A Relaxing Stay at Goethe State Forest

After we left Devil’s Den Spring, we need to hammer down and get some work done. So we chose to stay at the Apex trailhead of Goethe State Forest.

Apex Trailhead Campground at Goethe State Forest

Maybe calling this a campground is a little generous. At the Apex trailhead in the Goethe State Forest, there’s a loop you can drive around and camp anywhere you can park. There are no designated sites. So just find a spot and settle in. We recommend NOT parking under the pine trees though. They will sap all over your vehicles.

Camping here is dry camping. No electricity, water, or sewer. And there’s no dump station. But, there are picnic tables and a bathroom that was open 24 hours a day. The bathroom only had toilets though, no showers. We parked right next to the bathroom which was convenient. It might be annoying if the campground was full.

There’s an iron ranger to pay. You can now make some of the Florida State Forest reservations through Reserve America, but I did not see the Apex Trailhead Campground on there. The cost is either $10 or $15 per night. Here’s a full list of fees [pdf] at Florida State Forest sites.

Apex Trailhead is an equestrian campground. So people may come here and camp with their horses. There’s a private park across the street that is also an equestrian campground. We stayed almost a week and only had people come camp for a night here and there. People did come across the street with their horses for day use though.

Apex Trailhead

While there’s nothing to do in the campground itself, there are loads of trails for hiking and biking. For biking, you will want fat knobby tires. The trails are pretty sandy. We even had trouble with our 2″ tires. There is also a dirt road you can follow that’s a bit easier to navigate.

Neighbors

While we didn’t have many camping neighbors, there was a farm next to the campground. Every day, the cows would migrate down towards us in the pasture then back up towards the barns. They were curious about us but not down for pets.

Yes, I took more photos of the cows than of our hikes.

All in all, we enjoyed our stay here at the Apex Trailhead Campground at Goethe State Forest.

Sometimes people think that when you live in an RV, you’re always on vacation. That’s not the case for us. We do have to work. We don’t always stay somewhere exciting.

Sometimes the ideal spot is one that is quiet where you can work without distractions. Apex Trailhead Campground was that kind of place. It was very similar to Dupuis WMA in that way.