I’ve been using my travel trailer around Florida since the beginning of January and to be totally honest, I LOVE IT. Check out more of my camping stories on my Camping Page but for now, I’ll spill the beans on a state park in the panhandle area of Florida.
This is Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, Florida. To keep this short, I’m going to list three things I liked about it, and three things I didn’t like.
#1 – I love that my dogs were allowed on the trails. There’s an area near the 2-acre lake that has a beach, they weren’t allowed there but letting them have access to the wooded-trails was a real nice treat for them and for me!
#2 – Quiet. This park has a small number of camping sites so that means less people who are noisy. I enjoyed the peace of all the folks here adhering to the idea that we’re all out here to enjoy nature, and respecting that for each other.
#3 – Not far from home base. I launch all my trips from Tallahassee, Florida and this park is under 2 hours away. Not to bad for a weekend getaway!
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-5ppNr4k
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-Wz9KqbS
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-jfq6k7P
Now for the things I didn’t enjoy. I don’t really like being negative but for me, at this park, the negatives outweigh the positives. Here are the drawbacks I didn’t like.
#1 – Unlevel sites. I can’t recall any camper/trailer that wasn’t using leveling blocks (except for the paved sites, generally only for the handicapped campers). In fact, my site was so unlevel, it took me the better part of an hour and a half to find the right ground to maneuver my trailer. It was a headache, almost enough that I was going to drive back up to the entrance and ask for another site. I used all the leveling blocks I own, and still the trailer jack was extended to its limit.
#2 – One of the men’s showers. Thankfully I tried both showers during my stay because the one I used first couldn’t decide if it wanted to stay hot or not. I had the hot/cold handle all the way to the hottest side, yet the shower would intermittently turn cool, then hot, then cool again, then warm, then hot, etc. Talk about a shower almost not worth taking!
#3 – When I camp I need something to do or see. Something like the beaches and wildlife at St. Andrews (click here for a recap) or the beautiful water at Alexander Springs (click here for a few pics). Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, but Falling Waters was kind of boring. I walked my dogs, took some night time photos, so that was fun.
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-PgGQ8r5
But the waterfall (at least in February) was basically a trickle. Underwhelming is the best way I can describe it. The butterfly garden was in disrepair, not to mention there weren’t any butterflies. The waterfall, like I said, was not something you’d write home about. It was just kind of… boring. Did I say that already?
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-S2cD7FC
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-gZnwdcd
https://www.smugmug.com/app/organize/Falling-Waters-State-Park/i-DPw6h2n
To sum up, Falling Waters State Park is a great place if you’re looking to get away for a few days and aren’t looking for major nature explorations. If you need just a quiet place to recharge, this would be a good spot for you. Otherwise, I can’t recommend it based on the rough sites and the only draw being the single, small waterfall. So far I’ve only been to two Florida state parks and two recreational areas. That’s why this park falls at #4 on the list.
If you have more input or something I may have missed at Falling Water State Park, please share in the comments below!
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 