Wilderness RV Resort

We booked a site back in November 2021 at Wilderness RV Resort in Silver Springs for January – March of 2023 at the advertised rate of $695 per month plus electric. In January of this year we were in the Silver Springs area, so toured the place we were going to call home for 3 months next year. Boy, were we disappointed. To call this a resort is real stretch. The site spacing is at least as tight as you would expect of a private park, the general appearance of the park is plain at best with no apparent attempts at landscaping (don’t let the website pics fool you), the pool was a little cloudy and in need of some cosmetic work, and the facilities and amenities are dark, dated, and/or minimal.

Shortly into the tour we learned from someone (not office personnel) that the sites are selling off and that we could at any unspecified time lose our reservation. To top that, we also learned that they were raising the monthly rates from $695 to $895. When was Wilderness going to tell us this? I can understand raising the rates a small percentage from time to time, but $200 extra a month / $600 extra for total stay is criminal. Also, we were told when we reserved that this was a 55+ park, but one of the campers said they allowed families in with children on a daily/weekly basis. And now I can’t find an age restriction at all on their website, so did it change?

So we called today to inquire as to the truth of this bad news, and were told; yes the monthly rate is indeed going up $200; no, they will not refund our $180 deposit (“read the terms” she said, the terms you receive after you’ve booked); and yes, they are selling sites, but they would ensure we had something… After this conversation and our recent tour, our gut is telling us that the “something”, as well as the dated and minimal amenities and facilities, isn’t going to be worth $895 a month. So we cancelled. This was a hard $180 lesson that we are passing along.

When it’s almost impossible to find a campsite in winter in Florida, I’m surprised at their greedy stance on deposit refund requests made because of a 30% rate increase.

As for the Silver Springs area in general, it seems to be mostly run down (from what we travelled through) and near the Ocala National Forest which – as we learned from a few residents of Silver Springs – has become home to violent drug dealers who seem to be infiltrating outside the forest area.

I’m a disabled war vet and my RV is a 2004 completely renovated ... they turned me, my wife and my son down from staying here because the side of my RV had some paint damage. They said “to stay her you need to have a 2005 or newer and have no paint or sun damage to the outside of your RV” snobby ... I’ve traveled the country and never heard of such a stupid rule. I guess Good enough to go to Bosnia , Iraqi and Kosovo to fight for our freedom but not good enough to stay at this crappy RV park for a night.

The resort is divided into three sections. Villages (some owners and shorter term campers), Park Village (mostly owners sites are larger) and the Preserve (Class A only large sites). We stayed in the villages section. The greenway was the best feature with access to trails and the Ocklawaha River. Wi-Fi was spotty; however, there were many other conveniences such as an fitness area, laundry, and a restaurant on-site.

The sites vary in size and can accommodate a large RV. Noise was not bad, but you can hear Hwy 40, which is next to the campground. The staff was very accommodating and friendly and the resort is convenient to the towns of Silver Springs and Ocala. We would camp here again; however, we will likely go further south next winter.