What a beautiful park! So many trails to take advantage and never enough time!…read more Great and helpful staff (who will allow you to loan binoculars if you forgot yours and give you ideas on which trails are best for you based on what you are looking to experience) If you are in the area and are a nature nut (like me), come and take a look around. We saw deer, alligators and plenty of birds in our short excursion!

We took advantage of our Florida State Park Pass (saved us the $6 entrance fee) and took a drive to…read morethe park. This is a beautiful park to drive or hike. The drive in and to the visitor center is so pretty! The trees make a nice, shady canopy. You can see various animals from the observation tower, open range or hiking. It was late afternoon and hot when we were there so we didn't see much (one deer!) and I'm sure the animals were in the shade somewhere.

What an amazing place. It is very isolated once you get to the shore…read more There are no cars present, or pedestrian foot traffic and the big lake offers birds much to eat. Whether you like to fish, take bird pics (like me) or just like to sight-see. This place is golden. I bring a stadium chair, a lunch, plenty to drink and my camera gear. This place never disappoints!!

Interesting park at the end of a point of land, limited parking for four or five cars. lots of…read moreturkey vultures one or two osprey occasional cormorants (massive amount of mosquitoes more than you've ever seen in your life in one place) accessible files of building debris, making footstep hazardous near wateredge ,

Great place to spend some time. Nice shady spots, excellent trails, and the owners are sweet and…read moreaccommodating. Highly recommende.

We had the pleasure of visiting Kate's Fish Camp around Thanksgiving and have to say that owners…read moreMike & Monica were open, welcoming, & helpful throughout our visit. FYI- Monica,...not "Kate", is the current "proprietress", chuckling as folks tend to still address her as "Kate". Being Nature Lovers ourselves, we fully acknowledge the rationale for not having an on-site dump station, with such close proximity to natural waterways, and such. This information is freely shared when calling or upon arrival with the additional info provided of access to dump station at local Love's Travel Center in Hawthorne. Knowing this, arrive with empty tanks in your camper unit, to give you peace of mind & extra time. The water provided is great; Wifi Access -Kudos!; and the shower facility offers a wonderful, strong, steamy, hot-water flow with the added treat of seeing the moon & night sky above! The shower area and bathroom were always kept clean, well-stocked, and well-lit for evening visits. Our stay also followed the passes of both Helene & Milton...so things may have been looking a little rough... It was truly a pleasant surprise to have such easy access to the paved Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, of which we made frequent use for biking; hiking; and all-around wild-life strolling....while greeting local fisherman along the way. Lots & Lots of wildlife!!...Actually saw 21 wild turkeys one morning, that came out of hiding right after Thanksgiving passed!! The entrance from the main road may be a bit bumpy from the pavement change, and possible weather impact, just be alert & as always,.. take your time. There are traffic sounds heard, due to easy access to & from the campground,...however, it served as white-noise during those times when we were inside the RV. The benefit of having a taste of "Old-Time" Florida with such ease of access to Restaurants; Services; Healthcare; Parks/preserves; Entertainment/Sports/Art venues; & shopping , pretty much gives the best of both worlds. Be sure to take a stroll to the Campsite Office be fore you depart & treat yourself by picking out one ( or more) of the many hand-made soaps; lotions; balms; shampoos; & "Swamp Juice" that Monica creates!....Don't forget to pick up a few extras for gifting those worthy friends & family members!!

Super friendly and helpful. Great directions on the phone- thank you…read more(They warned us about construction the last mile before arriving) The entrance has an old Florida feel with horses grazing in the field. A gated entrance. We were super grateful to have been escorted to our site as the streets are narrow and turns tight. It was quiet and comfortable. We had a pull thru site and it did have a picnic table. We didn't use their wifi so can't comment on that. There's a restaurant on site but we arrived late and they were closing. The grounds looked nice. If in the area we would stay there again. We camped in a class A with a tow.

