Our stay at Oscar Scherer State Park was very nice. The camping spots are plentiful with over 100 sites. The only bad part is the narrow bridge you have to cross in and out of the campground area. We hit our retractable steps on those little rubber posts and they were knocked clean off. That will cost a little bit of money to get them welded back into place. It is a little hard to judge with our Class A RV and those steps have been hit by traffic cones before so it was probably my fault. Just be very careful going in and know your width of your vehicles before proceeding. The campsites have vegetation between in each for a little privacy but share water faucets between pairs of them. There are no sewers on site but a dump station located in the camping area. The roadway in the camping area is paved while the sites are mostly dirt and gravel.
There are 5 bathhouses with good water pressure and lots of hot water and two of those have one washer and one dryer each for $1.50 a load. There is a creek that runs along the campground for canoeing and kayaking. They have a small lake in the picnic area next to the Nature Center for swimming, a playground, nature trails, a large bathhouse and FREE wireless available there and in the screened in porch attached to the building. They have drink machines as well. Best of all you get three to four bars on your cell phone throughout most of the park! We didn’t get any on-air TV Reception but there are lots of places to shop and eat just outside the park entrance along U.S. Highway 41 (a.k.a. S. Tamiami Trail) including a Super Walmart just two miles north of the park.
This park also holds quite a few events throughout the year. We participated in one of their first Folk Festivals while we were campground hosts at Myakka River State Park as crafts vendors. There were lots of people, music, food and fellow crafters selling their wares. The park volunteers were all over the place making sure everything was set up, picking up trash and helping the vendors when they needed it. If we ever do get down to southwest Florida again either as workampers or just regular campers we hope to visit this park again. We will probably not be workampers here however as they do not have sewers on-site for the campground hosts and only one or two in the volunteer village. I know they were working on putting in more and we wish them luck with that in the near future.
Oscar Scherer State Park
1843 S. Tamiami Trail
Osprey, Florida 34229
(941) 483-5956
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Oscar-Scherer
Admission Fee:
$5.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
$4.00 Single occupant Vehicle.
$2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.
$4.00 Sunset Entrance.
Picnic Pavilion Rental Fees:
$30.00 per day, plus tax: small pavilion.
$60.00 per day, plus tax: large pavilion.
Camping Fee:
$26.00 per night, plus tax. Includes water and electricity.
Florida residents who are 65 years of age or older or who hold a social security disability award certificate or a 100 percent disability award certificate from the Federal Government are permitted to receive a 50 percent discount on current base campsite fees. Proof of eligibility
Youth Camping:
$1.00 per youth/per night and $5.00 per adult/per night. (Youth is anyone under the age of 18)
Other Fees:
$10.00 Dump Station, non-registered campers. Does not include park entrance fee.
Overnight Parking/Overflow: $15.00, plus tax – only when the campground is full.
$10.00 per hour or $40.00 per day Canoe Rental
94 Campsites (Laundry in campground area – $1.50 for each washer and dryer loads)
15Ft Back-In/30Amp – 3
18Ft Back-In/30Amp – 8
20Ft Back-In/30Amp – 6
24Ft Back-In/30Amp – 1
25Ft Back-In/50Amp – 1
26Ft Back-In/30Amp – 27
26Ft Back-In/50Amp – 2
35Ft Back-In/30Amp – 1
36Ft Back-In/30Amp – 25
36Ft Back-In/50Amp – 14
36Ft Pull-through/50Amp – 6
***Sites 1 to 20, 68 to 72 and 74 to 98 are listed as next to the water but there is a lot of vegetation along the creek and most of the sites you only get a peek at the water.
WHERE TO GET WHAT YOU NEED
GROCERIES
Walmart Supercenter
13140 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 918-1247
OPEN 24HRS
Publix Supermarket at Plaza Venezia
2438 Laurel Rd E
North Venice, FL 34275
(941) 484-8426
Winn-Dixie
1325 S Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 366-9698
GAS
Shell Gas Station
1166 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-3354
Murphy USA Gas Station
3901 Holy Spirit Ln
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-4595
OPEN 24HRS
Mobil Gas/Convenience Store
8445 S Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34238
(941) 926-4479
OPEN 6AM to 11PM
RESTAURANTS
Brasserie 41 (Located in Bentley’s Boutique Hotel)
1660 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-2121
http://www.bentleyssarasota.com/dine/dining-restaurants.htm
Rosebuds Steak & Seafood House
2215 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 918-8771
http://rosebudssarasota.com/
Waterfrontoo Grill & Steakhouse
2205 N Tamiami Trail
Nokomis, FL 34275
(941) 918-4591
http://www.waterfrontoo.com/
Norma Jean’s Sports Bar & Grill
Shops at Casey Key
1272 S. Tamiami Trail
Ospry, FL 34229
(941) 786-1834
http://www.normajeanssportsgrill.com/
Frankie’s Pizza and Italian Ristorante
1072 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-4453
http://www.frankiespizzasarasota.com/
Scrambles
1080 S Tamiami Trail
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-6347
OPEN 7:30am to 2:00pm
Downunder Bar & Seafood House
576 Blackburn Point Rd
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-4816
http://www.downundergroup.com/#home-section
Casey Key Fish House
801 Blackburn Point Rd
Osprey, FL 34229
(941) 966-1901
http://www.caseykeyfishhouse.com/
SUPPLIES
Survive Anything
2153 Siesta Dr
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 981-0182
http://www.surviveanythingfl.com/
Quest Outfitters
4919 Hubner Circle
Sarasota, FL 34241
(941) 923-5006
http://www.questoutfitters.com/index.html
RV World Inc of Nokomis
2110 N. Tamiami Trail
Nokomis, Fl 34275
TOLL FREE: 800-262-2182
http://www.rvworldinc.com/
RV PROPANE
U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Sarasota
4861 S Tamiami Trl
Sarasota, FL 34231
(941) 921-6605
https://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Propane-near-Sarasota-FL-34231/830063/
RV World Inc of Nokomis
2110 N. Tamiami Trail
Nokomis, Fl 34275
TOLL FREE: 800-262-2182
http://www.rvworldinc.com/
LAUNDROMAT
Supermatt Coin Laundry
5608 Swift Rd
Sarasota, FL 34231
(941) 312-5557
OPEN 24HRS
MEDICAL CARE
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
1700 S Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 917-9000
http://smh.com
SMH Urgent Care Center at Stickney Point Rd
6331 S Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34231
(941) 917-5678
http://smh.com
Venice Regional Bayfront Health
540 The Rialto
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 485-7711
http://veniceregional.com
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota
5731 Bee Ridge Rd
Sarasota, FL 34233
(941) 342-1100
http://doctorsofsarasota.com
MAP OF THE AREA
Our YouTube video from the pictures we took while we were there: