James E. Johnson Memorial RV Park

Stayed here for 6 weeks. Quite at times. Local people use the camp ground on week ends. Alot of people with boats. Both fishing and recreational. With two cars and a boat at your site makes it a bit crowded. Real pretty campground. We stayed in the new section. All sites are spaced so everyone can see some of the lake from there site. You can walk or jog on Avenue A. When the traffic goes by you they are suppose to slow to 15 MPH. This doesn't happen as the locals use just one speed. (fast) Not patrolled very well. The laundry room is located next to the billeting area. This is ok. At least they have one although it is dirty and very expensive compared to other bases. Bathroom are only located in the primitive area(tent). Used them once and never again. They should be torn down and rebuilt. They are beyond repair.
The fees are high compared to other bases. I don't know where their money goes. Not back into there facilities. We have seen prisoners policing the grounds, but thats it. Some of the buildings and table covers along with the sign frames need painting. There are host in the old area and tent area. We saw the host in the old area once. The other two we never saw. The host in the tent area are poor examples as there site was not neat and kept up. don't know whet their responsibility is, but its not cleaning. The campground is run by the recreation and not the MWR. You have pay a state tax on your site fee. Dogs are charged for staying. This is great, but some campers thought it was ok to let there dogs run without a leash. They have a very nice restaurant next to the recreation office. You can also eat with the troops in the consolidated mess. Both places have good prices. I would stay again, but it would be in the old area.

Found the campground to be an excellent choice. I can't speak of the facilities i.e. bath house etc. as we did not need them. People were nice when we checked in, and we had no problems while we were there for 5 nights. I did find water pressure to be a little low, but no other problems. Access into Blanding was easy, guard came out and directed us to outside lane to avoid getting too close to guard house. All in all a very pleasant experience except for having to drive to Starke for any dining outside the campsite. No cable or Wi-fi, but antenna brought in a number of acceptable channels.

The girls at the office are not very friendly, and are less than helpful. However we discussed the issues with the new manager and she plans to address the problems. The bathrooms are old and need updating. Wish they offered WiFi. This park could be a great winter destination (peaceful and on a lake) with a few adjustments.

they have done away with weekly rates, now either daily or monthly. The dry camp rate INCREASED 40% to $14! They are not using the sites they added electricity to. Partial has gone up to $16 and full $18. I think it is ridiculous to pay $14 just to park in a field. Using your own generator and water, so it really costs them nothing. We were going to stay a couple weeks, but not now!

They have made several improvements here in the last year or so. The formerly dusty pot hole plagued road in the "old" RV section has been paved - sort of. They have put down old ground up asphalt from who knows where and compacted it very well. Not a perfect paving job, but a welcome improvement nonetheless. They have also added a couple of covered pavilions with tables, fire pits, and grills. The biggest change is the new RV section located on the other side of the primitive area. This has 20 full hook up sites with long, wide, level concrete pads. There are now 50 full hook up sites plus the five located in the primitive area. The only poor part of this is that they clear cut all the trees and destumped the area in order to make it easier to put the utilities underground. Hopefully they will plant some tree in this area to provide some shade in the years to come. The sites are also a bit close together, but not oppressively so. Adding bath houses to the two RV sections would be O.K., but a more welcome improvement would be putting laundry facilities in the quonset hut where the office is located. There is plenty of room in there and I've got to believe this could easily be a revenue generator for the operation.

C.H. left this review using the Directory software: We paid a day-trip visit to Blanding and drove through the campgrounds - I say that because there are now in effect three. They have done a lot of work on the camping facilities, but unfortunately that does not include the bathhouse. It's still in pretty bad shape. In the original RV camp loop, they have cleared out a lot of trees, making it much brighter. At the north end of the loop are nine new sites. In the "primitive" tent loop, there are 4-5 newer RV sites. Just to the south of the tent loop is a brand new RV loop with what looked to be pretty level cement pads with hookups. Ted Houghton

We were here a week and loved it so much decided to stay another 3 weeks. This is the off season for this recreational facility so stay limit of 21 days does not apply. Pay for 2 days and 3rd day is free. We are in the new section and have it all to ourselves. Very quiet and dark at night. They have a very strict pet policy (which is good). Other campgrounds I have complained because dogs have been left in the campers all day, alone and barking. Not here. In fact they have a section where no dogs are allowed, also no dogs on post.If you have a dog it is limited to the campground and cannot be left alone. There is no commissary, but they have a consolidated dinning facility that is so reasonable ($4.75) we eat there more times a week than I cook. There is also a restaurant beside the campground office which is open several times during the week. Nice roads for walking and a small gym. Laundry room was not very clean. Camp Blanding is in the middle of nowhere but we have found many places to ride our motorcycle, flea markets, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, the Ocala Forest, Orange Park, the dog track. And a great little seafood restaurant outside the gate to the left. We will stay here again.

A.H. left this recview using the Directory software: Have visited Camp Blanding twice but never again. They cater more to locals then to military community. Was there a couple of months, had to move sites several times. Pet policies are ridiculous. Had to move from main site to primitive, obviously took pet along. After being there a couple of days, host came by and said could not have pet there (I guess I was supposed to take pet off base and leave on hwy.) Met with campground administrator, he informed me, he had been there for almost 50 years and if I didn't like it I could leave. I did. Young girls in office were polite and courteous but knew nothing of campground management, once they took fees and assigned site, that was it. Campground was fine, administration of it is poor.

For some reason we've return to this facility three years in a row, each year discovering more history about Camp Blanding. Again this year, the camp hosts were not seen by us for the entire visit. We were able to stay at Primitive Site #1 with full hook-ups the entire time with no prior reservations. The primitive area does have a bath house which has cleaned about once a week. The closest laundry was at the lodge (it was not clean). They are working on 18 more sites with bath and laundry facilities. If you visit, don't miss the museum. It is small but very informative. Learn about the post and the German POW camp and the roll Camp Blanding played in WW II.