Peaceful and serene setting as long as you're on the shady side. The area without the trees is less…read moredesirable and your neighbors are right in your face. I would give the shady, pull-thru sites five stars--no problem but I won't stay there again if that side is booked. The little restaurant is a fun spot with ice-cold draft beer and typical, fried bar food.

It's very nice waterfall when there's enough water to actually fall. A cute little park for the…read morekids to play picnic area for parties and a nice walk in the woods to the fall.

Small little Columbia County Park co-managed with Suwannee River Water Management District- this…read morepark has a boardwalk out to view the falls, picnic tables, a playground and a historic building- a church. Parking lot is small- can hold maybe 20 cars, this park is north of Lake City and right off I10. I had read about this little known waterfall recently and when we stopped at a gas station for a pit stop, I saw the sign and off we went! Directions: Travel north on US 41, pass under I-10, turn right on NW Falling Creek Road; travel 1 mile. The park is on the right before crossing the creek. The boardwalk splits at one point for a loop that leads parallel to the creek, while the other (clearly marked Falls with an arrow) leads to overlook the falls. It's only a quarter mile hike in and you will hear the water before you see it. Rusty- dark color water flows down the creek, the limestone rock worn from the water. The forest around is lush and green. The only critters we saw was one turtle, spiders galore and a butterfly. We heard birds- but I didn't spot them. Tiny little pit stop gave me some great photo opportunities! I recommend bug spray if you are heading out!

No matter what time of day you come down here, you will see something special. Whether it's an…read moreosprey landing in a tree to eat fresh fish, or a swallow-tail kite mother feeding small lizards to her yelping fledgling. You can also see baby alligators slowly swimming around the lake!

Located on the UF campus, this lake across from the Bat Houses and next to the Baughman Center,…read morethis lake is a popular spot to study, picnic, or watch for alligators,birds, or turtles. Yes alligators, so if you bring a picnic, watch your surroundings and don't leave anything unattended. There are a couple boardwalks around the lake for better viewing. Area is mostly very tranquil even with Museum Rd running right near it. Worth a pop by if you are in the area and want to wildlife watch, relax, or even recharge. If you can time it right, visit the Baughman Center and then stay for sunset at the Bat Houses across the street, you won't be sorry.

From Tampa, it took an hour and 30 minutes to get to the river. We first wanted to take a swim in…read morethe swimming area so we went there first before it got really crazy. The area is a bit small and there isn't really a lot of sun spots for you to chill at. It is cool to experience once but I think if you tube, you still will be able to get a swim in because parts of the river are pretty deep. After the swim area, we headed to the tubing section. It is a 15 minute drive from the main park entrance. The fee was 54 for two people that had an annual pass. Highly recommend bringing a small cooler with snacks and drinks and an extra tube for it. It took us about 2 hours to float back to our car and the river is very calm and relaxing. I've floated a river in San Antonio but wasn't as nice as Rainbow springs. Very clean and the water is sooo clear. Overall, really enjoyed our day visit to this state park!

I almost lost my life at Rainbow River, and I feel like I need to share this for anyone considering…read moretubing there. I came expecting a peaceful, relaxing experience because that's what you see in the pictures and reviews. Instead, I ended up in one of the scariest moments of my life. I fell out of my tube and got stuck in deep mud. My water shoe was literally sucked into the mud, and I couldn't push myself up from the bottom. I couldn't get back on my tube because my legs were stuck, and I had already gone underwater and was coughing. What made it even worse was that my daughter, who cannot swim, had drifted away and I couldn't see her. I truly thought I might drown and that something could happen to my daughter. I was panicking, crying, and shaking. By the grace of God, I saw the only boat nearby and flagged them down. They went back and picked up me and my daughter too. I will never forget the people who helped us. I truly believe they prevented a tragedy that day. Another important thing to mention is that this happened toward the evening on a weekday, and there were almost no people left on the river. We were some of the last people out there. I got incredibly lucky that there happened to be a boat nearby because otherwise, I don't know what would have happened to me or my daughter. What upsets me the most is that there was no real safety briefing or warning about the risks. We were given tubes and sent off. No one explained the currents, deep areas, muddy bottoms, or what to do in an emergency. No one recommended life jackets to us, even though not everyone in our group could swim. Please understand that there are no lifeguards. Depending on the time of day, you may find yourself with very few people around to help in an emergency. If I hadn't been able to flag down that boat, this story could have ended very differently. I later learned that other people have had similar frightening experiences here, and I understand why. Please, if you decide to go: * Wear a life jacket, especially if you are not a strong swimmer. * Do not assume the water is shallow because it's a spring. * Do not bring children or adults who cannot swim without extra precautions. * Understand that there are no lifeguards and you are responsible for your own safety. This experience was so traumatic for me that I still have flashbacks and cannot imagine ever returning. A beautiful place can still be dangerous, and I wish I had known that before I went. Please stay safe.

