Planned Activities

Cross Creek RV Resort

17 RV Sites

On the Peace River in Arcadia at the heart of DeSoto County's ranch and citrus country, Cross Creek RV Resort has earned one of the rarest distinctions in North American campground quality—a Good Sam 10/10/10 rating, one of only six resorts in all of Florida to achieve the scoring system's perfect marks for facilities, restrooms, and visual appeal. The resort's 50-amp full-hookup sites measuring at least 38 by 75 feet, two swimming pools, spa, boat launch, fishing docks, miniature golf, and the Peace River frontage that places guests on one of Florida's most famous fossil hunting rivers create a resort experience that the Peace River valley's unique prehistoric heritage makes genuinely irreplaceable in the broader Florida campground landscape. All full-hookup sites feature 50-amp electric, water, sewer, cable TV, and Wi-Fi on pads at least 38 by 75 feet—large enough to accommodate the widest and longest rigs on the road today with room for double slide-outs and full outdoor setup. Riverfront and waterfront site configurations give the most desirable locations direct Peace River access, and the boat launch and fishing docks provide the on-water infrastructure for guests who want to explore the river by canoe, kayak, or powerboat. Two pools, a spa, miniature golf, shuffleboard, bocce ball, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, a dog park, camp store, pavilion, recreation hall, and planned activities complete one of the most comprehensive resort amenity packages in southwest Florida. The Peace River, flowing past the resort's waterfront sites southward through DeSoto, Hardee, and Charlotte Counties to the tidal estuary at Charlotte Harbor, is one of Florida's most paleontologically significant river systems—a shallow, dark-water river whose acidic sediments have preserved Ice Age megafauna fossils in extraordinary condition for millions of years. Fossil hunters wade the Peace River's gravel bars and shallow bottom in search of mastodon teeth, giant ground sloth bones, megalodon shark teeth, and the remains of Pleistocene horses and camels that accumulated in the river's prehistoric shoreline environments when south Florida was dry savanna during the ice ages. Guided fossil hunting excursions from Arcadia give campground guests professional interpretation that transforms fossil hunting from a lucky find into an educational introduction to Florida's extraordinary prehistoric fauna. Arcadia, the DeSoto County seat, maintains the western flavor of Central Florida's ranch country in its historic downtown and the All-Florida Championship Rodeo—one of Florida's oldest and most authentic rodeos, held each spring and fall in a county that still runs cattle on the flatwoods and palmetto prairies covering DeSoto County's undeveloped interior. Myakka River State Park, about 30 miles northwest, provides one of Florida's premier wildlife watching destinations with resident alligators, Florida sandhill cranes, and the roseate spoonbill and wood stork nesting colonies that make the Myakka River marshes one of the state's most biologically productive wetland habitats. Sarasota, with world-class arts institutions and the Gulf beaches of Siesta Key and Lido Key, lies 50 miles northwest. The Peace River valley's subtropical climate supports year-round camping at Cross Creek, with the winter season from November through April drawing the largest concentration of snowbird guests who fill the resort's riverfront and waterfront sites for weeks and months at a time in south-central Florida's mild winter conditions. Fossil hunting is most productive after summer rains have washed new material from the river banks, making the late summer and early fall months—when the Peace River's thunderstorm season has freshly eroded the gravel bars—the most rewarding time for a fossil hunting visit. Reserve riverfront sites well ahead for the peak winter season when the resort's 10/10/10 reputation and Peace River location create demand that the limited number of prime waterfront sites cannot satisfy through the most popular weeks.

from $62/night

Shell Creek Sun RV Communities

154 RV Sites, 1 Cottage

Shell Creek in Punta Gorda, Florida, is a 55-plus community offering 154 full-hookup RV sites and a cottage with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 50 feet, open all year. A 24-slip marina, outdoor pool, hot tub, and fitness center sit on the banks of Shell Creek in Charlotte County. One hundred fifty-four standard full-hookup back-in sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 50 feet, with picnic tables. The sites are spacious, and the 30- and 50-amp service covers most rigs comfortably. A cottage rounds out the lodging. A laundry, propane fills and exchange, dump station, restrooms, showers, and recycling handle the practical side. The marina is the distinguishing amenity — 24 slips giving direct waterway access to the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor beyond. An outdoor pool and hot tub and sauna anchor daily recreation, with a fitness center, recreation center, game room, and on-site dining besides. Pickleball, shuffleboard, billiards, horseshoes, a beach, and a dog park fill the grounds, with boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and water sports from the creek. Pets are welcome. Shell Creek's freshwater-to-brackish transition supports genuinely varied fishing, and Charlotte Harbor is among the most productive estuaries on the Gulf Coast. Winter is decisively the season for Florida's 55-plus communities. Book well ahead for January through March, when snowbird demand fills the Charlotte County corridor.

