Welcome to the quaint village of Welaka, just due south about 20 minutes from Palatka, a central Florida destination with some great lakes to explore, rivers to kayak and plenty of fish to be caught. When looking for a place to ‘drop anchor’ for the night, we had stopped by a few RV parking campgrounds, but because they were sold-out, we kept on looking around the area, which is when we stumbled across Trail Boss Campground & Marina.
I guess that we should have known by the dilapidated sign with Spanish Moss growing on it that the place was going to be downtrodden, so when we went for a quick spin around the very short loop of this RV park, our lowered expectations were met. It seems like here most of the slots – and there were surprisingly only a few available spaces – seem to be filled by semi-permanent mobile homes that haven’t seen a highway in the past decade (or two). While there is direct lake access (meaning you can see it), because of the layout of the place, a boat wouldn’t be able to make it to the water from the land, but likely only if they rocked up from lakeside itself.
As for amenities, there are both pull-through and back-in sites with electric (20 / 30 / 50 amp) and water hook-ups, but beyond this, there wasn’t much more (1-2 picnic tables, one BBQ grill and no bathrooms / showers). Nearby though you can see gators and manatees, if you happen to stay to take in some of the nature. If not, just 15 minutes down the road you’ll discover Welaka State Forest, which has some pretty amazing trails and lots of natural, endemic wildlife.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Unless you absolutely have to, I wouldn’t recommend staying here at Trail Boss – it’s a very poor spot that is not run very well and is basically a dilapidated experience in need of substantial TLC and overall maintenance; (2) If you do stay here, arrive late and leave early; (3) I would recommend parking your RV either at Welaka State Forest where at least you can be surrounded by the purity of nature or Welaka Lodge & Resort, while more expensive, will be surely a much better experience; and (4) If you’re looking for some local nightlife or food, check out The Boat Bar at Welaka Lodge& Resort (see the recurring theme here?!) or Shrimps R Us for some amazing fresh seafood (prepared any way you’d like) and plenty of liquid libations.
Happy Camping!
