Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park

Great camping experience! Stayed in the family loop, made reservations online. Spot had electrical hookup and water for RVs, but we were just in a tent. Bath house was clean and even had a large outdoor sink and a clothes dryer. Easy little trail to hike here as well. The sky looked beautiful at night, can definitely see more stars out here than in the city. Lots of little critters to see out here as well!

The park overall is amazing. There are many trails and the area is super isolated and peaceful. It's definitely one of the unique parks in Florida we've visited so far. Unspoiled experience of the Real Florida. Having said that, it seems to be understaffed and underfunded. The restroom area is outdated and the cleanliness is not the greatest. Regardless of a few of the shortfalls, we have truly enjoyed this park and the abundance of wildlife we've seen while staying here. We picked a great camping spot and enjoyed the laid-back quiet atmosphere.

Had an awesome inspiring time camping at this park. They have miles and miles of trails through the prairie and hammocks. It's vast, beautiful, and filled with animals. I only spent a day there but the experience was amazing. Their facilities are very well maintained. Showers are clean and private with space for your things and a charger in the bathroom. Their paths were clear, well marked, and easy to follow(so was their map). Only issues I really ran into were with camping. I got the last available spot on my night so can't complain but spot #20 is better for a camper or RV than a tent. No shade. Then the firewood I got was extremely damp and hard to keep going especially with the wind blowing hard off the prairie. It was just as well since I was exhausted from the hiking. Saw so many animals, tons of deer and from fairly close range. The stars were easy to see and even if you don't walk in the astro pad you still get a great view from camp. Something making a horrible sound (probably a coyote) woke me up blaring right outside my tent at 5am. Just in time to watch the sun come up over the prairie (pro about site #20). I didn't put a dent in the trail walks but it was a park I'll come back to and do more. Lovely park. Also forgot to mention you CAN rent bikes there. I was having trouble confirming this before I went but you just have to ask at the ranger station.

Fantastic park for camping and seeing stars, wildlife, and rocket launches all in one place. The wild deer, turkeys, and birds will come really close to the camp grounds early in the morning. The view of the stars on a clear night is great. They have an area dedicated to no light for minimum light pollution. You can see the rocket launches off in the distance (about 100 miles away). The facilities are well maintained and reasonably located. There is ice for purchase at the office. The hiking trails were a bit underwhelming. Straight, flat and mostly the same scenery. Pretty large temperature swings when we visited (April). The night time temps were a bit chilly but midday was hot for longer hikes. We definitely plan to return and camp here again.

Great park. It's a prairie, so don't expect the trails to be shaded. The bugs definitely make themselves known, but we saw a bunch of wildlife. No luck with star gazing as there were clouds all night and the storms that popped up out of nowhere were super intense. Can't wait to go back!

We did the “glamping” experience here. Would highly recommend. Place was clean and really comfortable. The tents also have AC! Huge for Florida. The night sky was absolutely beautiful. Impossible to truly capture with a phone. A lot of trails including biking trails. You should go!

Last weekend had the pleasure of enjoying one night of camping with my husband at Astropad site of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. I booked the site almost 3 months back and at that time failed to realize that we will be one week into the hurricane season and it might be either cloudy or rainy. Finally, when it was time to go I thought let’s see if weather is on our side and then we can go or drop our plan( I am only 2 hour away from here). Anyways, i woke up and saw clear skies and started packing my cooler and camp. We reached around 8pm, close to sunset ( you call and take gate codes if you will reach there after 6pm). It was so peaceful, you could see for miles. We saw wild turkeys running around during sunset. Sky was clear saw we got the opportunity to see stars and moon (it was so lit during the night because of the moon, could walk around under moonlight). Beautiful breeze at night so no ac or fan was needed per se. Bring a bug spray though, the mosquitos were like tiny vampires.🤣 wokeup at 4 am watched milkyway and shooting stars.Stayed up then went for a walk and saw 3,4 deers grazing near astropad enterance. In the end I can only sum up my experience nothing less than spectacular.

