We spent three nights camping at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, and if I had to summarize our stay in this place in one word it would be this: peaceful.
In this article, I share our experience and tips to plan and enjoy your visit to this isolated beauty.
This post may contain affiliate links. Visit the Disclaimer page for more information.
Camping at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
A stressful start
Getting to the park is not difficult in terms of directions, but it got a bit stressful for us towards the end. To be honest, the fact that it was raining is partly to blame.
It is normally a relief when we find the entrance to a park because you will usually see a ranger’s office, you can get your maps, and get any information you may need. However, once you enter this park, you will not see another soul for many miles. You will find yourself driving on what seems like infinite dirt roads and wondering if you are at the wrong place, and at what point you will need to turn back.
As I said, this was exacerbated for us due to the rain. You see, after our trip to Colt Creek State Park, we had a tire blowout that had torn the underneath lining of our camper. There was still a hole behind the tire that had not been fixed, and we were very conscious about the fact that, as we were driving on these conditions, we were kicking wet sand into the camper!
As we made one final left turn and only had a mile of dirt road left, it was a relief to see hardwood hammock with campers in the distance. At least we knew at this point that we were in the right place and we were almost at our destination.
Be mindful of your arrival time
Checking in was standard procedure, but do keep in mind that the office closes at 4 pm. This is earlier than most other state parks. You can still arrive after the office closes, but it is nice to talk to get everything squared away when you arrive.
Also, avoid arriving when it is dark, if possible. Because this park is famous for stargazing, using lights in the dark is frowned upon. Driving on unknown dirt roads with nothing by running lights can be daunting, and parking and setting up camp in the dark is difficult. Even if you only use headlamps, you will still end up disturbing other campers that are trying to enjoy the night sky, undisturbed.
The campsites
Feel free to use the code below to share this infographic on your website!
<p><strong>Please include attribution to A Pragmatic Lens with this graphic.</strong><br /><br /><a href='https://apragmaticlens.com/kissimmee-prairie-preserve/'><img src='https://ml0cur3zhy5j.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/ig:avif/f:best/https://apragmaticlens.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Kissimmee-Prairie-Preserve-State-Park-Info.jpg' alt='Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Infographic with summary of camping information and amenities' width='800px' border='0' /></a></p>There are three main camping areas: the Family Campground, the Equestrian Campground, and the Astronomy Campground.
The astronomy campground is the smallest, with only five sites available very close to each other. It is located in the wide-open prairie with no shade available. As the name implies, this area is only for those that attend this park with only one purpose: to get an unobstructed view of the night sky. If that is not your main purpose or if you have small children, I would recommend avoiding these sites.
The equestrian campground can be used by anybody, regardless of whether you have horses. The sites are at the edge of hardwoods that provide ample shade, with a view of horse enclosures and the prairie beyond. Keep in mind that if you camp here then you may end up camping next to a horse trailer. That would be a positive feature for me (I love horses!), but if that is not your cup of tea, then you should stick to the family campground.
The family campground loop is the largest area and the one we stayed at. The campground takes advantage of a hardwood hammock rich with live oaks that provide a great deal of shade. The sites are spacious, although still relatively close to each other with not much vegetation between sites. Depending on the site, you may not get a ton of privacy.
Best and worst sites
We stayed in # 18, located on the far end of the loop. This is the only pull-through site in the campground, and setting up the camper in this site was a breeze! There is not much shade and not much privacy because we were always in clear view from site #20.
That being said, we chose this site because it offered a clear view of the prairie. Because of this view, I would say that this site was the second best site of the campground. The fact that there would be little shade was of little concern because we went in the winter months. If you will be visiting during the summer, stick to sites 1-13 which provide much more shade.
The best site? #20. Not very shady in the morning, but it does provide decent shade in the afternoon and quite a bit of privacy. The best part about it is that it will feel like you have prairie all to yourself! Although it can accommodate camper length up to 40ft, we did notice that people there did not have much space for their vehicles. I would recommend using this site only if you have a relatively small camper.
Worst site? They are all fairly decent, but I would avoid site #19. There is little shade, no prairie views, it is rather small, and not very private.