The Great - if you are looking for a old Florida fish camp set in a rustic natural setting, you've…read morecome to the right place. The scenery and wildlife could not be any better. Several bald eagles were observed flying around the lake as well as other Florida wildlife. The Average- we rented two cabins (buildings were duplex style) and there was nothing special about them. They are fish camp lodging and pretty much what you would expect. They had a mini kitchenette with a small oven and burners which was nice and a little larger than mini fridge/freezer. The plates/cups/silverware situation could have been better. There were 3 of us and all of us couldn't eat at the same time if we decided to use their stuff. I had brought paper plates and plastic utensils which saved us. There a little table and 2 chairs, but my cooler provided me a "pull up" seat at the table so I didn't have to stand and eat. The boat ramp is in pretty rough shape and with the lake being low, it made it that much worse to launch. You had to back up as close to the dock as you could because it was told to us that there was a giant hole on the other side and someone had broken their trailer axle loading/unloading which is not a good thing when you're in the middle of nowhere. The on site restaurant was also closed down (not sure if its a temporary or permanent close down) but we packed food as we knew our cabin had a kitchenette. The Not So Good - We had issues with management regarding parking. I was parked parallel to the cabin early that day and we were asked to move because of truck/boat traffic (even though I was 100% positive that I was not in anyone's way) and so I did. That evening after dinner I parked (this time perpendicular in a little spot) next to the cabin again on the grass (and again 100% out of the way) and went in to set my things down when the lady came out yelling for me to move my car out of the grass and that I was blocking the way (which I am 100% sure I was NOT). I AM NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAY LESS THAN 1 MINUTE later a man came out yelling and someone in our party told him to "calm down, she's putting her stuff down and moving the car, chill out!" Well, I can tell you that this did not go over well with the man and woman who started yelling back. Needless to say (on both our parts) robust (nothing bad or threatening....the worse thing we said (and only curse word from us) was something to the effect of "what is this, the f-ing Hilton?" dialogue ensued (while I was moving the car) and they wanted to kick us out. I had walked into the middle of a "verbal" storm so I went in to the bait shop where they were calling the police to have us removed. I apologized for parking on the grass and told them that I was in fact moving it, they just did not give me enough time to unload my arms, grab my keys and move my vehicle. The woman accepted my apology but the man kept running his mouth until I finally asked what else could I do besides apologize to rectify the situation. The woman was fine with it but the man (I equate it to pissing on trees to show his marked territory) kept mumbling trash talk......if it hadn't been for this altercation, it would have been a good stay. So, the moral is make sure you don't park in the grass and if you have a boat, be careful on the boat ramp and you should be fine!

This little family run diner is a hidden gem. It's not fancy, but the food is honest and the…read morequality is quite good. It sounds cliche, but you'd be surprised. My husband stops here for a meal whenever he can on cross state business trips. Finally got to join him this time. We shared a Rueben sandwich (my favorite) with fries. The pastrami was made from scratch in house (as is their BBQ pork). From the little screened in porch, theres a lovely view of the lake framed by Spanish moss swaying in the trees. As we were finishing up, our five year old son was invited by the friendly and gracious owner to select a toy from the free gift box. Go enjoy the food and the quiet charm.