Went here to do some nature photography. Beautiful space… great camping, fishing, bird and wildlife watching….historical. The camping loop is tight with trees so big rigs beware! We had a 30 foot back in spot and it was ok but much bigger may have difficulty.

The roads are atrocious. They need to be graded. When mentioned to park staff as we were checking in for our campsite, they claimed they cannot grade the roads when they are wet, yet my 30+ years experience of working with roadways have taught me that is the best time to grade them. The volunteers we dealt with were nice, but the park staff were unfriendly. We have already cancelled our next camping trip there as we will not be going back. On a positive note, the scenery was gorgeous.

I have been to many of Floridas State Parks. In the south they all feel very Florida as they are along the beach or in the Everglades. For a change of pace, and to see my favorite park, hit Kissimmee Prairie. No matter where your coming from, it can take a lil while to get here, but it's worth it. Alligators (in a specific area) No bug camping. Swamp buggie tour Only location of the Florida dry prairie sparrow Actual prairie. Darkest night sky. Fire flies Bobcats, turkey, deer, gopher tortoise And remote enough you feel like you are off the grid. Unless weather gets ya(weather can get you at any park), we will be very happy you came.

Great place for camping and astrophotography! We recently stayed here for 2 nights on the main camping loop. The sites were great! We loved all the space and shade. There aren't a lot of interesting trails here as most are situated in the priairie, but you can't beat these views at night. Beware that it can become foggy and humid late at night, so set your cameras up not too long after sunset.

Perfect State Park! We stayed one night here in our RV during December 2018 ... in Site 011... we had a huge camp area with H2O, 30 Amp power, picnic table and fire pit ... the park facilities are kept super clean and there are lots of hiking trails, some in the open prairie and some with life oak canopy ... This is a beautiful area that's wide open, so much different from our other State Parks in Florida ... it's set back about 5 miles down a dirt road ... as you enter the camp area there's bagged fire wood for pick-up ($7 a bag, bag will last you about an hour if you like good size camp fires) ... We'll be back and spend more time ... they offer a swamp truck ride through the prairie which we missed (had our pup with us) ... we definitely want to do that! So many miles of trails ... we need more than one night to really take in the park. When the clouds finally broke in the evening, the stars were amazing. Florida Parks are perfect ... and Kissimmee Prairie Preserve is a beauty! You can view or YouTube video of the park here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXI6tyHZx5k

The Family Camping area is really well taken care of. My Family and I had a great time. The wild life is great, the facilities are well managed and taken care of, and the staff were friendly and respectful. The coyotes can be a bit unsettling but luckily for us no interactions lol. But the morning was amazing, and the only bad part was the invasive wild hog are really doing a number on a lot of areas. The sky at night was amazing. Bring red lights if you can. I wish I would have brought my telescope. Overall great place.

Beautiful and quiet place. A lot of wildlife. Clean bathrooms. Very isolated, took almost an hour to get to town or gas station. Equestrian area had a lot of water in the road. Our site was very wet. Walking on parts was wet. Wear boots