from $55/night

Sun Resorts & Residences Buttonwood Bay

48 RV Sites, 13 Cottages

On the shores of Lake Josephine and Jackson Creek in Sebring, Florida—in the heart of Highlands County's bass fishing country where 25 fishable lakes within 10 miles, the Sebring International Raceway's 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, and Highlands Hammock State Park's ancient live oak hammock create the central Florida Highlands experience that the active adult 55-plus community and the bass fishing visitor have organized their Sebring identity around—Sun Resorts & Residences Buttonwood Bay provides over 485 full hookup sites with concrete patios and private picnic tables, two heated outdoor pools and a hot tub, a 210-foot fishing pier, a private boat ramp and boat storage, a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse complex, a fitness center, lighted tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, and bocce ball courts, billiards, a library and arts-and-crafts center, mini-golf, walking trails, a dog park, laundry, game room, and a full calendar of organized activities in a 55-plus age-restricted resort whose Lake Josephine location and 25-lake bass-fishing corridor deliver the active retirement Florida that the Highlands County lakeside setting provides. Two heated pools. A 210-foot fishing pier. Twenty-five lakes within ten miles. The 485-plus full hookup sites with concrete patios and private picnic tables create the extended-stay infrastructure for the 55-plus resident whose Sebring commitment ranges from the winter snowbird season to the permanent Florida address that the Buttonwood Bay community supports with its year-round activity and governance calendar. The 210-foot fishing pier on Lake Josephine provides the dock access that the bass fishing culture requires for the daily morning cast without a boat, and the private boat ramp—alongside the fenced boat storage—serves the resident whose vessel stays on property for the daily Lake Josephine launch. Two heated outdoor pools, the hot tub, and the aquatic exercise programming create the water fitness and recreation infrastructure for the active adult calendar, and the 16,000-square-foot clubhouse's lighted tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, billiards, library, and arts-and-crafts center fill the social and recreational programming that a community of this scale sustains through organized committees and planned activities. Sebring sits in Highlands County at 120 feet on the Lake Wales Ridge, in the central Florida upland community where the citrus and cattle agriculture of the Highlands plateau, the bass fishing lakes of the ridge's chain-of-lakes corridor, and the Sebring International Raceway's March 12 Hours of Sebring—the oldest sports car endurance race in the United States and the American round of the FIA World Endurance Championship—create the event and natural heritage that distinguishes the Highlands County inland experience from the coastal resort economy of the Gulf and Atlantic shores. Highlands Hammock State Park, 5 miles west of Sebring on SR-27, preserves one of the oldest and most pristine natural communities in Florida—the ancient live oak hammock's massive multi-century-old trees, the Civilian Conservation Corps' 1930s-era picnic shelters and ranger station, the tram tour through the cypress swamp, and the alligator observation that the park's managed wildlife habitat provides create the Highlands County natural experience most distinct from the bass fishing identity. Lake Istokpoga, 12 miles south, provides the 27,692-acre lake—one of Florida's largest—whose largemouth bass fishery sustains the tournament fishing circuit that Highlands County's bass fishing reputation is built around. Buttonwood Bay operates year-round in Highlands County's subtropical climate, with the peak season from November through April delivering the snowbird community's maximum social and activity calendar and the summer months maintaining the permanent resident population. Reserve your site at Buttonwood Bay and let the 210-foot fishing pier, the two heated pools, and the 25-lake bass-fishing corridor make the Highlands County 55-plus lakeside lifestyle the Sebring retirement address that Lake Josephine's shores provide.

