Juniper Springs Rec Area

The campsite was very nice and clean. The only downside is that it was New Years and the group next to us were noisy. The site is great for families.

Great spot overall. Very friendly staff. Unfortunately the board walk trail is still closed.

We stayed for 4 nights during the 2024 holiday season in the Tent Only area of the campground. While we were directly across from 2 other spots, we were lucky enough that our fellow campers had good taste in music and were relatively quiet. We had a short walk through the woods and over a bridge to the bathrooms. Bathrooms were kept tidy although by end of day Sunday there was no toilet paper left in the women's bathroom. Good thing we had brought our own. Bear box was a must and extremely helpful to store all of our goods in. Picnic tables are the plastic coated metal which are great since they don't get soaked in the rain like a wood table. Though bring a cushion cuz they get a bit hard if you sit for a long period of time (think while playing games).

The biggest issue we had were the aggressive racoons. When checking in, the ranger told us that bears had been active in the area. She said it with a winky type smile so I am pretty sure she was really referring to the trash pandas. They would come right up to us, steal anything that was left out, whether it was food or not, and overall made hanging out after dark difficult. Over the weekend, the campground was full and there were lots of dogs around. The 'coons were nowhere to be found those two nights but on the other, much calmer nights, we had to battle them pretty hard.

The swimming area was gorgeous and provided a cool snorkeling experience. We kayaked down Juniper Run which was an exciting river to paddle full of twists and turns. We even saw a gator and an otter in addition to the numerous birds and turtles. It is much easier in a single kayak. It is a river that requires maneuverability skills so if you are a first time kayaker I would recommend heading over to Silver Springs instead. Important to note: no paddleboards or inflatables of any kind are allowed on the river.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay there. We already have plans to go back next year!

The forest was beautiful. My family had an amazing trip. I only wish we could have stayed longer.

One of our favorite campgrounds, always happy to go back there.

Beautiful spring to swim in. Especially like the hammock racks at the spring to hang your own hammock. Campground loop for tent only is nice. Kayaking run was spectacular

This campground should be in the record books for best designed. The springs are gorgeous. My complaints are due to lack of maintenance. The Forest service is letting entropy have its way with the boardwalks. A beautiful new gorgeous chain link fence surrounded the pavilion next to the springs themselves. This is a huge eyesore. Just tear it down if you aren’t going to fix it. Do the paddle. But take your own canoe paddles. Way too tight and overgrown for kayak paddles.

it was simply wonderful! the paddle down the juniper run was an incredible experience! the campsite very nice like all state park campgrounds. i can highly recommend it!

We stayed here for 3 nights. My only issue was that our particular site (007) was directly in front of the bathrooms with no privacy. We walked the other loops and no other campsite had the amount of exposure we had. So don't choose that site if you like peace, quiet, and privacy. The bathrooms were clean though and everything about the camping experience was great. The kayak run was gorgeous and the rapids were super fun. If you're not comfortable on a kayak they suggest you go to Alexander Springs for an easier run and I totally agree, the maneuvering was tricky and you're on the run for 7 miles so if you're struggling at all, it's for a long long time. The swimming area was very nice and not super busy as we were there right after Christmas so it was chilly. Totally worth the time and money though, we loved it.

Our campsite was clean and private, however the men's showers at the bathhouse were in disrepair, and it's disappointing to see the boardwalk around the spring still closed 3 years after our first visit. We would go and stay again, but with those repairs made it would be a place we'd go out of our way for.