Creekside – Arbuckle Tract
Camping at Lake Wales Ridge State Forest - Arbuckle Tract - Primative Hike In - Creekside Site
Campsite Location:
Lake Wales Ridge State Forest - Arbuckle Tract - Creekside Site
27.712575,-81.429287 GPS location of site
27.7061930,-81.4429050 GPS location of parking
A little less than a mile hike to the site from this parking location.
Who to Reserve Through:
Type of Camping
Type - Primitive Hike In
Price
$8.93 a night plus $6.70 reservation fee and approx 10% state and local taxes
Hook-ups Offered
No hook-ups
No Potable water but has creek access if you have ability to filter your own.
Site Ammenities
Fire Ring with grill grate
Picnic Table
Creek view
Pet Friendly
Yes
Alcohol Friendly
Yes
Shade and Vegitation
Lots of shade at the site
Special Notes
Creekside view. Possible kayak/canoe camping from Reedy Creek. Portages unknown but at least one at the campsite as of 1/22.
Unknown shuttling situation.
Review of Creekside Campsite in Arbuckle Tract - Lake Wales Ridge State Forest
Sure to become a regular on our camping rotation! This was an awesome site. Located about a mile from the parking location, it is a hike in primitive campsite. No electricity, water or toilets. But has creek access for filtering water. (We didn’t think to bring the filter to try the taste, sorry). So plan accordingly.
Hiking to the site was mostly in the sun, through scrub. There were some areas of Florida snow (read sugar sand). There were also a couple of areas that were damp and look like they could be under water and flooded during rainy times.
The site is nestled under an Oak canopy with plenty of shade. It has lots of options for hanging with hammocks but it also has plenty of tent camping spots with what appears to be sand brought in especially for making a tent camping spot. It is located directly on Reedy Creek. It’s one of those places you see hiking and say “This would make a beautiful campsite.” And they actually did! It seems to be a road less traveled as we only saw two other people all weekend. There is a beautiful view of Reedy Creek and a small area for sitting Creekside.
This site is dog friendly. We have Verizon cell service and the service was spotty. Calls were okay and internet was slow at times and not available at times.
There were two negatives to the campsite. There were quite a few mosquitoes (It is Florida though). Bring bug repellant! There was lots of gunfire probably from the private hunt property just down the road. We were there for ringing in the New Year so I am not sure if this is always the case or not.
Animals we saw besides the normal birds and squirrels were a river otter, turkey, eagles and a fox squirrel. The otter just walked right into the campsite while we were talking. He kinda stood up looked at us and scurried back to the water. The turkey wandered into the campsite while I was typing up this review. We did also see recent hog sign and tracks of deer, hog, bunnies, raccoon. We also believe we saw signs from coyote and fox. We were just not lucky enough to see them.
The tract itself has 5 hike in primitive sites and two small primitive campground areas called Reedy Creek campground I & II Reedy Creek I has 8 sites, of which 7 are reservable. These sites have only port a potties. The sites are reservable same day so you can check out your site before making the reservation then just call or reserve online. The camping reservations are made through Reserve America. The campsites in the Reedy Creek I are small and contain a picnic table and grill. Reedy Creek II is a primitive hunt camp available only during hunting. It also has small sites and appear to accommodate small campers also.
For more information on hiking the area check out our Arbukle Tract Lake Wales Ridge State Forest Hiking Page.
We may try kayaking Reedy Creek and camping on our way down but a little more research is needed.