from $44/night

Myakka River RV Resort

24 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites, 21 Park Models

Directly on the Myakka River in North Port, Florida—in Sarasota County where the Myakka River's blackwater flow through the flatwood prairie, cypress swamp, and tropical hammock creates the most wildlife-rich river corridor in southwest Florida—Myakka River RV Resort offers big-rig-friendly full hookup sites with 30 and 50-amp service, patio slabs and picnic tables at every site, high-speed WiFi throughout, cable TV, and both riverfront and nature-preserve sites in a resort that provides direct access to one of Florida's most extraordinary natural waterways in the community between Sarasota and Port Charlotte that has become one of southwest Florida's fastest-growing residential and visitor destinations. For guests who want the Myakka River in the backyard rather than as a day-trip destination, this is the park that provides it. All sites run on full hookup service—30 and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer—on the concrete patio slabs that Florida's year-round outdoor living culture demands as a baseline, with picnic tables at every site providing the outdoor dining and relaxation space that the Myakka's wildlife parade makes genuinely rewarding to occupy. High-speed WiFi serves the remote workers and extended-stay guests who use the North Port corridor as a winter base, and cable TV provides the indoor entertainment option that Florida's occasional rainy afternoon necessitates. Riverfront sites provide direct visual access to the Myakka River's wildlife—the alligators, river otters, anhinga, and wading birds that use the river's undisturbed banks as year-round habitat—while nature-preserve sites offer the wooded privacy of the adjacent upland habitat. Big-rig-friendly infrastructure ensures that the resort's largest guests arrive and depart without difficulty. North Port occupies Sarasota County in the Charlotte Harbor estuary watershed, in the geographic transition between the coastal resort communities of Sarasota County and the Charlotte Harbor area's fishing and boating culture. The Myakka River flows south through North Port from its origin in the Green Swamp toward Charlotte Harbor in one of Florida's most ecologically significant river corridors—the blackwater chemistry produced by tannins from the surrounding vegetation creates the dark, tea-colored water that supports a distinctive aquatic community and the river's exceptional clarity despite its dark color. Myakka River State Park, approximately 20 miles northeast of North Port near Sarasota, protects 57,000 acres of the Myakka River's upper watershed in one of Florida's largest and most ecologically diverse state parks. The park's two lakes, the guided airboat tours, the tram tours through the dry prairie and hammock habitats, and the boardwalk through the floodplain forest create a wildlife viewing experience that consistently delivers alligator, sandhill crane, roseate spoonbill, and the concentrated waterbird populations that the Myakka's backwater floodplain supports. Sarasota's cultural infrastructure—the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Sarasota Jungle Gardens, the Bayfront Park and Marina Jack waterfront—and Venice Beach's shark tooth fossil collecting on the Gulf shore extend the day-trip options. Myakka River RV Resort operates year-round in Sarasota County's subtropical climate, where the prime season from November through April delivers the mild, dry weather that makes southwest Florida camping genuinely comfortable and the winter snowbird community fills the campground with the extended-stay guests who make the Myakka River their winter home. The summer wet season from June through September brings the river's alligator and bird activity to its peak as the floodplain fills with water and concentrates wildlife in the management that Florida's seasonal hydrology produces. Reserve your riverfront or preserve site at Myakka River RV Resort and let the Myakka's wildlife corridor, the big-rig-friendly infrastructure, and the North Port position between Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor deliver the southwest Florida RV experience with a river view.

from $50/night

Rainbow Sun RV Communities

297 RV Sites, 1 Cottage

Rainbow in Frostproof, Florida, is a 55-plus community offering 297 full-hookup RV sites and a cottage on Crooked Lake, with 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 50 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, open all year behind a gated entrance. Elite, premium pull-through, and standard categories join a heated pool, two hot tubs, spa, fitness center, and craft room. Two hundred ninety-seven sites run in standard full hookup, elite full hookup, and premium full hookup pull-through categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 50 feet. One thing to check before booking: service is 50-amp throughout, so bring an adapter if your rig runs 30. A cottage rounds out the lodging. A laundry, restrooms, showers, RV storage, personal mailboxes, and a gated entrance handle the practical side. A heated outdoor pool, two hot tubs, and a spa anchor daily recreation, with a fitness center, clubhouse, game room, library, craft room, and pavilion besides. Pickleball, bocce ball, shuffleboard, billiards, horseshoes, corn hole, walking trails, biking, a pond, dog park, and picnicking fill the grounds, with fishing, live music, and a well-organized social calendar through the season. Pets are welcome. Polk County's citrus and lake country is a legitimate alternative to the more crowded coastal snowbird destinations — quieter, less expensive, and genuinely scenic, with Crooked Lake at the door. Winter is decisively the season in Florida's 55-plus communities. January through March fills with snowbirds. Book well ahead for those months, with far easier availability through the summer.

