there and the spots had plenty of room for them. We did notice some of the spots on the creek are smaller, though. If your're looking for a bigger site, stick to the side opposite of the creek. There are a few pull-through sites as well.
We didn't bring a TV with us, but our little radio picked up all the local stations, Cell service was strong, There is wifi available at the nature center.
The park has hiking trails, as well as canoeing or kayaking. There is a small lake for swimming. Biking is limited to the paved areas and gravel roads of the park. The trails are just too sandy for bikes. However, the Legacy trail runs right through the park and is great for biking.
There was ice and firewood available, and you could rent a kayak or canoe.

Stayed here one night in mid-November. So close to Sarasota but feels very far from any city. Very flat, easy to navigate sites with water and electric. Pets allowed on sites 1-67 and on trails. Sites feel very private due to lots of tall trees and foliage. Very quiet. Lots of great hiking or biking trails and a lake to swim in. Even had a wifi pavilion. Beautiful park with great amenities.

This was our second time here and will probably not be our last. There are 98 sites with about half of them backing on to South Creek, a tidal blackwater stream which you can kayak down. More sites backup to hiking and biking trails. If you have a big rig pay attention to the site sizes and talk with the rangers. Some sites can be tight. State park website says maximum length is 36 feet. There are a few pull through sites. Our site was very private and we saw plenty of wildlife including our own pet raccoon and heron!

There is a kayak launch from within the park that takes you along South Creek or you can paddle out to the Gulf of Mexico. You can launch your own or rent.

The Legacy Trail is accessible from within the park, and runs north toward Sarasota and south to Venice. You can also pick up the Venetian Waterway Park trail in Venice and continue on to hunt for sharks teeth at Caspersen Beach.

Sand fleas were bad when we were there, but a little bug spray and pants would have taken care of that problem.

There is WiFi at the nature center. (Not sure how good it is though) Bathhouse's are nice but not the new ones some of the FL parks have. There is a washer and dryer at the bathhouse.

Walmart is approximately 4 miles away.

We just love parks that feel like you're way out in nature, but yet you're close to civilization! And this park has it all for us.

We have a 35' bus, and where warned when we entered that we might not be able to make it back to our site. But it was no problem at all - just take your time if you're more on the beastly size.

Two minor annoyances about our site in particular: - it was pretty unlevel, sloping down to the front. And our water spigot was on the opposite side of the site and we had to go buy an extended hose to reach it.

Otherwise, we had a delightful extended stay here, enjoyed the trails and the proximity to dining & shopping.

Solid & fast cellular coverage on all four carriers.

We stayed here for 3 weekdays right after Memorial Day. Compared to other nearby state/county parks (Myakka, Fort Desoto), this was smaller but still had plenty to do. Onsite kayak rentals are available, plenty of great hiking/biking trails and a lake for swimming. I don't know who'd be crazy enough to swim in a lake in Florida (gators) but more power to them.
The sites are small and private. The foliage is very thick and the trees offered plenty of shade. Shade is a big deal when you're camping in Florida in June.

Rigs over 36ft in length are not allowed for good reason. The campground is small and curvy and larger RVs would not be able to navigate. I didn't have any issue in my 34 foot but I was pushing the limit.

The location is also great. Shopping is right down the road. There's a super center Walmart 2 miles down the road, a Publix grocery store, and plenty of restaurants. Cell coverage was great. I streamed with my Verizon jetpack with no glitches. Didn't even need to hook up the booster. ATT service was also solid.

I really enjoyed this park. It was very quiet and the wildlife was abundant. The only negatives are trash and water. Water is shared between 2 sites. I had to go down the road to Walmart to purchase a 50 ft potable water hose to stretch to the connection. Trash was also a bit of a pain. There are no receptacles near the spots, and nowhere to dump except for the bins by the front entrance. These were minor annoyances and the rest of the park more than made up for it.

A very nice and quiet State Park that gives you the feeling of "Old Florida" in the otherwise bustling beach and snowbird oriented Sarasota County area. The park has a few hiking trails and decent access to the 20 mile long Legacy Bike Trail that runs between the Cities of Sarasota and Venice. The park is also close to several city and county beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. There is plenty of shopping of all kinds within a few miles of the campground. Despite being in a heavily populated area, when you enter the State Park, you feel like you are miles from civilization.

There is a small lake for swimming in the park and some of the sites are along a small creek that eventually runs into the Gulf of Mexico. Interestingly, most of the creek-side sites prohibit pets due to the proximity of alligators in the creek. We didn't see any such creatures during our stay but I would definitely bring a flashlight if venturing out at night.

The sites have water (hard but no offensive taste or odor as we often experience in Florida) & electric (50 amp) no sewer, and have very good separation and lots of vegetation between neighboring sites. There is a convenient dump station on the property.

We would definitely camp here again.