We cashed in another Groupon over the weekend, this time at Wekiva Falls KOA in Sorrento, FL (near Sanford, north of the Orlando area). Not only was the Groupon more than worth what we paid, but if Wekiva Falls is any indication we discovered why KOA is so popular!
Our experience was amazing!
Check-in was a breeze and all of the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, not only escorting us to our campsite (they do that for everybody) but also taking the time to warn us about the family of black bears that live in the area, so we’re not to leave food or garbage out.
Our Groupon was for 3 days/2 nights, a two-hour canoe ride, a $10 credit at the tiki bar, and late check-out (7pm!)…and we’re all in agreement that we would have loved to have stayed much longer!
The campground isn’t for those who want to rough it, although there are some primitive campsites there. This campground is for those who want to experience camping in a convenient and simplified manner. Although Bandage Mom and Dad prefer roughing it, we know the campground made it that much easier to keep the boys happy and entertained.
You can find out all of the amenities at the campground’s website (provided above and on our website), so we’re not going to list everything here. Instead, we’ll go through what we did.
We arrived around 3pm on Friday (check-in is 2pm). Once we got set up and returned from a quick trip to the local Walmart for an additional drinking hose (the sites are full hookup and the hose we had couldn’t reach the faucet), we met one of our neighbors (another family of four who also got their reservation deal via Groupon) and then went exploring.
Our boys quickly fell in love with the playground, which was a lengthy-but-comfortable walking distance from our campsite. Located near the playground is the campground’s convenience store, which sells just about everything you could want or need during your stay–and they didn’t exactly gouge you with their prices ($1.50 for a 16-oz bottle of soda, $18 for a 25-foot RV water hose, $16 for a 12-pack of cans of beer, ice cream sandwiches and treats for $1.50, just for a few examples). The closest Walmart is 15 minutes away (Publix and Ace Hardware are 10 minutes away), so depending on your mode of transportation and how much gas it consumes, you may be better off buying what you need at the KOA store.
After we ate dinner, it was pretty dark, so we grabbed our flashlights and went exploring. We found the boat launch and canoe rental location…which is also at the tiki bar. Across the way from the tiki bar is the bon fire, where karaoke was taking place (both that evening and the next). We also found a nature trail and decided to walk that before returning to the bon fire and karaoke. Although we opted not to torment others with our singing (dis-)abilities, our boys had loads of fun dancing to just about every song.
Once we returned for the evening and the boys were asleep, Bandage Mom and Dad lit the camp fire (above-ground contained fires are welcomed, although pits are not provided, so bring your own; we have a small charcoal grille that we bought last year at Walmart) and admired the amazing surroundings, beautiful sky, and cool weather.
Just before 5am the next morning, our oldest son woke up to use the bathroom. Bandage Dad was then working on him falling asleep again while Bandage Mom returned to the screen wall of our bed (our travel trailer is a hybrid and we sleep in the fold-out tent bed). Mom noticed a couple walking their two large dogs about 20-25 yards away…when suddenly the dogs started barking, the couple started retreating with their dogs, and the woman started screaming, “Oh my god! Somebody help us!” Of course, Bandage Mom sat up with a start…only to see a very large black bear charging towards the couple and their dogs! Now, the bear DID NOT attack the couple or the dogs; she was scaring them off to protect her cubs. Of course, Mom’s excitement woke up the boys and we all stared out looking for the bear. Only Bandage Dad saw it; the boys were disappointed.
The next day, the campground was all buzzing about the bears that had been out until almost 8am! The ground’s staff was busy cleaning up from the garbage cans that had been knocked over, the very large piles of bear feces, and the tree limbs and leaves that had come down from the oak tree that the bears used as their bed and gymnasium the night before and that morning.
After breakfast we decided to try swimming at the sulfur springs. Brrrr! While the water was a chilly 72 degrees–and didn’t smell that great–it was beautiful! We had a lot of fun swimming, splashing around, and chasing fish. Our oldest son even attempted one of the two large water slides situated in the center of the water…only to freeze up when he hit the water because of a combination of the frigid temperature and his uneasiness with the enclosed slide.
After we were all pretty chilled, we went to the much-warmer swimming pool, located at the club house…directly across the street from our campsite. Bandage Mom then returned to the trailer to make lunch and then we all went for another walk around the campground. (Hiking is one of our favorite things to do.)
We ended up walking the entire campground, making a complete loop from our site, around the perimeter, to the tiki bar and boat launch, back up to the playground, up and around the creek (which leads to the spring), and back to the campground, collecting firewood along the way.
The boys made fast friends with the 8-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy in the site next to us, and while we chatted with their parents, the kids all played together. After we all ate dinner, the eight of us decided to take the night walk to the tiki bar together. We still had our credit to use, as did they.
On the way to the tiki bar, we heard something in one of the trees we had just passed. We turned around in time to see a bear cub sliding down from it…only feet from us! Although he was more afraid of us than we were of him, the kids were all still pretty startled. Regardless, we continued to the tiki bar, where we used up our credit and enjoyed the nearby bon fire and karaoke. On the way back we watched a parade of paper lanterns getting released into the air at the club house lawn by the KOA residents. It was their way of celebrating Halloween together.
We returned from the lantern show and decided to roast marshmallows with our neighbors at their travel trailer. At some point, Bandage Mom decided to walk towards the oak tree that had housed the bear family early that same morning. Mom noticed something dark on the ground below it. When we shined a flashlight in that direction, we noticed it was one of the garbage cans…already knocked over! Then everybody heard a rustling sound high up in the tree. Sure enough–the mother bear was up there. After awhile, she climbed down, ran down the embankment, crossed the creek, and joined one of her cubs on the other side. In that one evening, we saw three bears!
The next day we joined our neighboring family and we all went canoeing. It was a beautiful and very leisure trip. We saw dozens of streaked-head turtles sunning themselves on logs, and we found an alligator drifting in one of the marshes, apparently trying to look like a floating log. The water was calm, clean, and beautiful, and the weather was amazing.
We finally departed around 5pm, although our checkout wasn’t scheduled until 7pm. Our neighboring family left shortly before us, as did the couple that was behind us (a very nice couple from the same county we live in). The couple on the other side of us are permanent residents, living there in their beautiful class A RV for two months now.
Although we never ventured into the clubhouse during our stay, it appeared to always be busy. If you don’t want to camp at this KOA, you can visit for the day. There are many picnic tables surrounding the land that overlooks the swimming lagoon, and whether they were KOA residents, weekend campers, or daytime visitors, everybody was friendly and appeared to be having an amazing time.
Again, this is not a campground for those who wish to rough it and find things to do on your own. If your family would like to experience camping for the first time, this is a wonderful way of easing into the hobby. There are cabins for rent as well.
Wekiva Falls KOA is a very clean, laid-back, fun-loving “kampground.” We would definitely recomment them, especially if you can get a deal through Groupon or Half Off Depot.
Whatever you do though, don’t leave out food or your garbage. There really are bears there!
Bandage Blog 