from $52/night

Sun Outdoors Sarasota

215 RV Sites, 94 Cottages

Sun Outdoors Sarasota offers 215 full-hookup RV sites and 94 cottages on Florida's Gulf Coast, with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 60 feet behind a gated entrance. Cozy through elite categories join a mega water slide, splash pad, hot tub, fitness complex, and more than 150 scheduled activities, open all year. Two hundred fifteen sites span cozy, deluxe, deluxe pull-through, elite, and premium full hookup categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 60 feet, with picnic tables. The five-tier structure makes matching site to budget straightforward. Ninety-four cottages round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, dump station, and restrooms handle the practical side. The property was formerly Sun N Fun RV Resort. The activity density is the claim and the amenity set backs it. Indoor and outdoor pools, a mega water slide, splash pad, hot tub, and sauna anchor the water side, with a fitness complex, art studio, craft room, mini-golf, disc golf course, and arcade besides. Pickleball, tennis, bocce ball, shuffleboard, volleyball, horseshoes, and billiards fill the courts, with a poolside bar and grill, on-site dining, live music, and a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. Sarasota's resort corridor, Gulf beaches, and wineries are all close, with a golf course nearby. Winter is decisively the season on the Gulf Coast. Book well ahead for January through March.

from $47/night

Cabana Bay RV Resort by Boca Grande

163 RV Sites

In Placida, Florida—on the Charlotte Harbor coast between Cape Haze and the Boca Grande Causeway, in the lower Charlotte County landscape where Pine Island Sound, Cape Haze, and the preserve lands surrounding Gasparilla Island create one of the most ecologically intact and least overdeveloped coastal environments on the Gulf Coast—Cabana Bay RV Resort by Boca Grande delivers 170 full hookup sites on paver pads alongside a resort-style pool, pickleball courts, fitness center, and private gated access to the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail. The lakefront setting on five acres of resort-maintained grounds, the fountain-lined lake, and the resort's Boca Grande proximity create a coastal Florida camping experience that the Charlotte Harbor's natural wealth and the historic fishing community of Boca Grande specifically amplify. All 170 sites provide full hookup service with 20, 30, and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer connections on paver pads—a site surface that keeps the Florida sand under control and provides the firm, clean pad surface that resort-quality campground positioning demands. A resort-style pool and fitness center serve the active adult and family recreation needs, and pickleball courts position the resort for the sport's dominance in the Florida winter snowbird demographic. A welcoming clubhouse, dog park, laundry facilities, WiFi, golf cart rentals, and food trucks round out the resort's social and practical infrastructure. Private gated access to the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail—a multi-use recreational trail through the Cape Haze peninsula's conservation lands—gives guests immediate off-road cycling and walking access that the surrounding preserve system makes one of the finest trail environments on the Gulf Coast. The five acres of lakefront grounds, the fountain-lined lake, and the resort's maintained natural areas provide the environmental quality that justifies the resort designation beyond the pool and pickleball courts. The Charlotte Harbor estuary's ecology—seagrass beds, mangrove shorelines, and the open-water habitat that supports the most diverse inshore fishery on the Gulf of Mexico—is immediately accessible from Placida's boat ramps and the fishing infrastructure that surrounds the resort's Charlotte Harbor position. Boca Grande—on Gasparilla Island across the causeway, the historic tarpon fishing capital of the world and the most architecturally preserved Old Florida resort town remaining on the Gulf Coast—is minutes from the resort by car or golf cart and provides the cultural experience that distinguishes a Charlotte Harbor visit from a standard Gulf beach trip. The tarpon season (May through August) brings sport fishing enthusiasts specifically for the 100-plus-pound silver kings that pass through Boca Grande Pass in concentrations that have defined the Florida sport fishing tradition since the Vanderbilt era. The island's restored historic downtown, Gasparilla Inn's century-old hospitality tradition, and the bike-accessible Gasparilla Island State Park beach provide the Boca Grande day-trip itinerary. Cabana Bay RV Resort by Boca Grande is open year-round in Charlotte County's warm-season climate, with peak demand from November through April during the snowbird season and again in May through August during tarpon season. The Cape Haze Pioneer Trail is most pleasant in the cooler months when cycling through the peninsula's preserve lands is comfortable in the morning. Reserve your paver-pad site early for the winter season and let the Charlotte Harbor Coast make the case for the Gulf Coast that exists south of the resort corridor and north of the Naples luxury market.

