Suwannee River Rendezvous is a great place to relax, unwind and have a good time. My wife and I…read morevisited the Suwannee River Rendezvous over a weekend with family.
My wife and I arrived Friday afternoon for our tent camping weekend at the Suwannee River Rendezvous. The three-hour drive to Mayo wasn't bad from Tampa. Check-in is at 2pm. We arrived around 5pm.
The place can be a tight squeeze around the office, even with a small pick-up truck and it is pretty hilly! My wife and I walked in to the office and a friendly woman behind the desk got us all set up in a matter of minutes. Soon, we were on our way down to our site.
The tent locations in the lower rendezvous area are nice but not all that spacious. They are manageable and are limited to one tent each. I think majority of their visitors come in RV. Our primitive spot was up on a hill, overlooking the Suwannee River, which was beautiful. We got our tent set up in the only spot that it would really fit. We had a fire pit and a picnic table. A long trail goes all along the river and luckily, not many people were wandering around. Otherwise, we would have had many travelers passing through our campsite all day.
My wife's parents ended up having to change their site because their camping set up is little more elaborate. They would not have fit comfortably and also would have had to climb up a steep hill to get to their site.
Once settled, we set about to explore. They have a convenient lodge area complete with a mini convenience store. If you forgot anything, they have it. They offer games and other activities. They have a take a book, leave a book section and a kitchen that cooks food. On our first night, we played bingo. My wife and I won $70 on one game. Our two night stay was only $58 so, in theory, they paid us to be there.
We visited family over in the RV park area which was relatively quiet and nice. This is where you can find showers and a catch-and-release pond. The showers are little ways away from the lower rendezvous. They were clean though and private since it's just a single shower inside a locked bathroom.
On Saturday, we went kayaking on the river. I rented a kayak for $25 for the day. They offer a service to drive you up river and drop you off but we did that ourselves since we had a trailer. 2.5 hours later, we were back! The river is beautiful and quiet, although, this time of year, no wildlife at all.
Saturday, we also participated in the pigeon races. For $5, you get a to pick out a pigeon and if it's the first to fly back, you get a prize. A fun activity.
We also played redneck bowling which, if you ask me, was a pretty nifty invention. There is a crank you turn to set up the pins and a mechanism on a pulley to return the bowling ball. Pretty cool and a lot of fun!
All in all, this place was a good time. For us, we like to be a little more "off-the-grid" as they say. This was a good balance. The primitive campsite area was secluded and didn't receive cell service or the wifi provided from the lodge. However, a 2-minute walk and we could get internet, a cup of coffee and a bathroom. My wife and I would definitely go back here.
The staff we encountered were nice for the most part and at least for mid-February, the camping side wasn't all that busy.