King’s Landing, Apopka, FL

We took our first camping trip this spring break and I’m here to tell you all about it and why you should consider visiting this area. Apopka, FL is home to some beautiful natural springs. King’s Landing is referred to as “nature’s theme park” and it’s a great way to immerse yourself in the beauty of natural Florida.

I preface this with saying I am not high maintenance however the idea of camping doesn’t really excite me. But my husband and sons have been wanting to go camping so I agreed to go and promised I’d make the absolute best of the unknown.. and I did! 🙂

King’s Landing Camping

King’s Landing offers several options for overnight stay. Our family opted to stay at the eagle boy scout retreat campground. We arrived at the campsite and I was super nervous. The location of the campground was an open field near parking, surrounded by woods on one side and accessible by the public. There are port-a-potty’s on the premises, an outhouse & outdoor, exposed showers in a short walking distance.

There were some mystery holes which I was told they were snake holes & a lot of very large ant piles and I’m super allergic to ants so that added to my heightened awareness.🤨 My oldest son and I have sweet blood that mosquitos are attracted to and although we sprayed bug spray repeatedly, we were torn up with bites. There is also an abundance of no-see-ums.

In terms of less intimidating animals, we saw and heard many birds, we saw some falcons and even an owl, a salamander and turtles! Once the sun went completely down, the atmosphere changed as the nocturnal animals came to life like a sweet symphony. A racoon ransacked our campsite LOL and it was freezing that night, super hot during the day (summer weather) then 50’s at night. I learned that when you sleep on an air mattress, the air inside the mattress drops along with the weather, so yeah, I was pretty darn cold.

Activities in Apopka, FL

We started off our day renting canoes and doing the day paddle. It was an incredibly fun way to spend a few hours as a family. There are a few different paths you can take & you can find all of the options are on their website. The two other times I went canoeing, I did not have to man the vessel, my husband did that, I was along for the ride. My job was to manage our baby; you can read about our Crystal River canoe trip here and the Charles River canoe trip here.

But this time, Atlas (age 4) went with dad and I canoed with Robbie (age 13). Do you know that canoeing is a team building exercise to teach communication and how to work well together? Yeah well, Robbie and I had that type of experience and it was possibly my favorite part of the trip. We started off rocky, but we managed to pull it together and when mama needed a break, he stepped up as a man and it was rewarding to witness.

After setting up camp and canoeing for 3 hours, we ventured around for a bit before heading back to camp for dinner. Although a great experience, we probably wouldn’t camp there again because there are so many more options to explore.

Apopka, FL is home to several noteworthy springs. One of which we were also able to explore on this trip called Rock Springs Run at Kelly Park which is absolutely beautiful. It’s grounds are neighbors to King’s Landing, like within walking distance, so we were able to check out this space and it was gorgeous. You are able to rent tubes at a nearby rental company to float down down the springs which has a “lazy river” vibe.

Also in the area is Wekiwa Springs State Park which we didn’t get to explore. By the time we arrived, they were closed at max capacity. Be prepared if you go to the springs during a busy time of the year because once the gates open in the morning, they shut down when max capacity is reached. Some of the springs will reopen in the afternoon for a second round.

My lesson learned, I can do hard things, it all boils down to mind set. Camping is thoroughly enjoyed by many and for some it’s challenging because we are stripped of the every day basic luxuries. So even though at times I was hot, cold, sticky, itchy, tired, etc. it may have been one of our best vacations ever. We bonded in ways the average luxury vacation couldn’t provide.

This wasn’t the end of spring break for us, it was just beginning, stay tuned for more. Thanks for reading, before you go check out more family friendly travel ideas in Florida, here.