from $90/night

Timberline Glamping at Sarasota

4 Glamping Sites

Within Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, Florida—on the Sarasota County coast where the scrub-oak landscape, the South Creek paddling corridor, and Lake Osprey's warm-water swimming create the specific habitat mosaic that scrub-jays, gopher tortoises, and the bird diversity of a Florida state park's managed natural environment support in one of the most ecologically significant preserves on the Suncoast—Timberline Glamping at Sarasota provides four luxury safari tent accommodations on 10 acres at the edge of Oscar Scherer's trail network, combining the immersive park experience of a state park stay with the interior comfort of a 320-square-foot furnished tent that includes a king or queen bed configuration, air conditioning, a Keurig coffee maker, and a mini-refrigerator. Rates starting at $152 per night reflect the specific combination of park access and furnished comfort that the property provides in a market where Sarasota hotel rooms at comparable rates offer less natural experience and considerably less square footage of outdoor living. Four safari tents—available in Deluxe configuration (king bed and two sets of bunk beds) and Double configuration (two queen beds)—accommodate single couples, families, and the range of group compositions that a 320-square-foot luxury tent can serve across the Sarasota glamping market. Interior furnishings include floor rugs, multiple lamps, high-quality bed linens, comfortable seating, heating and air conditioning units, electrical outlets for device charging, and the Keurig coffee setup with Timberline-branded mugs that makes morning coffee in a tent genuinely pleasant rather than an expedition logistics problem. Each tent's gravel-base exterior features two hammocks for tree-hung lounging, a charcoal grill with cooking grate, a wood fire pit, a picnic table, and string lights that create the warm evening ambiance that fire pit camping and glamping guests specifically seek. The pet-friendly policy—with an additional fee for furry companions—extends the welcome to the dogs and cats that Sarasota area travelers bring. Oscar Scherer State Park's ecology provides the glamping experience's natural programming. Lake Osprey—warm enough for swimming through the Florida season—provides open-water swimming and fishing access from the park's beach area, with largemouth bass and panfish in the lake's vegetation-lined shallows. South Creek, winding through the park's interior, offers kayak and canoe access (rentals available through the park) through a paddling corridor that the park's scrub-oak forest and freshwater marsh flank with the specific ecological transition that makes Oscar Scherer's natural character distinctive among Sarasota County's preserved areas. Fifteen-plus miles of multi-use trails through the park's pine flatwoods, scrub habitat, and marsh edges provide the hiking and biking access to Oscar Scherer's wildlife—Florida scrub-jays (a threatened species whose oak scrub habitat Oscar Scherer specifically protects), gopher tortoises, sandhill cranes, and the year-round diversity of the Sarasota County bird community. The park's scrub-jay population is accessible for wildlife photography along the scrub-edge trails with a consistency that serious bird photographers travel specifically for. Timberline Glamping at Sarasota operates year-round in Florida's mild Suncoast climate. The park's spring wildflower season, summer lake swimming, and fall bird migration create distinct natural seasons within a year-round operating environment. The Sarasota cultural infrastructure—the Ringling Museum, Sarasota Opera, Siesta Key Beach (routinely ranked among the finest beaches in the United States)—provides the day-trip programming from a glamping base that the park's natural setting complements rather than competes with. Reserve your safari tent, pack a paddling outfit for South Creek, and let Oscar Scherer State Park's scrub and creek ecology deliver what Florida glamping looks like when the nature experience is the point.

