Withlacoochee River Park Primitive Camping

Withlacoochee River Park Primitive Camping

Join us on a Backpack campout at Withalacoochee River Park Primitive campground where everything has to be carried to camp. We have previously camped in the RV section less than 1 a month ago and had a great time and we wanted to return to explore the rest of the extensive trails in the park. We parked the SHO at the parking spots next to the restroom in the campground loop before we loading on our 35+lb backpacks onto our backs and headed out into the great green yonder for an overnighter. We hiked 1.3 miles to reach the primitive campsite #7 in 38 minutes and quickly set up camp while we waited for the ranger to check us in. He was not in the office when we arrived and returned our call after we were already in camp. After a successful check in we took the the trails staring with the well marked 2.3 mile Florida Trail Assc. loop to the south of the Park. Along the trail we discovered a remote picturesque primitive campsite maintained by SWFFWMD that we plan on camping at in the near future. It had a picnic table and fire ring that are situated under the canopy of a Majestic oak with an adjacent pine tree stand that afforded a nice view of the wilderness. Continuing on the FTA hiking loop north led us to the scenic rivers edge and swampy areas on the west side of the river. This is a fantastic trail with lots to see and hear and I would highly recommend to any skill level hiker seeking a nice secluded day hike. We completed the entire loop without seeing another soul except for The Boy Scout Bigfoot Wilderness camp across the river which was occupied with Scouts. We arrived back to camp just in time to start a campfire and prepare a freeze dried Pad Thai dinner by Backcountry prior to sunset so we could eat our meals while the the sun went down and darkness settled over the forest.
After a great nights sleep we rose early the following morning to enjoy coffee and a snack prior to hiking the amazingly beautiful Florida Trail Assc. 5.4 mile River trail that parallels the river for the entire length of the Park. This trail ended up being the highlight of our trip due to the diverse habitats we had to transverse as well as spectacular views of the Withlacoochee river along the way. Mother nature decided to bless us with some misty morning rain so we returned to camp to eat a delicious warm oats, granola, and vanilla breakfast that we washed down with some freshly brewed pine needle tea before packing up the camp and hiking everything out.
It was another amazing adventure and we hope you will enjoy traveling along with us on our journey and if you like the video please let us know by hitting the like button as well subscribing to our channel to follow along on our future adventures.