Trail Lakes Campground

Travel Girl

2024-04

We rented a “cabin”. It was what we expected. Super basic, kinda like a large shed, but comfy and had electricity and a window ac unit that worked well. Beds were comfy and it was clean. There was one bed against the wall with side tables and lights that could be sectioned off from the rest of the room with a big, wide curtain. There was also a twin bed and and I think a double bed. It wasn’t insulated but probably never needs to be in that weather!This place is really beautiful and green with lots of plants and pretty sites. Bugs were bad, but we’d been hearing that was the case all over the state because the “dry” season ended up being a wet season! The location can’t be beat. There’s an old-school bath house ( I think there were 3-4 toilets and 2-3 shower stalls). It’s like being at middle school summer camp. Nothing fancy about it but it does the trick. Staff was SUPER DUPER friendly. There’s a tiny camp store on site, along with an optional “zoo” at the front office with snakes, alligators and turtles. Great experience. Ask them about their boat tours 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Adriene Codelia

2024-04

I had an unexpected stay. My car broke down and a tow truck was late in arriving. By 5pm I canceled the tow as I needed to figure accommodation for the night. My luck - they had a cabin for one reasonably priced. Included towels and soap. Showers were hot on demand. Emily in the store drove me to get food, lent me bug repellant and brought me coffee the next morning. ❤️ The night before though was my birthday. Both Emily and Jack (manager) each bought me an ice cream cone for my birthday. They gave me their cell phone numbers incase I had an issue.The campground was beautiful. Quiet. I couldn't have broken down at a better place. I will return with my camper. Josh made me an extra coffee. Donald who ran the store was reassuring on the camp safety. Thank you all. While unexpected, surprisingly amazing stay. Oh and don't forget about my breakfast companion: the fat python, thankfully behind thick glass!

Teri Berri

2024-04

Best campground in the heart of the Everglades. Clean cabins, Chicopees and camper facilities. The Shealy Family are wonderful hosts! Cool museum and animal rescue sanctuary for all to visit.You want genuine Everglades exploration in an Old Florida setting- visit Trail Lakes!Rooms: Cute cabins with air conditioning and clean facilities near the cabins.

Timberly Frounfelker

2024-01

It's the Skunk ape headquarters!! Great to tent camp, they also have these tiki huts with screen walls. Best place to camp for the Everglades.. very reasonable, clean showers and a reptile zoo included in your camping price. Bring bug spray, it is in the middle of the Everglades 💖. Everglades City is a short drive for a store if you need supplies. Swamp camping at it's best.

dale prunoske

2024-02

Run down campground. Bathhouse in rough shape. Spent three nights, when I returned to my site on the third day there was someone set up at my site. The incredibly rude staff person told me I was supposed to leave something at my site to show it is taken. I travel in a self contained Class B, nothing at the site when I leave for the day. They don’t have a site registration system. Poor customer service by their rude person showing people to their sites. Won’t return.

Mahaila

2024-01

If you want an in-between Florida experience from glamping to "roughing it" this your spot ! Beautiful beautiful beautiful campground. The bungalows are beyond adorable. Bring your own supplies but don't worry there is toilet paper and showers. Plan with the weather ! Thank you for the hospitality!

Anrika Rupp

2024-01

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KAREN HENNINGSEN

2024-04

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wes M

2024-02

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Diamond Liberty

2024-03

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William Hamilton

2024-02

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Randal Gaereminck

2024-01

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Maggie

2024-01

Very expensive , the most expensive for tent camping there is around here. Plus if you have more than two people they make you pay an extra $25 per person…. These people must be crazy 🤣 , it’s not family appropriate , they don’t have electricity or water….. oh and their reservation policy is outrageous….

Kristin Devall

2024-01

Review of Skunkape Headquarters.WASTE of money. Total rip off. RUN away from this place. Price was increased to $10/ adult and $5/ child. Nothing about Skunk Ape. SCAM

Carlos Bennazar

2023-12

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Gary Bartell

2024-01

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Mary Lazar

2023-05

We stayed 1 night in cabin C for an overnight get away. Check in was quick and easy with our reservation. The cabin was clean and cool. The window A/C had the cabin cool on a 93 degree day! Fresh fluffy towels and sample shower stuff. Which was a very nice touch. Didn't expect those. It also has a fire ring (campground sells firewood)and a picnic table. The little covered porch has 2 plastic resin chairs to sit on while having lunch, a rest and watching the sunset. The mosquitoes also love this place! So be sure to use a bug repellent outdoors. No issues with bugs in cabin, just outside. We would definitely stay here again.

John Urban

2023-06

Love this place! I spent the weekend at the Trail Campgrounds. I mostly went to see the famous Skunk Ape Research Headquarters which is adjacent to the campground. It has a bigfoot gift shop and live animal exhibit's including big alligators and giant Burmese pythons (one of which is the second largest python in captivity.) The campgrounds itself exceeded my expectations. The staff is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. It is a family business which goes back for decades. My cabin was rustic, clean, comfortable and the air conditioning worked great! I got to see wild alligators there on the property which was cool. The general area was very well maintained and quiet (except for nature sounds.) There are restauraunts nearby in Everglades City and a gas station with beer and a Subway restauraunt right down the street. It is easy to find on Hwy 41 (Tamiami Trail pretty close to Interstate 75.) Each cabin has a firepit and you can buy firewood there if you want to make a fire and cook hot dogs, marshmallows, beans and coffee. And the Skunk Ape Headquarters is open 7 days a week if you need something or just want to hold a baby alligator. The kids will love it. They also have boat tours if you want to see wild gators up close in the wild. Essentially if you want an authentic rustic camping experience in tune with nature in the heart of the Florida Everglades this is the place. Five stars!

