Tag: Adams Tract River Camp

Summer on the Suwannee

June 4, 2015 Jolene MacFadden

Summer on the Suwannee River is going to be exciting and it will be hot and muggy too. It’s a very good thing that we will be in a Florida State Park that has a cool spring for swimming. As we speak our little RV air conditioning unit is thinking about quitting on us and we just don’t have the money to get it fixed. 🙁 Major bummer for us. We may have to move to the front of the park behind the ranger’s station to get under the shade of some trees pretty soon. The barn area campsite for the residential hosts is extremely nice with a huge yard, electric, water and sewer set up, a fire ring and picnic table. We also have an extra bathhouse inside the barn that we use. It was made for the boy scouts who primitive camp in the park in exchange for some service project they do for the ranger. They were trying to get equestrian primitive camping approved to utilize this great horse barn that came with the property as well. But due to some “right of way on private property” snafu that has been put on hold indefinitely. The bathhouse is A.D.A. accessible. However, there are no shade trees where we have to park in order to reach the utilities. It gets pretty warm in here fairly quickly in the morning then all the way until dark.

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Campground Host Experiences, Lessons in Camping, RV and Campers, Sights to See, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

Canoe and Kayak the Suwannee River

November 8, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Canoeing and/or kayaking down the Suwannee River is a big past time in the north Florida area. We get visitors from all over the state and we have even met some people from up north who participate in organized trips almost every year. October and November are usually pretty great months to paddle down the Suwannee as there is little rain, the river hasn’t dropped to dangerously low levels yet and the bugs are not biting quite as bad with the cooler evenings. Granted, almost every outdoor activity in Florida is better during the late fall and early winter months. And since we are surrounding on three sides by water and have an abundance of rivers in our state canoeing and kayaking is a very popular activity all over and all year long.

My mom and I haven’t tried to canoe or kayak yet but since we have volunteered at two river camps and a state park right on the Suwannee River we have met and talked with quite a few people who do. And really, if you would like to see a fascinating part of the Florida natural environment then paddling down a river will give you that and a lot more. You can see parts of Florida that are only accessible to people in small boats. That means no cars and in a lot of cases no hikers either. Today’s kayak can hold your camping equipment and gear so that you can pull off into a river camp, state park, public boat launch or even a sandbar and spend the night enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. We do suggest that you always travel with bug repellent, seal all your food in plastic containers, and bring lots of bottled water or those little capsule things to make the water safe to drink. We have lots of springs running into the Suwannee and each of the river camps and state parks have potable water. You might even want to bring one of those pull around hammocks that are a combination of hammock and screen to keep you off the ground and those pesky bugs off while you sleep. A tent or tarp is also helpful in keeping the rain off.

Campground Host Experiences, Sights to See

Well We Are Not Going to Adams Tract

July 2, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Well, we are not going to Adams Tract River Camp. Apparently, the volunteer who was coming into Woods Ferry has gotten another assignment elsewhere. If you want to try out being a campground host then starting out at Adams Tract River Camp for the next two months or so will be a great way to start. They need someone immediately so please contact them directly. We have already posted a notice on a couple of Facebook pages and tweeted. Here is the information we posted:

Campground Host Experiences, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

Our Final Month at Woods Ferry

July 1, 2014 Jolene MacFadden

Our final month at Woods Ferry River Camp has been an eventful one. We have had over 400 visitors this month. Most stayed over and camped for a night or two and we even had some family members drop in on us to visit and take advantage of our lovely camping area. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and regular canoeing and kayaking people abound during the summer months along the Suwannee River. We will be moving to Adams Tract River Camp tomorrow to finish out our summer months with the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. It will be opened in time for the big 4th of July weekend!

Campground Host Experiences, Camping Resources, Funding Our Adventure, Park Info, RV and Campers, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Volunteer at National Parks and Forest, Volunteer in Florida State Forests, Workamping

Report From Adams Tract River Camp

June 12, 2013September 14, 2025 Jolene MacFadden

We have Solar Lights Now! Our time here at Adams Tract River Camp is coming to a close. We have about 2 weeks left before we move onto St. Joseph’s Peninsula State Park. We can only hope that they people who work there will be as nice as the ones we have working here at the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail Office as well as the great guys at Troy Springs State Park who have been keeping us in supplies and helping us out with repairs and trash pick-ups. Thanks so much for all your help and we look forward to our return assignment here next summer.

Campground Host Experiences, Florida State Parks, Volunteer At A Florida State Park, Workamping

Happy Memorial Day

May 27, 2013September 14, 2025 Jolene MacFadden

We hope everyone is having a fun but safe Memorial Day and remembering our Veterans. This holiday has long been considered the start of the summer season. A lot of campgrounds up north don’t really open until then. Our little river camp was no exception. Although we expected a large group on Saturday and another one on Sunday we only got the one on Sunday. And let me tell you they were enough. We never realized that we had gotten use to only having a few people camping over night every so often until this weekend. The entire area around us seemed to have let out a sigh when the last of the kayakers went down the boardwalk to the river. Don’t get me wrong the Lakeland Florida Kayak Group was very nice but a little rowdy and there were so many of them. The two other couples that we had got sort of lost in all the activity from the big group. But everyone had a good time and they mostly cleaned up after themselves. For some reason we cannot get many people to read the “Recycle – Aluminum Cans Only” sign. I guess it’s because it looks like all the other trashcans inside a wooden barrel except for the little sign we have on front.