B.O.M.B. Awards: Best Camping Spot

It’s pretty hard to compete with our neighbors to the north and south when it comes to camping. Pinellas County runs its own campground and beachfront park, Fort Desoto, which not only has one of the most expansive camping areas in the region (238 sites for family tent and RV camping) but also some of the most beautiful beaches in Florida. Add a cool historical fort for exploring, and you've got a five star outdoor experience.

To the south there’s Sarasota County, which boasts two family-friendly state parks, Myakka and Oscar Scherer. While Myakka is much bigger and has cabin rentals, Oscar Scherer has Lake Oscar, a freshwater swimming hole, a connection to the Legacy Trail, and creekside campsites along South Creek. In addition, a small county-run campground on Turtle Beach is open year-round and is one of the only camps on the Florida West Coast where you can practically camp right on the beach.

That being said, Manatee County takes a very different approach to camping. In a state where Floridians often find themselves crowded out of parks run by their tax dollars during prime camping season, it’s a nice to see a county that takes a more exclusive, resident-friendly approach.

Of the 34 parks and 12 preserves in Manatee County, camping is only offered at four, and only one offers year-round camping – Lake Manatee State Park. While I can’t endorse Lake Manatee because of its close proximity to Desoto Speedway (something about listening to cars go around a track for hours on end kind of kills the naturalist vibe), I did create a list of great camping opportunities in Manatee County. I divided them in sub-categories to accommodate the exclusive nature of our county camping culture.

While Jigg’s Landing doesn’t offer the traditional camping amenities, it does have cabin rentals modeled after the privately-owned fish camp that used to occupy the premises. These cabins are air conditionined and available for rent 365 days a year at $45 a night. There is also a snack shack on site that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from Thursday–Tuesday.

Rye Preserve

If you are looking to get away from it all, but don't have all the high-tech, lightweight gear needed for primitive camping, Rye Preserve is your best bet. While it does have a small playground, picnic pavilion, restrooms and a nature center, it’s not as family-friendly as other parks in the area and only a few campsites are available to rent on Friday and Saturday nights. Reservations are required and campsites are reserved on a first come first serve basis. There is no power source and limited amenities making this campground more rural than other tent-friendly campgrounds in the Tampa Bay region. However, the preserve has some great trails and access points to the Manatee River which is really beautiful and lush that far east. It also has shaded trails that are great for hiking. One of them even leads to the original Rye homestead and cemetery.

Duette Preserve is the largest of the 12 preserves in Manatee County. It is the only preserve where folks can actually hunt during season. Primitive camping is also available on a Friday and Saturday nights during non-hunt season for $20 per night.

What makes Duette stand out among the rest is that horses are allowed. Imagine primitive camping on horseback like the cowboys in the Wild West! Folks who ride or hike the trails on this large property are sure to see wildlife, oak scrub, hardwood swamp, lowland prairies, ponds, streams, sloughs and even Clearwater Lake.

Staying at Frog Creek RV Camp is basically another form of glamping. For $45 a night, you can enjoy all the comforts of home from cable TV to sewer to a heated, saltwater pool. The issue with Frog Creek is that it's more mobile home park than campground due to the large amount of permanent and semi-permanent residents. However, the campground is open to the public and situated on Frog Creek, one of the most scenic canoeing and kayaking locations in the county. Just a few strokes of the paddle and visitors of this crowded camp will become completely disconnected from the outside world with an opportunity to get lost in the pristine aquatic ecosystem of Terra Ceia Preserve. Any societal connection fades as you float through mangrove forest and gaze upon native Florida fauna. The best part of the whole experience is when you get back from your extensive paddle trip through the preserve, you can relax while you enjoy cable TV in your air conditioned RV or cool off with a dip in the saltwater pool.

was a close second. This funky spot has a restaurant that Forbes once dubbed "one of the most unusual restaurant in the world." Located on the Braden River, this folksy campground offers many of the same amenities of Frog Creek, minus the pool. It also has permanent residents but open campsites available on a short term basis. While its restaurant filled with taxidermy earned this location some extra points, its proximity to multiple subdivisions makes it hard for you to lose yourself in a completely natural environment. The Braden River is a beautiful body of water, but it simply can't compete with Frog Creek.