O’Leno State Park, High Springs, Florida

O’Leno State Park in High Springs is a hidden gem in North Central Florida. It’s a great home base for paddling the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and exploring the area springs. And the 2,372-acre park itself offers plenty to do if you like to hike, bike or ponder the world under a canopy of trees.

The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Depression, and many of the structures are still there. You’ll find a small CCC museum, meeting place and other buildings near the river.

We camped at O’Leno in February of this year – our second visit. We camped here last year and loved it, so we made our reservations for 2023 before we left our campsite!

There are two campground loops at O’Leno: Dogwood and Magnolia. The Magnolia loop is closer to the river, parking area and trailheads. It also accommodates larger RVs than Dogwood. Both loops have good-sized sites with water and electric hookups and lots of trees for shade and screening from your neighbors.The park is about a 15 minute drive from the center of High Springs, with has a dive shop, restaurants and a nice little brewery. If you need groceries, a Winn Dixie is closer.

Campground Tour

Campground Details

Number of sites: 55 RV sites on two loops: 27 on Dogwood and 28 on Magnolia. Dogwood is closer to the park entrance and Magnolia is near the Santa Fe River. 

Hookups: 30 amp electric and water

Connectivity: On T-Mobile, we got two bars of 5G in the Dogwood loop. 

Bathrooms: Each loop has its own bathhouse. In the Dogwood loop, each site has a short trail to the bathhouse, located inside the loop. In Magnolia, the bathhouse is accessible from the campground loop. Bathhouses were clean and had hot water with good pressure.

Campground amenities:  O’Leno is a no-frills campground. There is a dump station, but no camp store or laundry, but there is firewood for sale at the ranger station. Most days, there isn’t an attendant at the gate, but there are campground hosts who clean the bathhouses and prepare the sites.

Reservations: Visit reserve.floridastateparks.org to make a reservation. Florida State Parks take reservations 11 months in advance.

Campground rating: 4 out of 5

Recommended Nearby

• Ichetucknee Springs State Park, Fort White. Whether you canoe, kayak, tube or paddleboard, a trip down the Ichetucknee River is highly recommended. The park has three access points to the river: North Entrance, South Entrance and Dampier’s Landing. If you want a longer paddle (like we did), launch at the South Entrance, paddle upriver to the headspring, then float down back to where you start. If you’re not into paddling, there are swimming opportunities in the park. Park admission is $6 per car. Be sure to bring cash for the self-service payment kiosk.
• High Springs Brewing Company, High Springs. After a day hiking the trails and swimming at Ichetucknee Springs State Park, we stopped at High Springs Brewing Company for cold refreshments. We enjoyed the beers and the casual taproom.