Living in Miami, I know when most people think of vacationing in Florida they think of coming to our city, Orlando and maybe Tampa or St. Augustine. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they want to go to Fort White, FL, honestly even after living in Florida for 18 years of my life, I’d never even heard of it. That’s until I was searching Campspot for unique places to stay in Florida so my family could go on a local adventure. I’m glad we came across it because we discovered Fort White is filled with beauty and here’s why you should visit!
Where is Fort White, FL?
If you’re like me and had never before heard of Fort White, FL you’re probably wondering exactly where it is. It’s 35 minutes North of Gainesville, FL where the one and only University of Florida is and 2 hours from Orlando, St. Augustine and Tampa.
3 Reasons to Visit Fort White, FL
Explore Some of Florida’s Beautiful Springs
Ichetucknee Springs
Fort White is known for its natural springs and Moonshine Acres RV Park is located right next to one of them, Ichetucknee Springs. Click here if you’d like to know more about vacationing in an RV. This spring offers hiking, tubing, kayaking, swimming and diving. The water is crystal clear and roughly 72 degrees year round. I really enjoyed checking out the Head Spring (swimming only), which is most easily accessible via the north entrance to the park.
Ginnie Springs
I still can’t believe Ginnie Springs was just 40 minutes away from me while attending the University of Florida and I never made it here. The spring is gorgeous and only 20 minutes from where we stayed at Moonshine Acres RV Park. While called Ginnie Springs it’s actually made up of 7 springs along the Santa Fe River, one of them called Ginnie.
You can tube, kayak, or stand up paddle board from the tube run, going from the river from first to the last spring, stopping at all 7 along the way or you can just hang out in any of the springs you’d like. If you choose to do the entire tube run expect to float down the river for 60-90 minutes depending on how strong the current is.
Gilchrist Blue Springs
Also a quick 20 minute drive from Fort White is Gilchrist Blue Springs. There are five springs in the park with the main one being Blue Spring and two other swimming springs here, Johnson Spring and Naked Spring. The other two aren’t the best for swimming as one is swampy and the other isn’t always visible as the water has to reach a specific height and that doesn’t happen year round.
Besides the swimming in the springs you can kayak, canoe, SUP, and hike. If you’re exploring the area via RV they also have RV spots for camping. Never RV’d before? You should definitely try it, it’s so much fun. Check out my post on what it’s like vacationing in an RV. Campspot can also help you find the perfect RV parks for your trip.
Get One with Nature and Experience Glamping
You won’t find any resorts or 5 star chain hotels in Fort White but that doesn’t mean there aren’t nice places to stay. By searching Campspot we found these amazing glamping tents (that reminded us of our trip to Kenya) at Moonshine Acres RV Park and knew we had to book!
It’s very easy to use Campspot’s system, just inset where you want to go, the dates you can travel and how many people your accommodations will need to hold and it will show you the best campgrounds, RV parks, cabins, and glamping options available.
Once the options come up you can filter your choices to narrow it down; how many miles from the city you entered you’re willing to travel, maximum nightly price, park features (clubhouse, cable, pool, laundry, etc.), and amenities (A/C, grills, ADA accessible, etc.).
There are 3 tents in their own little section at Moonshine Acres away from the RVs. For those on the bougie side like me, don’t worry they’re equipped with both A/C and heat so whether you visit in the summer or winter you’ll be able to regulate the temperature. Our standard tent came with a Queen sized bed, twin bunk beds, and a futon couch.
The campsite provides grills outside of the tents to cook and inside your tent you have a fridge and coffee maker. You can eat on the outside patio or coffee table in front of the futon. There are two bathrooms right by the tents with regular sized showers but if you’re a family like us you can use the showers by the office which are much larger and easier to bathe kids. It’s a two minute walk so not far and these bathrooms are extremely clean.
Time to Truly Relax and Slow Down
At home we’re always on the go and even when we’re in the house between all the electronics and apps there are a lot of distractions. Visiting Fort White, FL gave us the opportunity to truly relax and slow down.
In front of our tent there was a community fire pit which we sat by each night, speaking with our neighbors and roasting marshmallows to make s’mores.
We were able to avoid electronics and just play classic games with each other, utilizing the game room at Moonshine Acres RV Park. They had a jukebox, ping pong table, pool table, checkers, connect four, classic arcade games like Mrs. Pac Man and more.
By the playground there was a grill and picnic tables where we could make dinner while watching our daughters play and burn off some energy, simple things, but things we sometimes seem too busy to do at home when we’re on our regular schedule.
Visiting Fort White, FL was definitely an unexpected adventure, one I’m very thankful Campsot introduced us too. There is so much more to Florida and I highly recommend exploring the roads less traveled, even if it’s adding it on to a trip to a bigger city. If you’re looking for another lesser known Florida city be sure to visit Ocala (check out our itinerary here). Did you find this post helpful? Please share it!
This blog post was written in partnership with Campspot. All opinions are my own and true!