Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

We were here for a three day weekend and I have to say that this has been one of our favorite places in this part of the state.

The park rangers were very pleasant and professional. The camp sites were large, and while you can see other sites there was enough foliage between the sites that you don’t feel stacked on top of one another.

The entire park was immaculate. The showers were fantastic and the trails were gorgeous. Lots of wildlife to be seen.

The nearby town of Micanopy was just as cute as it could be (have you seen Doc Hollywood?).

At a cost of only $18 per night this place is hard to beat for a weekend getaway.

Paynes Priaire is very magical, where old oak trees in their majestic arms hanging over the canappy of the park. There is a big lake within walking distance of the campground with a boat ramp and fishing is allowed with a license. There are many trails to explore in your stay. The paths in the park are not very well marked and the rangers need to mark the walking paths better. If they would color code the walking trails and paint the wood stakes showing where to go, would be easier to follow. The State Park is vast area to walk and not all of the walking trails are in the same area of where you camp. There are horses and buffalo in the pastures, which you can see from the observation deck at the visitor center.

This park is not designed for big rigs... Big Rigs beware. When making the reservation you have no idea how big or how small the sites are. We had selected site 43 and there was no way to back in that site with all the trees and limbs across the street, the road in the rv park is just to narrow. We called the gate to speak with the ranger and they gave us either site 4 or 40. Site 4 is not big rig friendly. Now site 40 is as you pull in the parking lot of the bath house and back right in to your new digs. There are only one or two other sites worthy of a big rig site.

All sites are on packed dirt and rocks with a camp fire ring and grill. The bath houses are just okay, nothing special. There is hot water but the pressure is real low. there is no heaters in the bath houses. This is an old park worthy of staying in the winter, not the summer as the bugs would be unmerciful. The park is family friendly.

We spent a couple weeks in Florida over Christmas. I must say that Florida State Parks in general were impressive. Payne's Prairie was a great park and the camping fees were surprisingly low - only $18 with water and electric! The bathhouse was clean, and I loved how much room I had in the shower for keeping my dry items dry (if that makes sense). There was ample foliage between sites to help them feel a bit more private. I know it's just the luck of the draw, but we had no issues with noise. Everyone around us was respectful. Our site was some type of gravel. We did have to use leveling blocks, but not many. There was a picnic table, for sure. I can't remember if there is a fire pit, but there probably was! We never use them.

My husband and I enjoyed a lovely jog to the observation tower. The bird watching was amazing. I'm sad we didn't see the horses other folks mention. This campground had plenty of places for walking and riding bikes.

One word of warning: make sure you take the gate code if you even think you'll be out after 5:00 PM. We learned the hard way, and I spent a long evening in panic mode.

Our new favorite Florida State Park that doesn’t have a beach. Campsites are for the most part private and the foliage is thick and palmy. Restrooms are clean and well-maintained and the showers are plenty hot. So many trails to hike and bike on. Lake Wauberg borders Hwy 441 on the way to the Main Entrance and Ranger Station. The lake is beautiful and trails connect it to both the campground and Savannah Boulevard. Every morning Bob the dog and I rode (he ran) about four miles on both paved and two-track roads and trails. The temperature has hovered around forty degrees and Bob loves it.

Jackson’s Gap Trail is named after a “local cracker cowman” and traverses through high ground with majestic live oaks and plenty of Spanish moss. Remains of the old homestead border the trail and is off-limits to trespassers. We restricted our hiking to the area near the campground and main entrance to the visitor center and observation tower. The north entrance to the park is probably the most amazing aspect of Paynes Prairie where alligators, wild horses, bison, and birds abound.

We camped here last year and loved it, so of course we just had to come again. Last year we rode our bikes and hiked. We especially enjoyed the view from the observation tower, across the prairie and watching the horses... just beautiful. This year we drove into Micanopy for lunch where we had the pleasure of listening to local musicians while we ate. We found out that Micanopy is becoming quite the little artist community and we thoroughly enjoyed strolling the streets, perusing the many antique shops and art galleries. We plan to camp here again soon so we can visit the nearby Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead. We aren't able to get TV reception here but we had good Verizon cell phone service. The campsites are level and the beautiful Florida oaks, pines, and palmettos surround you with their beauty.
Our price reflects our senior Florida resident discount.

We have been to Paynes Prairie Reserve a few times but this visit warranted a review. Maybe I was inspired by the absolutely perfect weather, maybe the number of birds we encountered, maybe the fact this is a bit later in the season, but the park is lovely. Coming off a very busy several months, this was a respite and we settled into our large site, completely private from the neighbors thanks to palms and live oak that shielded us. Great bicycling on the roads to the Visitors Center and the front gate. Bathroom immaculate and showers with plenty of hot water. Super-friendly camp hosts whose attention to the cleanliness of the facilities is just about the best we've ever seen, even at Florida's really good state parks. Gainesville is close by and the new Publix right next to the campus of U of Florida is like a Whole Foods, complete with Starbucks Cafe, geared to the hipster university students. Great coffee shop (Volta) and great restaurant choices for the "let's eat out" part of your camping. No surprise this is becoming harder and harder to book for longer stays! Well done, Paynes Prairie.

Total mind melt when walking from the woods and end up at the prairie. The park was great and we had plenty of room between the sites, we could see our neighbors, but didn’t feel like a sardine.

Great biking (even though I flipped over my handlebars because a bee flew into my beard) throughout the park. Paved and unpaved surfaces, as well as some off-road through the prairie. We saw the wild horses and an alligator, but no bison.

One of our top spots to camp, for sure!

Our campsite was great. A bit small for a state park, but average for Florida state parks.

There are a few trails, one in particular that promises / mentions you might be able to see wild horse, bison and alligators. We saw none of those, but did come across tons of beautiful Floridian foliage, from spanish moss hanging out of live oak trees to palm trees galore (of course!)

We also saw great blue herons, great egrets, and various other smaller birds. Not a ton of mosquitos, but lots of insects and snail-type things if you want to look for them.

My favorite encounter here was while trying to back in. I mean, I'm not a master of backing up the Airstream, but I'm not a novice either. It was just one of those long driving days where a few wrong turns and my screaming children had me disheveled as I went to back into a rather easy spot...

An older gentleman, wife beater tight to his belly and a big smile on his face, approaches the driver side window.

"Hi I'm Jerry," he stuck his hand out, "and I'm a retired truck driver of 40 years and one of your campground hosts, can I help you back up?"

I've learned that no one outside of my family should help me back up, as you know, they're not responsible for any slip ups that may occur, so I politely declined.

I then took about 45 minutes to get us into place, and ended up being significantly crooked.

I'm still wondering if I should have just handed the keys over to Jerry and called it a day. :)