Reviews

Holly Harden Cason

Walked the river trail and discovered that two of the walkway bridges were closed. We had to walk down into the natural "trench" to continue on the trail. Hopefully bridges will be repaired soon. Otherwise it's a great trail. Remember to bring bug spray and wear sturdy shoes. There is a swimming area, but largely depends on how high the water level is.

J Rivers

Stunning section of river, the bridge is beautiful, the trails are nice, the trees are amazing. More photos and videos on Grace Walks on FB.

L.M.M.B

The park is absolutely lush with trees. There's also a suspension bridge right at the beginning, which is supposedly one of the "attractions." You can hike along the trails that border the river. At one point, you reach a section that is the very definition of the word "swamp." The seaweed is so dense that if a rock falls into it, it will cover the impact site almost instantly. At the beginning of the park, you can also swim in the river/swamp, where the water is a bit chilly. One (and major) downside of the park is that the trail that borders the river hasn't been cleared, so there are a lot of weeds, spider webs, and branches. Furthermore, one of the bridges on this same trail was also somewhat rotten and slippery. All of these factors make the hike dangerous and difficult. Therefore, I would say that if this is your first time hiking in natural parks, be careful when hiking this trail.

Ryan O'Toole

Cool place to take a hike. This is where the Santa Fe River sinks down in to the Florida aquifer runs under ground for 3 miles before reappearing in the River Raise Preserve. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Worth checking out if you are a nature lover.

krakookify

I live nearby and go to O'leno to walk several times a week. It's a serene park. Haven't camped there due to proximity to our property, but I've hiked all the trails and their park road multiple times. They recently repaired the suspension bridge that crosses the river from storm damage some years ago. Great playground. Lots of places to picnic. This is also a filming location for the 2025 Film Festival favorite, It Ends. Look that up on IMBD. Great for families. There's a swim area but for me, I'd rather drive to Gilchrist Blue or Ichetucknee to swim in the local springs.

Heather Stone

We just had a very short stop today- looks like a beautiful park, but like others have reported, the suspension bridge is still closed. It didn’t look that amazing anyway, so it shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, although I think it might foul up the route on one of the hiking trails, because we had to turn around and go back the way we came on the loop hike. Other than that, it’s a really interesting park with some cool history and even a little museum! We weren’t going to stop in the mini museum but noticed it had air conditioning so we stopped for that but I was really glad we did because it was really interesting! I enjoyed seeing the war time rationing book! Very neat! We didn’t check out any of the camping areas so I cannot comment on that. The only other thing I would recommend is to bring bug spray and spray ankles/shoes well because we did find a tick dropped off one of us when we were getting back into our car 😱 - we hadn’t hiked very much today but managed to still find one. I’ve never found a tick on me in a Fl park before (and I always check because I’m originally from the northeast and know the dangers of ticks!)

Nicole Grot

We have camped on the Dogwood loop all week. We have enjoyed hiking, exploring the ground where Leno once stood and kayaking on the Santa Fe river. Although the campground is older, it is lovingly maintained. The Dogwood sites are on the smaller side and close together. We did explore the Magnolia loop. The sites seemed bigger and there was a chance of a little more privacy if you pick the right spot. There is also a playground on that loop. Most everything is tree covered, so we have not roasted in the sun. We have been battling ticks all week, but it’s just a few minutes every evening picking them off. Mosquitoes have been minimal and easily managed with bug spray. There is poison ivy everywhere, but as long as you stay on the well-groomed paths, you should be fine.

Melissa Ginoza

We came camping and was truly enjoyed both the campsite and various activities available. There are numerous hikes and wide range of natural scenery, including a river. Though we didn’t get to go inside, there is also a museum. We camped on a busy day. While our campsite was close to a few others, we were among one of the quietest and respectful camping neighbors. Highly recommend this place for both camping or just enjoying nature!

Billy Swinson

This is a nice Fl State park positioned on the Santa Fe River. This is a large wooded area with lots of trails and lots of worries about ticks from others and warning signs on the bathhouses by the campground. We were in cooler weather and didn’t encounter any but didn’t stray too far from normal pathways. Bridge area is under repair still but otherwise a beautiful and peaceful spot.

D G

This less known state Park is well worth a visit for camping or fun on the river. The forests in this area are lovely and I've been regenerating for many decades. The park was acquired by the state after the original settlement faded away and became a ghost town. The park itself has nice campgrounds and well built facilities for accessing the river. The grounds are well managed with designated fire pits. Bathrooms are clean and well-maintained. The area offers several good hikes and, at least during our visit with a scout troop in late 2024, there were still quite a few trees down from the sweep of hurricane Helena earlier in the year.