The bathhouse
The bathhouse in the Family Camping area is near the entrance of the loop. It provides washer, drier, and a nice sink for washing dishes. The equestrian camp loop also provides a bathhouse, although I did not get to check it out. As mentioned earlier, the astronomy loop did not have a bathhouse near it, but the closest one would be the one by the equestrian sites.
Other Considerations
Firewood
I just wanted to include a quick word here on firewood. They do sell bundles, but they are fairly expensive. Each bundle will cost you $7 and it is paid with exact change based on an honor system. If you are planning on doing fires, make sure you plan ahead and bring exact change for the nights that you plan to stay!
The Dumpster
One aspect that we were not very thrilled about was the dumpster being relatively far from the campground. Also, there were no options for recycling. There might be a reason for this being the case, but if you are used to recycling cans, you may need to bring them back home with you.
Things to Do at Kissimmee Prairie Preseve
Multi-use trails
As shown on the map below, there are MANY trails in this park that go through the prairie. The trails are multi-use for the most part, which means you can hike, bike, or even ride your horse. Do keep in mind that some portions of the trails are soft sand, making it a bit difficult to bike unless you are in great shape! That being said, if you have a good bike and good stamina, biking is probably the best way to explore most of this park because the areas are so wide open.
During our short stay, we hiked the Hammock Trail, the Kilpatrick Prairie Trail, and the Prairie Loop Trail. We also biked along the main road and part of the Peavine Trail.
Hammock Trail
This trail can be accessed from the family campground. It is a short, easy loop in the hardwood hammock. There is ample shade in this area, but make sure you load up on bug spray! Because of the proximity to our campground, and the fact that it was a short trail, we were able to visit this trail twice during our visit. It is worth mentioning that dogs are not allowed on this trail.
Kilpatrick Prairie Trail
We accessed this trail from the Hammock Trail loop. This trail goes through what seems like an infinite, open prairie. What is a relatively easy hike during winter months, is probably more difficult during the summer because of the lack of shade.
Prairie Loop Trail
We were pleasantly surprised by this trail! It is most easily accessed through the equestrian campground. We thought it would be an open prairie trail like Kilpatrick, but the first 0.7 miles follow the tree line before it opens up into the prairie. This provides a great combination of shade and prairie views!
We stopped once it opened up into the prairie, but continuing this trail would eventually lead you to the primitive campground, roughly about 2 miles in. This is certainly a place I would love to try backpacking one day.
We saw people on bikes and horseback, as well as tons of hikers. Unlike the hammock trail, dogs are allowed on this loop.
Peavine Trail
We stumbled upon this trail when we were biking the main campground road. It is about 1.2 miles from the family campground. We biked part of this trail in the sunset hours until we reached the South Pasture Trail, roughly 0.5miles
This trail goes through the Seven Mile Slough, where we saw a congregation of about a dozen large alligators basking in the bit of sunlight that was left. We turned back when we reached the intersection with the South Pasture Trail because the path was getting more difficult to ride, and also because we were losing daylight. A tractor provided a convenient prop for a bit of sunset photography.
Kids Activities
There is no playground in this park, which is something my son was not thrilled about. Yet, they loved having the dirt road in front of our site. Between the dirt road, a few sticks, and some shells that they found, these kids played for hours and hours on end. They only took breaks to eat an occasional snack, to wave to people driving by, and to pet every single dog that walked by our site.
Stargazing
This is the main attraction of this park. It is so far out in the middle of nowhere, that there is very little light pollution to be seen. For that reason, the skies lit up in a way that it is almost blinding.
As I mentioned, it was raining the day we arrived. For that reason, that night it was mostly cloudy and offered little in the way of stargazing. Still, after I gave the kids a quick bath and was getting them ready for bed, Dan came to the camper telling me that a patch opened up and I needed to come out and see it.
When I opened the door of the camper to come outside, I felt that a night light was shining straight to my face and blinded me for a split of a second. It was Sirius.
I could not believe my eyes of the spectacle they were witnessing. Indeed, I had never seen the stars with such brightness before. In addition to the brighter stars, the sky was LITTERED with millions of tiny pinpricks – other stars that I never knew existed.
