Amelia River Campground

Sad to have to write an unfavorable review about a Florida a State Park. While the fort itself and the day use areas in this park are fabulous, the actual camping facilities are not up to the usual high standards. We stayed in the original loop river campground, which had a ton of beautiful trees canopied over each site, however, the sites had not been kept up and were in need of refreshing. The roads were very narrow and unpaved. The Trees canopied over each site, however, the sites had not been kept up and were in need of refreshing. The sites themselves were dirt and mostly covered with leaves, so if you are a tent camping, it would definitely be more comfortable than gravel, however, it was a real mess for RV campers. Each site has a picnic table, a grill, fire, pit, combo, electricity, and water, and a clothesline. The centrally located bathhouse was surprisingly clean and also pleasantly air-conditioned. They each had laundry facilities as well. The beach loop had paved roads and much nicer campsites. Each loop also has a dump station. However, the river campground had a dump station with the hook ups on the incorrect side of the road, so unless you are using a tote, it was not possible to use without going to the day use area, and turning your vehicle around to face the proper way.

The day use area was beautiful and had a wonderful bike wash and maintenance set up, as well as a covered birdwatching station. Lots of hiking trails and an TON of wildlife to see! And of course, the fort itself was incredible! The location near Amelia Island would definitely keep you busy for several days, however, we won’t be coming back to this campground due to the site Maintenance issues.

Nice location for finding shark teeth. The campground is tight and the live oak tree branches over-hang the road in many places. I hit the awning getting into my site and watched a big 5th wheel scrape the paint off the rear of his rig. Not big rig friendly! I also was not a fan of the dump station. Great park, but I will use the beach campground in the future.

This review is for Fort Clinch State Park and its two camping loops. For some reason, Campendium decided to slip the park based on site, unlike other parks with multiple camping areas. After reaching out to them, Campendium said it would not change it, which is a shame since (a) you cannot find Fort Clinch on its app and (b) the reviews a to each site apply to the entire park.

Anyway, we stayed at both camping loops. The river sites are very private, shaded, with significant vegetation and space between sites. The downside is bugs, bugs everywhere. Flying, biting, crawling on you and camping equipment. The sites at the beach have no shade, and right on top of each other, have no vegetation in between, but have a constant breeze that keeps bugs away. While you cannot see the ocean, you can hear it and see the dunes. The campsite also has direct beach access, which is pretty cool and gives the very small campground almost a private beach.

Sites on both loops are on sand except for the ADA sites. The bathhouses are nice and spacious, with lots of hooks, but since they are open and close to the ocean, there’s a lot of sediment on the showerheads, so forget about a solid hair wash. Also, the fresh water at both sites (going into your trailer or in the bathhouses) have a mash-brackish smell to it. Cell signal was weak at 1 LTE bar but our weboost took it up to three 5G bars so we were able to work and stream without a problem.

The park itself is spectacular. We saw gators, snakes, opossums, armadillos, turtles, tons of different birds, rabbits, deer, dolphins, and many others. A ranger also told us they have bears. The main road inside the park is a Spanish moss tress canopy that feels otherworldly. The park also has great mountain bike baths that are relatively easy but beautiful. Outside the park, there’s a flat path/greenway called Egan’s Creek Greenway that is a must.

Beach campground has no shade. Riverside has lots of trees. Short walk to view beautiful sunsets over the water. Dolphins playing most evenings. Not a lot of walking trails. One big 6 Mile trail, very narrow (2 feet or less) for bikes and hikers. Not safe for hikers with dogs, get run over by bikes. Not a great place to camp with dogs, dogs not allowed on beach or by river. There are a couple of small nature trails. One off the riverside campground and a couple off the main road.

I was a little worried about fitting in at the Amelia River campground, since our rig is 1' shorter than the site length, but you never know. When we arrived, there was a sign cautioning about low trees, we are also tall, so another concern to add to my list. The ranger was nice and let us know that we shouldn't have any problems, just move to the center when you see low trees. That worked for us and we made our way down the long road to the river campground.

Backing our 5ver into our spot was another challenge, we had no cell coverage, so communication was difficult and there were lots of trees to worry about. A couple across from us helped out by moving their trucks and assisting in the communications, and we managed to angle in with enough room. The spots are sand, and ours appeared softer than some others, the truck dug a couple of holes with the back tires. The site was also angled down, but we didn't have trouble getting the trailer off of the hitch.

After walking around the campground we saw several sites that we could fit in that we're better suited for our rig. Not all the sites were the softer dirt that we had, most appeared to be harder surfaces with more of a white sand.

All that aside, the campground is quite nice and even has its own beach, although you can't swim there. The bathrooms at the river campground were really nice and were air conditioned. There were two washer/dyers, but one of the washers wasn't working. Our hookups worked fine, but the dump station at the river campground is accessed on the way in. We were just happy to get our rig out and didn't want to drive through again, so we drove over to the beach side campground on our way out and the access to the dump station there was much easier.

The beachside camp is much more open with little to no shade, but you are right at the beach. The bathrooms were very clean, but not air conditioned. The dump station was much easier access for our larger rig.

The park has lots of hiking and off road biking trails and you can bike along the roadways. The fort is a must visit, but is a small additional fee. The gift shop has a small restaurant that serves burgers and such and there is a museum next to it that covers much of the history of the fort and what it was like to live there.

We loved the park and the surrounding areas and would consider staying here again if we were in the area.

Fort Clinch has 2 campgrounds: one on the beach side and the other on the river side. The beach side is more big-rig friendly because it's more open and no trees to get in the way. But there are a few sites on the river side that can accommodate a big rig, just pay attention to the site description. We have a big rig and although we like the beach side, we actually prefer the river side because the sites are more private. Site 30 is awesome! It's very spacious and private. Like most FL state parks, you need to reserve well in advance because they book up early. We are fulltime RVers who work remotely and need Verizon coverage for work. We were able to get a good Verizon signal at both the beach and the river side campground. The sunsets on the river side are so beautiful! The fishing pier on the beach side is really nice but unfortunately it's closed due to hurricane damage. Hopefully it will re-open soon. The fort is fun to visit and there are also lots of nature trails, bike trails and a nice playground for kids.