from $185 $161/night

Fisheating Creek Outpost

44 RV Sites, 1 Cabin, 69 Tent Sites

In Palmdale, Florida—in Glades County on Fisheating Creek where the tributary that flows northwest into Lake Okeechobee through one of the last free-flowing undammed creek systems in South Florida sustains the bass, catfish, and panfish fishery, the sandhill crane and limpkin populations, and the cypress swamp and prairie ecosystem that the surrounding conservation lands protect in an area that Florida outdoor enthusiasts access specifically for the natural character that the coasts and the theme park corridor cannot provide—Fisheating Creek Outpost offers 48 full hookup RV sites on concrete pads with water, sewer, and electric, 68 tent sites many positioned directly on the creek or near the swim lake, a furnished cabin with private bedroom, kitchen, air conditioning, and bath, two bathhouses with hot showers, laundry, a well-stocked camp store, and a fleet of 80 canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards available for hourly rental, creating the most complete paddle outpost on one of South Florida's most ecologically significant waterways. The creek is the destination. The canoe fleet has 80. The 48 full hookup RV sites on concrete pads with water, sewer, and electric provide the infrastructure alongside the 68 tent sites—many positioned directly on Fisheating Creek or near the swim lake for the water's-edge experience that the non-hookup camper seeks in the creek bottom's cypress-and-oak setting. The furnished cabin's private bedroom, kitchen with stove and refrigerator, air conditioning, and bath provides the enclosed accommodation for the guest whose comfort requirements exceed the tent but whose gear doesn't include a motorized rig. Two bathhouses with hot showers, laundry, and the well-stocked camp store create the daily support infrastructure. The 80-canoe, kayak, and paddleboard fleet—available by the hour—eliminates the need to bring paddling equipment to one of Florida's most rewarding paddling waterways and creates the access point that the Fisheating Creek Water Management Area's multi-day paddle camping trips begin from. Fisheating Creek flows 70 miles from the prairies of Highlands County northwest to Lake Okeechobee's northwestern shore in Glades County, draining the last significant free-flowing undammed creek system entering Lake Okeechobee. The Fisheating Creek Water Management Area's 22,000-plus acres of upland pine, wet prairie, cypress swamp, and creek floodplain protect the wildlife corridor that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Florida Water Management District have preserved as the Okeechobee watershed's most ecologically intact tributary. Lake Okeechobee, 20 miles east, provides the 730-square-mile lake's largemouth bass fishing—the trophy-class bass fishery that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's management program sustains in the shallow, vegetation-rich lake creates the supplementary angling destination for the Fisheating Creek visitor whose creek fishing appetite extends beyond the outpost's immediate waterway. Highlands Hammock State Park, 40 miles north near Sebring, provides the ancient live oak hammock—one of the oldest and most pristine natural communities in Florida—and the Civilian Conservation Corps' 1930s-era infrastructure in one of Florida's original state parks. Sebring International Raceway's 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race and the Highlands Hammock's visitor center create the cultural and natural attractions accessible from the Glades County position. Fisheating Creek Outpost operates year-round in Glades County's subtropical climate, with the winter and spring months from November through May the most comfortable paddling and camping season and the summer wet season from June through September bringing the afternoon thunderstorms and the wading bird activity that the creek's flooded margins sustain at their most abundant. Reserve your RV pad, tent site, or cabin at Fisheating Creek Outpost and let the 80-paddle fleet, the free-flowing creek's bass and panfish fishery, and the Glades County natural landscape deliver the South Florida outdoors experience that the coasts cannot provide.

Sun Resorts & Residences Horseshoe Cove

138 RV Sites, 7 Cottages, 1 Apartment

Horseshoe Cove in Bradenton, Florida, offers 138 full-hookup RV sites and eight apartment and cottage units in a waterfront community on the Gulf Coast, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 44 feet behind a gated entrance. Super, standard, value, and standard pull-through categories join a pool, hot tub, fitness center, boat docks, and library. One hundred thirty-eight sites run in value full hookup, standard full hookup, standard full hookup pull-through, and super full hookup categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 44 feet, with picnic tables. The value tier keeps a lower-priced option on the table in a market where waterfront pricing runs high; note the 44-foot cap before booking a larger rig. Eight apartments and cottages round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, showers, and recycling handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and hot tub and sauna anchor daily recreation, with a fitness center, recreation center, clubhouse, game room, library, pavilion, and on-site dining besides. Boat docks open the water for boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, with pickleball, sports courts, billiards, shuffleboard, horseshoes, walking trails, and picnicking filling the grounds. There is a large open pet area for long walks, and a state park is nearby. The waterfront setting gives the resort a natural quality uncommon among Florida's densely developed Gulf Coast communities. Winter is decisively the season. Book well ahead for January through March.

