Camping Trip: Green Swamp West Track, McNeil Primitive Campground

Before we ever took our camping trip in February, we went and scouted out our site. At the McNeil Primitive Campground you unlock a gate into the Green Swamp and take a roughly 5 mile dirt track winding away into the wilderness. Isolated and miles from anything it really is quite calm and peaceful. There are only 4 tent sites here, with water and a fire ring but no electricity, nestled beside a slow flowing creek.

We made plans to camp with a friend's family and everything was ready for the weekend until the weekend before when Kate came down with the flu, and then the little boys ran a fever, and then so did Ruth. By the weekend everyone was back to themselves other than Ruth. So I had to stay home with Ruth while everyone else went camping. So the trip report comes from Gary along with the only three pictures he took.

All of today's pictures are courtesy of Daddy.

Once Gary got everyone loaded up at the house and left, it was around 4 o'clock when they arrived at the camp site. They of course first things first set up the tent right by the creek, then set up the beds before scouting for firewood. Vanessa, Tommy, and Dakota arrived a short time later and they got all set up too, After getting a fire going, Gary fixed supper - sausage dogs. They ate and sat around the fire visiting while the kids played. Gary and Vanessa both told me they had a good time, but it would have been more fun if I was there. I'm glad they had a good time, but it was also nice to be missed. Around 9:30 as the littles were getting ready for bed, the only other neighbor was still running a generator passed quiet hours. So Britt took it upon himself to politely ask if they would turn it off and they were happy too and visited with him a bit. So they had a very quiet night. Someone told me that in the firelight though you could see dozens of gator eyes glowing in the creek. At bedtime, Gary called me and had me read the next two chapters of our book until his headphones died sometime after 11:30. During the night, Britt ran over to the porta-potty, and on the way back thought he might have seen an alligator up the bank close to the tent. So he heaved a bunch more stuff into the fire ring, including some palm fronds, and of course the flames shot up. He was able to determine it wasn't an alligator near, just a log, but in the process gave Mr. Tommy and Mrs. Vanessa a heart attack as their tent went from pitch black to bright as day. Everyone had a good laugh about it later.

The next morning for breakfast, Gary tried a little something new, shake and pour pancake mix. It worked fantastic for campfire pancakes, and we've used it more since then. After breakfast, they did some exploring and some fishing. While exploring Britt and the others found some wood with a red core, unlike any he found before. They cut a piece for me to see, when they came home, because it was cool looking. Everyone got to try to do a bit of fishing. The boys were particularly excited when Daddy caught a bow fish. Daddy cleaned it and cooked it for lunch. After a lazy, relaxed morning, then tents and cars were packed up again. And everyone headed out.

We liked the campground itself it's very peaceful, but the sites are laid out in a square with only two of them along the creek, so first come first serve. Gary There is no shower house, but only a porta-potty like most of the Southwest Florida Water Management sites. The little creek is a good spot for fishing. The address to Green Swamp West Tract, for McNeil Primitive Camping is 10800 State Road 471, Dade City, Florida. The campground is only open after 6 by a code that you receive when booking your campsite. However you can also find a trailhead at the gate just off the road for hiking any time. Additionally, there is also some boating and kayaking there as well. During turkey and deer hunting season this area is closed for hunting.