Campgrounds in Polk County, Florida, range from those with Disney World accessibility to equestrian sites that include a paddock for your horse to old-fashioned Florida fish camps. You can choose a site that appeals to active seniors, with golf and shuffleboard, or to youth groups exploring the headwaters of the Everglades. Watch out for alligators, which are always plentiful in freshwater surroundings.
Disney World Access
Look to the northern part of Polk County, Florida, for campgrounds that are close to the Magic Kingdom. Theme World RV Resort in Davenport is conveniently located, as is Central Park Campers Haven in Haines City. Both have plenty of recreational opportunities for families or spring break travelers who want to stay in a campground from which it will be only a short trek to Disney.
Equestrian Camping
Nearby state park campgrounds provide for campers on horseback. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park near Okeechobee provides a paddock for a horse at each equestrian campsite, with miles and miles of wilderness trails to explore. At Highland Hammocks State Park near Sebring, a horse camp is available at the entrance to an 11-mile trail.
Fish Camps
Polk County has a number of independently owned camping and fishing establishments, known as fish camps, with an Old Florida feel. Grape Hammock Fish Camp in Lake Wales will set you up with live bait for cane-pole fishing, and airboat rides to see alligators and wild boar. Lake Juliana Boating and Lodging in Auburndale is another old Florida fish camp, with 70 years of family-owned history and plenty of freshwater boating and fishing.
Youth Camping
Campgrounds in Polk County appeal to young people as well as seniors. Lake Kissimmee State Park offers two youth camping areas, close to parking, for a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 25 campers; youths must be accompanied by adults. Campfire pits are provided.
Hammondell Campsites in Winter Haven also offers group rates for those who book five or more sites, with swimming, biking around Lake Howard and regular Audubon bird walks and field trips, since the Lake Region Audubon Society is nearby.
Everglades Camping
Even if you are not camping there with a youth group, you must follow Route 60 east of Lake Wales to find Lake Kissimmee State Park. This is the one campground in central Florida that you will not want to miss. Camping there will put you at the headwaters of the Everglades, with easy access to Lake Rosalie and Tiger Lake as well as Lake Kissimmee.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her Florida classic about the Everglades in 1947 without realizing how far to the north the Everglades extend. They go all the way up to the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Watershed. If you camp in southern Polk County, you will wake up surrounded by what Douglas called the "River of Grass."
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