Peace River, Wauchula, Florida

I recently bought a membership in Thousand Trails, buying a 2 for 1 Zone Pass special which allows me to camp in Thousand Trails Campgrounds in the Southeast and Northeast for a year. I decided to try it out at the Peace River TT campground in Wauchula for a week. I found a shady site that wasn't crowded on the north side of the park.

 I had originally hoped to get a spot along the river but as you can see, it was pretty crowded along there on the right.

Across from my site are some cabins which TT members can also use/rent.

 Looking down the street from my site towards the river.

There are several annual sites here as well.

 This park model is also an annual site.

The closer to the river you get, the muddier the sites are, especially after the recent rains. This area floods during the summer rainy season, which is why these sites do not have sewer hook-ups.

The full-hook-up sites are near the front and stay filled most of the time. You have to get on a waiting list to get one of these sites.

 Near the propane station are handball courts on the left and pool and hot tub area on the right where you see the white fence.

 A Meeting House and Laundry behind the store.

 I did one load of laundry. (There was only one washer available at the time) The laundry had an interesting system for paying by credit card.

 Then you can get a text when your wash is done.

 Thistle and I decided to explore the walking trails…one of the reasons I thought I would enjoy this park. The river trail begins at the boat launch area.

 The Peace River flows under Highway 17 just west of the boat ramp.

 The trail follows the river back to the campground.

 Views from the river trail:

 I came across a couple places to launch a kayak closer to the campsites.

 This is the place I decided to launch from.

 The map showed other trails, and on our way to find one of them we passed this Hog Trap….hmmmm.

 Sign for the other trails.

 And description of the trails:

 Unfortunately, these trails were very muddy, so Thistle and I hiked the River Trail every day….a few times a day.

The lady in the office warned me about the river being high and swift right now. You can see the current in this picture.

 But it looked doable. So I decided to paddle upstream as far as I could, then drift back to the campground.

 I paddled hard against the current. Every time I stopped to take a picture, I drifted backwards.

 Passing the riverside campsites. You can see the banks are high there.

 Site P71 is a most sought-after site….the only one you can launch a kayak from.

 I lasted about 15 minutes paddling upstream. 

 This is the last upstream picture. The current became so powerful here that I was basically just treading water as I paddled.

 I decided to float past my launch site to the concrete ramp by the bridge to give me a little longer ride.

 Passing the launch site. It took only five minutes to float back, lol.

 The river is very pretty, and when the water is down and calmer, would be a lot of fun.

 Or with someone to shuttle with, we could put in farther upriver and float down.

 Back to the bridge and take-out point.

Back to walking the River Trail.

 An interesting snag.

 If you use your imagination, you can see a face here.

 It's an ok park, but not nearly as nice as the one I just left at Hardee Lakes. 

And then they came around with a boil-water notice due to a break in the water line, effective for several days. So I'm using the water in my tank, and drinking bottled water for now. We'll see how my relationship with Thousand Trails plays out over the year, as I travel to the Northeast this summer.