Suwannee River Hideaway Campground

We recently departed Suwannee River Hideaway Campground after a 5 month stay. The purpose of this review is to honestly review OUR experience.
CONS-
The internet is extremely poor to non existent so don't plan on surfing it or even checking your emails while you are there. The owners and manager tell you to come to the office for internet but who wants to do that?! We wanted and needed internet and phone service at our site! The phone service (we have Verizon with brand new phones) is also weak to non existent so don't plan on FaceTime or texting (especially pictures!), and expect dropped calls! It is so frustrating!!! We tried a booster but it didn’t work. The owner is very touchy about these subjects so bring them up to him at your own risk! The water is tinted brown on a regular basis right out of the faucet. Yuk! Our pets were throwing up frequently before we left and since we have been gone, their systems have been fine. The laundry facility is horrible!Your clothes have a brown tint and stains from the water after they are washed and the dryers are set so low that it takes hours to dry them. The owners treat their campers like 3rd class citizens, as well!
Pros- boardwalk to the
Suwannee and nature trail.
We normally don't say never but we can honestly say that, without a doubt, we will never return to this park.

In general we liked this park. Sites are spaced out relatively well compared to most private RV parks and we liked that the campground has some trees and shrubs (with no clear parking pads) to preserve a natural feel. The tent camping sites are particularly nice, since they are tucked into fairly dense shrubbery and spaced out very well. We were in the water and electric only sites in the A loop, which has no shade or shrubbery between sites, but it worked fine since we were the only rig in the loop and temperatures were moderate during our stay. Our site was grass but quite level, and without defined sites we had the flexibility to point whatever direction we preferred. The facilities were all clean and the location was pleasantly quiet.

Our biggest issue is that the price is too high for what is being offered. Our price of $45/night was for a site with only water and electric, and reflects a Good Sam discount. That's pretty high for less than full hook up in a location that's not particularly close to anything. The bathhouse was extremely rustic (think concrete floors, summer camp style facilities). There is a boardwalk down to the Suwannee River which was nice, and there is a small walking trail along the river, but honestly there is not much else in the immediate vicinity. The nearby town of Old Town is very small with limited services. The park worked for us as a short stopover en route to other places but is not really a destination.

Note that the owner of the RV park also owns a cattle ranch and there is high quality frozen beef (steaks, ground beef, stew meat, brisket, etc) for sale in the office.

We found this campground in the "Camp Florida" publication and evaluated their website. One call later, and we had a pull through, full hook up site, with about 26 channels on a satellite/cable linked service. All spots are dirt but are fairly level. Some sites had a concrete picnic table pad. Our site did not have one. The campground has a heated pool and club house. WiFi at the clubhouse was exceptional. Rocking chairs await you at the club house or the registration office. The camp office sells fresh packed meat from their farm "about 40 miles up the road." The camp has laundry facilities and dog walking areas. Mature trees and one of the most spectacular features of this campground is the 1500 ft. boardwalk leading to a floating dock in the Suwannee River. The closest town, Old Town, has a Hardees, Subway, two gas stations, and a Dollar General, and a few other businesses. The area met our needs for our stay.

The only cons about this camp is its lack of lighting. It would benefit from walking path lights or strategically placed outdoor lighting. WiFi could be improved so it reaches the camping areas. Otherwise, this is a very good campground with an awesome staff! We enjoyed a bonfire/cookout our final night there hosted by the campground owners. We baked a chocolate cake in our sun oven and shared it with the campers!