Barry Weaver

2023-05

Had an unfortunate experience checking in to Trail Lakes Campground on 2/28/2023. How to check in to the place is extremely poorly posted. Google Maps shows the Skunk Ape Outlet Store and Trail Lakes Campground as two separate and distinct operations when in fact they are not; you're supposed to Check in at the Skunk Ape Outlet Store. An automatic opening / closing gate is located at the entrance to the campground, which was standing open as we approached. I sat at the gate for maybe 30seconds. The gate, which swings, has been malfunctioning - opening and closing of its own accord. I did not check in at the Skunk Ape Outlet Store, instead opting to enter through the (malfunctioning gate). The gate closed as we were entering doing substantial damage to our RV. Contacted the owner to see if he would be honorable and make good on the damage. Not a chance. He suggested I might have been intoxicated or was trying to pin existing damage on him. Aside from needing some serious updating and suffering from neglect, the place is nice enough. But, should you experience anything unfortunate while there, don't expect much in the way of goodwill or honor - just the old "It's not my fault, must have been you!"

Jay Nepal

2022-05

Excellent location and good environment for camping. Good old style huts and cabins or tent camping available makes it a good diverse location to access cypress reserve and also close enough to the everglades national park, Shark valley (~30miles). The staff were very friendly and helpful through out our stay, so would come again in the future. We locked up our car just before leaving and Dave helped us big time, saving time and money. Highly appreciate it.

Donald Spatz

2023-05

This CG has sites for all classes of RV and tents. 20,30 and 50 Amp service and water with some full hook up. Dump station, showers and laundry.. It's location is the heart of Big Cypress NP. Lots to see and do in the area with knowledgeable staff. Laundry could be improved.Dog-friendliness: Welcomed

Adriano Flechilla

2023-06

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TitanBrew

2023-07

If you're looking for a unique Everglades adventure, or just a great place to camp, Trail Lakes Campground is the place! There's just too much going on to list, fully accommodated and A/C equipped cabins, screened in Chickee huts if you like glamping and plenty of fully serviced RV and tent sites! The owers/operators David and Jack Shealy are awesome people and hosts. True Gladesmen that will provide you and your family with a genuine Everglades experience! Check out their web page for details!

Randy Greenberg

2022-05

Funky, friendly Everglades experience. Trail Lakes has been around since the 1960s. That explains the lack of a full hookup and the slow shower drains. The office is super friendly and the whole SkunkApe experience is fun. We scheduled our very memorable kayak ride on the Turner river from the office, so that was convenient. Speaking of convenient, you're 5 minutes from Joanie's which serves awesome food/beer, 5 minutes from the Turner River, 15 minutes from Everglades National Park, 15 minutes from Big Cypress Boardwalk. Trail lakes is clean, easy to navigate, safe and friendly, Connectivity is a challenge, but it's like that everywhere in the Everglades. The washing machines/dryer laundry room did not look appealing - rusty machines, dirty room. If you're looking for an 3-5 day Everglade launching point this is a great option.

Earle Berge

2020-05

We showed up a bit late in the evening, but they were happy to receive us and our tent! They have a great setup around the ponds and the tent spot we got was very well made with flat/comfortable ground and they have some amazing plants growing around the site. In the morning we had a yellow-rumped warbler foraging all morning around our camp. You could tell that staff were constantly trying to make guests feel welcome at all times.That morning we rented one of their kayaks and had a blast on the water. So much to see and they offer everything you'd need for your trip. They even had an awesome gift shop with some sweet stickers among many other items and a cool reptile zoo in the back! Will visit again if we are lucky enough to vacation here again!

Darlene Smith

2023-05

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Dennis Brewster

2022-05

Let me preface this review by saying I have camped all across the U.S. and Europe- when I called to make a reservation for a primitive camp site (no electricity or water) for a couple of tents I was quoted at $50. Okay, that’s a little high but reasonable for 2 tents total of 4 people. When I checked in I said I had a few friends who were visiting for the day but would not camp, to which they said they still have to check in - fine, however when my friends arrived they were all forced to pay $50! These crooks got $150 + out of my friends who were just trying to follow the rules and be courteous. When I spoke to the young woman at the register she quite literally changed all the rules we had discussed over the phone regarding visitors and fees. They also gave us a primitive camp site right by their gigantic dumpster, so it was really fun to hear truck after truck pulling up to the dump and throwing stuff away, for $150. For that price I could have stayed in a hotel, or probably one of their cabins! I’m sure this is a nice place for a lot of people, they have nice little cabins you can rent and a small reptile exhibit. It seems like a fun place but they were very advantageous with me, probably because I didn’t sport a Trump hat. The only person who was quite nice and informative was a man named Josh. This was the most expensive night of primitive camping I have ever had.

Lindsay Mills

2021-05

My boyfriend and I camped in a tent site here and loved it! The campground is beautiful and very peaceful. The staff is super friendly and check-in was easy. The information on the Skunk Ape in the main office and exhibit was very interesting as well. We took our dog and he loved it too! We would definitely go back!

Teresa Moore

2024-02

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Sean McCabe

2023-05

Trail Lakes Campground has a variety of camping options, from primitive to glam - I recommend the chickee huts for those who prefer creature comforts. Friendly staff, and a beautiful Everglades location that is close enough to Naples for a day trip, yet remote enough to escape the noise and light of civilization - and if you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a skunk ape!