from $58/night

Ellenton Gardens Sun RV Communities

15 RV Sites

At 7310 US Highway 301 North in Ellenton, Florida—in Manatee County along the Manatee River between Bradenton and the Tampa Bay metropolitan area's southern edge where the Manatee River's tidal estuaries, the Myakka River State Park's wild interior, and the Sarasota cultural district's museum and theater concentration create the Gulf Coast environment that the 55-plus residential RV community in Manatee County specifically selects for its balance of subtropical climate, cultural access, and the natural Florida character that the mid-Manatee County corridor preserves—Ellenton Gardens Sun RV Communities provides 196 full hookup sites on 12 Manatee River-adjacent acres with concrete pads, individual storage sheds, a heated pool, shuffleboard, and an active social calendar in the Good Sam-recognized 55-plus resort community format that Sun Outdoors maintains across its Florida portfolio. The riverfront setting, the 55-plus community orientation, and the social programming distinguish Ellenton Gardens from the generic snowbird Florida campground. One hundred ninety-six spacious full hookup RV sites on concrete pads with 30 and 50-amp electric, water, and sewer connections accommodate RVs up to 45 feet with room for slide-outs. Each site includes a concrete patio area, an individual storage shed for seasonal personal items—the practical storage that multi-month snowbird residents need for the equipment that doesn't travel in the RV—cable television, and WiFi access. Ellenton Gardens qualifies as a 55-plus community under Florida's Housing for Older Persons Act, with at least 80 percent of occupied homes occupied by a resident 55 or older. The resort also offers homes for rent and purchase for guests transitioning from seasonal to permanent residency. A heated pool operates through the full Florida outdoor season. Shuffleboard courts and horseshoe pits provide the organized recreational competition that the 55-plus community's social calendar centers on. A spacious clubhouse hosts the bingo, community dinners, game nights, and charity events that the social programming calendar generates. A catch-and-release fishing pond provides immediate on-property angling access. The Manatee River flowing past Ellenton Gardens marks the northern boundary of Manatee County's development and the transition between the Tampa Bay area's urban edge and the more rural Bradenton and Sarasota communities to the south. The river's tidal estuary system supports the manatee population that the county was named for—the West Indian manatees that migrate through Florida's warm-water refuges in winter and frequent the Manatee River's warm spring-influenced tributary shallows in the cooler months. Sarasota, 15 miles south, provides the cultural programming that makes Manatee County's 55-plus resort community particularly desirable: the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art—Florida's official state art museum, housed on the Ringling Estate with the Cà d'Zan mansion, the Circus Museum, and the sculpture garden—provides the most comprehensive single-visit cultural experience on the central Gulf Coast. The Sarasota arts scene's theater companies, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall's touring productions, and the dining concentration on Main Street and the St. Armands Circle shopping and dining district extend the Sarasota cultural calendar across the winter residency season. Ellenton Gardens is open year-round. The snowbird season from November through April represents the peak population period when northern seasonal residents fill the sites and the social calendar operates at maximum programming density. Reserve early for the winter season arrival, join the shuffleboard league, and let the Manatee River and Sarasota's cultural district earn the Florida 55-plus resort reputation that the Ellenton Gardens community sustains across the season.

from $62/night

Arbor Terrace Sun RV Communities

91 RV Sites, 3 Cottages

Arbor Terrace in Bradenton, Florida, offers 91 full-hookup RV sites and three cottages six miles from the Gulf, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet, open all year. Super, premium, and cozy full-hookup categories join a pool, fitness center, clubhouse, and pickleball courts in this all-ages community. Ninety-one sites run in cozy, premium, and super full-hookup categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with picnic tables. The three tiers are sized rather than dressed up — cozy for a smaller rig, super for a larger one — which makes matching site to budget straightforward. Three cottages round out the lodging. A laundry, restrooms, showers, and on-site dining handle the practical side. The resort address is 405 57th Avenue West. An outdoor pool anchors daily recreation, with a fitness center, clubhouse, game room, and pavilion besides. Pickleball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, biking, picnicking, a beach, and a dog park fill the grounds, with planned activities through the season and a state park nearby. Pets are welcome. The all-ages designation is worth noting — many Manatee County communities are 55-plus, and this one is not, which broadens who it suits. The Gulf beaches at Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are six miles west, with Sarasota just south. Winter is decisively the season on Florida's Gulf Coast. January through March fills with snowbirds. Book well ahead for those months, with easier availability through the summer.

from $54/night