Florida COE Campgrounds on Okeechobee Waterway

[JudyJB]

There are three “lock and dam” Corps of Engineering campgrounds in Florida that control water flowing from Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee is the biggest lake in Florida, and the St. Lucie Canal that flows east and the Caloosahatchee River that flows west form the Okeechobee Waterway. Boaters can travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico through this waterway.

As part of the federal system, seniors who have a federal senior pass get a 50% discount on camping fees, which makes these campgrounds very popular and hard to reserve, however, they are certainly not impossible to snag, especially off-season. All three campgrounds offer paved RV sites with water and electric hookups, in addition to tent sites. Cost per night for a water and electric site is $30 or $15 with senior discount. Considering how few federal hookup sites there are in Florida and the high cost of in-season camping, these campgrounds are a very good deal and worth going through the difficulties of getting a reservation six months in advance. Sites open up at 10:00 am EST six months in advance, so you need to be online and ready to hit the mouse button a few minutes in advance.

Note that each campground has water and electric sites, a dump station, boat launch, a fishing pier of some sort, camp host, and shower/restroom facilities. All sites are paved with covered picnic table and grill on a gravel area next to each site. There is very little shade in all of these campgrounds, and none are really close to shopping or towns.

I have stayed in each of these campgrounds, so am offering this summary starting from west to east:

• W.P. Franklin – This is the farthest west campground is W.P. Franklin, near Alva, Florida. It has 30 RV sites and is located on the north side of the river. At this point, the river is very wide and the lock is on the opposite shore, so you do not have a very good view of boats going through, but it is on an island of sorts and half the sites face the river with the other half facing the north shore. One of the shower/restroom facilities has a washer and dryer. No bike trails are accessible, and the highway that goes past has no shoulder and a lot of very fast traffic.
• Ortona South – As you might suspect, this campground is on the south side of the river, about eight miles east of La Belle. It has 51 RV sites, about half facing the river, with most having a good view. Best sites are near the middle or the east end. What is nice about this campground is that you can walk across the dam to the lock. Along the lock, there is a space with grass and some benches for sitting. There is also a washer and dryer available for laundry. There is a bike trail to LaBelle along the highway, but it is a long ride to LaBelle.
• St. Lucie – This campground is east of Lake Okeechobee on the south side of the canal. It has only 9 campsites and of those only three are along the canal, so it is very hard to snag one of these! No laundry facilities, but there is a playground for kids. What I like about this campground is that the lock is on the same side as the campground and you can walk across the lock and the dam all the way to the other side of the river! You can ride a bike to stores and McDonalds, maybe 3-4 miles away. No bike trail, but easier roads and some sidewalks.

Note that stays are limited to 14 days in a row. You must then leave and not return for another 16 days. In addition, Ortona South and St. Lucie are considered the same campground, so you can only stay 14 days total for both of them without the 16 day somewhere else rule. A lot of snow birds spend the whole winter bouncing back and forth between these three campgrounds and a couple of other nearby county parks. All in all, I think these campgrounds are well worth the trouble getting a reservation. They all have terrific views, and you can fish from many of the campsites!

[Oma]

Ortona South is one of our favorite campgrounds.