The second night was overcast as well, and not very many patches opened up. The last night, however, we were fortunate to experience clear skies during the day, and night. We let the campfire burn out early to reduce the light and enjoy the stars a bit more.
On this last night – and for the first time ever – I saw the milky way.
Tips for Photographing the Night Sky
I do not know much at all about astrophotography, but this is what I learned from this trip:
- Bring your tripod. As I mentioned in this article, I normally do not bother bringing tripods on hikes and trips. But for nighttime photography, it is imperative!
- Study your camera. Make sure you know the features of your camera that will allow you to take photos of the night sky, such as infinity focus, delayed shutter, and proper ISO settings.
- Research ahead of time if you will need additional equipment. I made the mistake of looking into nighttime photography the day before we came. It turns out, there are a few pieces of equipment that would have been useful, such as a skytracker and telescoping lenses. I made do with what I had, and as an amateur, it was enough for me. Just be mindful that there is only so much you can do with just your standard camera equipment.
- If you do not have a telescoping lens, then bring the wides lens with the largest aperture that you own.
- Unless you have a skytracker (explained better in this article), shutter speeds longer than 15 seconds will result in a star trail (from Earth’s rotational movement). You will need to compensate with a higher ISO.
- Since I have a crop factor camera (micro four thirds), I did not want to go beyond an ISO of 3200. If you have a full-frame, then this may not be an issue and you can potentially go higher.
Last Few Tips
To fully enjoy what this park offers, here is a summary of tips I can offer based on our experience:
- Bring good mountain bikes. The park is huge, and the best way to see most of its trails is biking. But the paths can be difficult, so it is imperative to have bikes that can handle soft terrain.
- Book your trip during the winter. The mosquitos in the trails were abundant, even though we went during the winter. The summers, I can only imagine, will have a ton more. Also, many areas of the park may flood during the summer months.
- If you are a storm chaser, book during the summer. I just recommended booking during the winter. However, I imagine that thunderstorms are a spectacle in this park. If you are a storm chaser, then paying a visit during the summer might be a consideration.
- Bring red lights. This is the “red light” district. Make sure the lights on your camper, your flashlights, and your headlights have a red light function. Your fellow campers and stargazers will not appreciate it if you show up with bright lights!
- Start your campfires early. It will be best if your fires are put out when nighttime rolls in. It will increase your enjoyment of the night sky.
- Book your trip during the crescent stages of the moon. Again, it is all about reducing sources of light. Let less light coming from the moon, the more you will get to enjoy your stay.
- Bring EVERYTHING you will need. There is no chance to “go into town” to gather last-minute supplies. The nearest town is about an hour away. Plan ahead and have everything with you!
Relax and Enjoy the Prairie
This is something we do not do often enough. We are constantly looking for activities to do. Trails to hike, paths to bike, springs to cool off. However, both Dan and I agree that camping at this park was one of the most peaceful trips we had ever been on.
We can’t quite decide why it was so, although it was probably a combination of factors. The weather played in our favor, with warm sunlight and refreshingly cool breeze inviting a sense of relaxation. The kids had so much fun playing on their own and did not need us to provide any entertainment.
And last but not least, the view. There is something about staring at the vastness of this prairie. It was difficult to wrap our heads around the grandiosity of the infinite grassland in front of our eyes. It continued beyond where our eyes could see, and I found myself wondering if that is why people love sailing the seas – Staring at infinity with no specific point to focus. Sometimes, it is about this big picture.
Additional Resources
Official Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Website
And that’s a wrap! I hope this helps you be as prepared as possible to visit this park and enjoy it fully. Have you been to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park? What information am I missing? If you are planning a trip there, are there other questions you have about it? Let me know in the comments below!
This looks so peaceful and pretty! I love you photos
Thank you! It really was a quiet and peaceful place 🙂
Was trying to see if there is a annual membership that includes horses. If so who do I contact
Thank you
Hi Mark! Is this question regarding Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park? If so, state parks do not generally offer memberships of any sort. If you would like to speak to someone from the park, here is their phone number: 863-462-5360