This park and nature preserve is amazing! A true slice of Old Florida. Containing 54,000 acres, this place protects the largest remaining stretch of Florida dry prairie. There are about 15 trails you can hike, bike ride, or horseback ride and explore -- over 100 miles. Here is a map showing all the trails: http://floridahikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/kpp-trailmap.pdf. They are also listed here: http://floridahikes.com/kissimmeeprairie. There are shady hammocks, wetlands, and different landscapes and grassland views along the way. The remoteness of the place makes it a prime stargazing location, since it's so far removed from any trace of lighting and light pollution. While here, you may run across alligators on the trails (something you're warned about), snakes, sparrows, and the Caracara. Just entering the park, my friend and I had the fortune of spying a Caracara. I had never seen one before and I was excited to not only see one for the first time ever, but so quickly into our journey. We had only just begun. I could only imagine how much more wildlife I'd end up encountering. We also saw a Regina alleni Snake (striped crayfish snake) coiled up on the path. On my way to the park, I even got a chance to rescue a stranded turtle that was crossing the road. I carried it back safely to the other side of the road, where there was a small ditch, and as soon as I set it down, it happily dove into the ditch and swam off. The camping here is first class: the bathrooms were incredibly clean and contained two curtained showers, there was a large washing sink, and there were two washing machines in case you needed to do laundry. Electricity and water are provided at all sites. They even had some bookcases with reading material. I don't see how it can get more comfortable and "modern" than that. Even if you're averse to camping and the outdoors, chances are you could tolerate this without a problem. People were building bonfires to cook and just enjoying the breezy, cooler weather in that part of town during October. I have never been camping, but would not mind coming here as an introduction to camping. Of course, if this is too prissy for you, you do have the option of choosing a primitive campsite, which is also cheaper. Although my main reason for coming was to hike, unfortunately, that was not meant to be, as the hammock trail, which was supposed to be the driest path of them all, was soaked. As my shoes and feet sank into the wet grassy puddles, my friend decided we should turn back as it only seemed to get wetter up ahead. Plus, he was angry that he now had wet sneakers and wet socks. The reason I mention this is because October, being the dry season, was pretty moist. If you plan to hike, you would do well in bringing some rubber waterproof boots, or at least have them with you in case you need them. Otherwise, you will be unable to complete your hike. There are also tons of mosquitoes (even in October!), so bring your mosquito repellent. The entrance fee is $4.00 and functions on an honor system where you drop an envelope with the funds in a box and rip off the tag to hang from your rear view mirror. It's $2.00 for pedestrians and bicyclists. Considering the size of this place and the abundance of trails, it's a true bargain. Though we regret being unable to hike, we still got to enjoy the beautiful views along the way. I am in the process of buying some heavy duty rubber boots and plan to come back and hike the trails. Now that the weather is (finally) cooling off, this is as good a time as any.

Animals in this park are out to get you. From alligators, deadly snakes, huge hairy spiders, ferocious hawks, man sized mosquitoes and angry grasshopper sparrows to name a few. You're better off staying in Miami. Don't go to this park ;)

Great Night Sky Park. One of few, if not only dark sky park in Florida. Lots of wild life, great for horses, riding. If you need something, bring it with you. This place is remote.

We always give this place 5 stars, however, thru no fault of the park, this first week of May is a living nightmare with love bugs. MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of love bugs kept us hostage in our little camper. They swarm, they get in our food, we SLEEP with them. UGH. Stay away during love bug season!

Real Florida hidden gem is the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. Since it is large preserve; plenty of animals roaming around our campsite; deers, turkeys, crested caracara, as well as many alligators lurking in the swamps. We stayed few days at shaded partial hookup site#3 and wish that we could stay longer... says 14 days? Price is reasonable at $17/day. Clean and functional bathroom regularly maintain by friendly camp hosts. Coin-op washer and dryer is near the bathroom. Dump station is at the exit but we have to make weird clockwise turn to reach it! On the way in, our GPS given us bunch of dirt and grassy roads to get to campground, but really... we could've go north on asphalted NW 192nd ave all the way to park entrance, then short dirt road to campsite check-in office. Roads around the campsites are all hard packed sand and clay, will form puddles after the rain. Our site was not even, so few minutes leveling our trailers and all is good. Since the preserve is in the middle out-of-nowhere, occasional wind is brutal, it will pickup your anchored tent and tosses it to next site. Foods, supplies, and even small cafe about 30mins just follow hand painted sign. Folks here have hard life, so it reflects in their no none sense demeanor together with quick and curtly responses that we found endearing. Will we come back to this campsite? Definitely.

What a beautiful place this is. A wide variety of wildlife was seen in the largest continuous open prairie in Florida. While there we saw lots of water birds, alligators, feral hogs, turtles and many types of local flora and fauna. We also took the slightly pricey buggy tour but the preserve is so large that it would be very difficult to see it all on foot even in a few days. They also have excellent camping facilities and very dark skies for superb star gazing through a telescope or with the naked eye. Definitely going back to this one.