OKEECHOBEE KOA in Okeechobee, FL

This was our first camping trip in our recently purchased pre-owned RV. We were very excited and it was the 3rd camping trip for our 7 year old daughter Ashleigh. We chose this campground because it seemed to have a lot of activities that were family oriented. Yet, we quickly found out that wasn't so.

They do have 3 pools, one for families and two for "adults only". They do have a nice size playground for kids, and a basket ball hoop - not really a half court. They do have mini golf, but you do have to pay a nominal fee, yet it wasn't well taken care of. They also have 1 ping-pong table, a post office on site, a great little store that sells everything you could think of and they make fresh sandwiches and sell ice cream too.

This place is the "largest KOA campground and it also has tennis courts, a bar & live music for adults, a 9 hole golf course, and many permanent residence that are seniors. If you are a senior, you'll be in heaven, because you are catered to in every way here.

Families stick to their own pool and playground area which is right next to each other. Your kids are not too welcomed to be seen by others in other areas. It was obvious to us that even though kids and families are welcome, they are very limited. I think we saw maybe 2 children (grandchildren) the entire 3 day weekend we spent there.

They do advertise "fishing", but the only water to fish from is on the golf course, and we found out we weren't allowed to fish from the golf course. Regardless, there are NO FISH in the canal or mini lake. Yet they do have a lot of fake wooden ducks that look real.

GOOD POINTS: The place is very big, very clean and extreamly well maintained. The bath houses had air fresheners and complimentary blow driers. The staff is very friendly and helpful. We did take a very long walk to Lake Okchobee about 2 miles away and fished there from the pier.

We won't be coming back as a family, but I would once we retire. We were hoping to sit out side and listen to the live music and have dinner together. The band play inside the bar/lounge (good size), but no kids are allowed, so tht didn't happen.

Our History...

1990 in our 1st motor home

IN THE BEGINNING: My husband and I during our dating years camped every weekend from our boat, in tents and taking lots of friends to various little islands around South Miami, Florida and the Florida Keys. Eventually we bought our first used motor home and towed the boat. Since then we sold the boat and the motor home, got married, bought our first house all within a couple of years.

Back in the day: Camping with Friends 1991

  We were doing well with money in the bank and basically had everything we needed. We were by no means rich, but lets just say we were comfortable. 
  After our 10th year of marriage we moved into our 2nd home. We actually decided to have our first and only child after 13 years of marriage and being together over 16 years. It was time, life slowed down for us. Our daughter was born in 2004.


AMERICA HAS FALLEN: Once the economy tanked and our country fell apart, we had to become very conservative with everything. To this day neither of us have had a raise in over 4 years, but we're grateful to still be working.  Now we are very frugal with the cost of everything going up except for our pay, and we are very choosey on how we enjoy the little time off we have.

CAMPING - RVing WITH A TWIST:  Needless to say we found ourselves on the weekend doing the usual cleaning, mowing the yard, hanging out in our pool, and going to lots of birthday parties. At this point we've been through ballet, soccer, gymnastics, hip-hop, and now we're an involved Karate family. So this is where we're at now, in February, 2012.
  November of 2011, our daughter didn't want a 7th birthday party and wanted other options. We offered her Disney again, Bush Gardens, or camping. She jumped on "camping" and we were thrilled. We decided to rent an RV for a week this past November 2011. We stayed at the KOA campground at Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach, FL. We had such a great time at the campground and the 2 parks at Lion Country Safari next door, and so did our Daughter. She met so many new kids from various places, learned new things, and totally enjoyed the "camping experience" at the campground.

WE'VE GOT THE CAMPING BUG: My husband and I were hooked all over again. For the next two months we searched for a used RV on our tight budget that was in good condition and ran good. This was not an easy combination to find!
  We're happy to say in February 2012 we just came back from our first camping weekend in our RV. She's new to us, a 1997 Fleetwood 30' Bounder that runs great and in really good condition. It was hard to find her, and we looked at a lot of junk RVs, over-priced motor homes that weren't taken care of, and some we only wished we could buy. This motor home has everything we needed and wanted, and great for us to start new memories in as a FAMILY now.

  Our daughter is  hooked; loves to fish, learning to ride her scooter around, meet kids at the playground, basketball court, helps with prepping grilled dinners and likes just walking around the sites and hiking paths.

  We really look at this investment as "family time" for the next 5 - 7 years with our daughter before she starts to really have her own social life. We plan to take several long weekends each year within Florida, and maybe a full week during the holidays and school breaks.

2012 Camping in our RV at Lake Okeechobee, FL

So this is a blog of our journey as a family now, our opinions of different So. Florida campgrounds and other adventures along the way. We hope to meet up with others that share in that same "family camping", wholesome, outdoor fun in the sun, campfires, laughs, and a little wine & a few beers along the way.

Andy & Alyse Feb. 2012 Chilling at Okeechobee KOA

Alyse & Ashleigh heading out to our 1st Camping adventure 
in our newly purchased Fleetwood Bounder RV