Paynes Prairie State Preserve
We stayed at Paynes Prairie from Friday July 9th through Monday July 11th, 2021. It was very easy to find and GPS took us right to the gate.
100 Savannah Blvd.
Micanopy FL 32667
It was a last minute trip that we planned when we found out we didn’t have to babysit our grandchild that weekend. Booking couldn’t have been easier on the Florida State Parks website.
We had site #39 and it was paved and perfectly level. We didn’t realize it when we booked the trip, but this site is handicapped accessible. Most sites are gravel and not paved.
The campground has a very nice canopy of trees that keeps all the sites that we looked at nicely shaded. The campground road wasn’t bad. It was tight at times but our 55′ setup (2016 Ram 3500 dually and 35′ camper) made it through with ease.
We found that we were right next to the bathhouse which was very well maintained and clean. The site was deep enough for the camper and truck, at a bit of an angle. There were 6 parking spots at the bathhouse so when I broke the cornhole boards out, I just moved the truck to the bathhouse for a couple of hours.
We had heavy rain on the drive in, so we were concerned about the campground conditions. We were pleased to find that our fears were unwarranted. There was very little standing water and none in the campground. After grilling some burgers and a few games of cornhole Day 1 was in the books. Other than the “Auto” leveling system on our camper not working it was a very easy setup process. Shaunna and I started our usual game of 5000 Rummy (yes 5000! We keep the same game going for the whole camping trip) we relaxed and got ready for some hiking adventures on Day 2!
The first stop we had to make on Day 2 was the Visitor’s Center. We highly recommend it. They did a great job with hands on exhibits and a theatre room that played a 15 minute video about the park. There is a nice back porch overlooking the prairie as well.
It’s only a short walk from there on a paved trail to the 50 foot observation tower. After climbing a few flights of stairs to the top we were greeted with amazing views of the prairie, wild horses, and bison grazing in the distance. The view was spectacular. We even watched as a rainstorm swept across the prairie from the Northwest.
The rain was coming in quickly so we hurried back to the truck and started heading out to get some lunch. We heard about this awesome little BBQ place in Micanopy that supposedly had the best BBQ in Florida.
On our way out of the park we were greeted by a deer grazing along the road. The video to the left is only 30 seconds but really captures the essence of Paynes Prairie State Preserve. What luck to get this video so close!
So, they were not joking! The Pearl Country Store inside the Marathon Gas Station has some AMAZING BBQ!
Here is a link to the Pearl Country Store in case you want to check them out when you are in Paynes Prairie.
We sat on the porch at the Pearl Country Store for a while waiting for the rain to stop but it wasn’t looking good. I was disappointed because those trails were calling my name. The rain finally let up enough to get back to the camper for the evening.
Heidi, Abby, and Lexy didn’t go without a feast either. They are working hard on their obediance lessons. Check out the short 10 second video to the right. Day 2 was in the books. We were looking forward to the trails on Day 3!
We woke up on Day 3, Sunday, to a bright sunny day. I was excited to get on the trails. We were planning on starting back at the visitors center and taking the Cones Dike Trail onto the preserve. Hopefully we would see some Bison and Wild Horses close up. Below is a PDF of the Paynes Prairie Preserve trails so you can plan your trip as well.
Cones Dike Trail is #5 on the map to the left. It’s nice and shaded for the first part and then you head on to the fringe of the prairie. Right away we saw a deer grazing and many different birds in the marsh to the left. We were keeping an eye out for alligators as well because many people have said that they have seen them out there.
To the right is a short video of a deer grazing off of the cones Dike Trail.
Much to our disappointment it started to rain again. We were probably 2 miles into the hike and had to turn around. Luckily it didn’t rain hard and we made it back to the truck safely. This was our last chance this trip to see the bison and horses up close. It wasn’t in the cards this trip, but we will definitely be back. There are 9 other trails to hike out there and we will need to plan a week at the campground to see everything we want to.
Later in the evening we took a drive down to the picnic area / boat ramp. What a beautiful sunset! There is a really cool place to have a wedding or party right on the water.
Monday morning came and it was time to head out to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine Beach. We had a really great time at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Our only regret is that we didn’t have a week here to see everything we wanted to. Below is another PDF with the Campground map and rules, Florida State Parks website link, and some other good information about the park. If you enjoyed our review of Paynes Prairie please check out our Anastasia State Park Review HERE. Thank you so much for checking out this post. If you have any comments please feel free to reach out to us HERE.
The camping canines are ready for the next adventure!