Stayed here from Feb. 28-March 8. Very pleasant stay. Our reserved site was #4, right on the lake...beautiful view and excellent site to put out our canoe. I would recommend reserving this site. View from camper at sunset was gorgeous! Office was closed when we arrived, but went over the next morning and had no trouble signing in. TV reception and cell phone service was very good. Starke was the nearest city but was only around 10-15 minutes away. There is a small exchange on base with limited items. We really enjoyed our stay...and the weather FINALLY warmed up. As was stated in other reviews, there are no bathroom facilities in the RV section, but we didn't need them. Only problem we had was a "tripped" transformer that supplied our site and the one next to us. A squirrel triggered the tripping...one FRIED squirrel!! We reported the problem and within a couple of hours, the transformer was fixed. We would eagerly recommend this Famcamp for anyone wanting a relaxing and quiet time. Don't know what it's like in the summer, but winter was great.

Arrived with reservation, No camp host, was away on duty. Checked with Asst. Host who had no list of incoming folks, said to take any empty site. I did. The next day was told I was in a site that had been reserved for the previous two weeks, just hadn't shown up. I had to move. Would have been nice if names of incoming campers were posted on the campsite post and the reservation dates. Would make it much easier to locate your site, especially after hours. Site was great, on water, level, FHU. Interior roads could use some work, pot holes, water. Lot of "locals" using campground, not sure how that works. Great place to enjoy nature, fish, swim, boat, walk, bicycle...crystal clear lake with sand bottom and piers. Limited shopping, stock up in Stark eleven miles away. About 30 miles from Jacksonville NAS. Good TV reception on antenna from Jax and satellite easy to set up. No bath house in this side of park, are a couple on tent camper side but too far to be useful for RV campers. No washer/dryers or internet. Dining facility nearby offering meals, but not every day, schedule posted.

Stopped by to check the place out. Nice, quiet campground. If you're looking for a place that doesn't have a long waiting list and isn't near a lot of stores and tourists, this is a the place. Price is good for this location.

G. B. left this review using the Directory software: What pleasant surprise. The camp ground is on a lake shore of a nearly perfect round example of a Florida sink hole lake (estimate it's about 2 miles in diameter). CG is clean and quiet. The roads are hard packed gravel/shell surfaces. We have a full hook up (50 amp/'water/sewer) which is better than many other sites I've visited. The paved pads are large (my 40 foot coach has lots of room) and are quite level. Many of the sites face the lake. The grounds have several trees but there are a number of sites that are open and have unrestricted access to sat TV signals. We're only here for one night but I'll definitely come back for a longer stay just see if the lake has a fish population commensurate with it clarity and cleanliness. It appears you can beach or anchor your boat on the shore in front of you site. If you're considering boating, I ask the friendly office folks for guidance on this subject before you come. The office hours are from 0830 at 1630.

Jean (office lady) was friendly enough, stayed in my FW for a week while I was working with an ARNG BN on the north part of the camp; other reviews are accurate: beautiful lake-front campground but many semi-absentee "6-month" stayers limits site availability; poorly thought out landscaping has probably done more harm than good in area around newer sites; (I have posted latest site map so you can see the added sites others have described); base PX is OK (small "field" PX but adequate); Starke is 10-min down SR16 to W; JAX outskirts is about 30 mins NE and St Augustine is about 30 min SE; I got about 12 channels (digital and analog) with a standard roof antenna; you can launch boats/canoes etc from the shore or the nearby REC dock; there's a Conference Center/Restaurant within walking distance (Moody Hall, see REC Area map) that opens for daily meals on weekdays; concur that a bath house in the RV area and laundry facility would be most welcome. The primitive area had the 5 pads mentioned previously as well as several partial (no sewer) sites which serve as overflow when the RV area is full. The lake is beautiful, clear and does, indeed, have great sunsets.

Camp Blanding is an Army National Guard post which seems fairly deserted. Not much troop activity that we could see. There is a barber shop on post, but it's only open on Thurs, Fri and Sat. There is no commissary here and only a tiny exchange, which is sort of like an old country store with a little bit of everything but actually nothing that is of any use! Has a coin laundry. Not a particularly friendly RV office lady. Had mounds of fire ants outside our trailer. It's an 11 mile drive into Starke to get groceries. It's a very economically depressed area. Lots of shacks and delapidated houses along the drive. Have only one TV station here - ABC. It's a good strong signal though and cell signal is good. No cable TV. It really is pretty here. We were in the primitive section where there are 5 slabs with full hookups, which looked like the best place to be, as we drove around to check everything out. We were right on a lake, which we heard was created from a meteor, many years ago. They have a nice little beach. We had a real nice view of the lake from our living room area. You can hear occasional cannons going off and troops running to cadence nearby. You can walk out onto a nearby pier. There are herons and the water is VERY clear. We even saw an eagle in flight. Went to the Chapel on post on Sunday but it was locked up tighter than a drum. There is a museum on post and a mess hall.

The bathrooms showers needed cleaning. The office personnel were friendly. Had a good spot by the lake. Had a lot of new contruction pertaining to RV parking. It will take time to complete but will make the stay better. Over all enjoyed the stay, it was nice.

Checked campground out for friends interested in staying. Not impressed with their pet policy! Why would I want to pay for my pet to stay since their is a pet policy of picking up after your pet! If not adhered to DON'T let THAT PERSON bring a PET. DON'T punish other people who take care of their pets and adhere to the rules!
NO I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS campground to anyone with PETS who DO take care of their PETS!

Located kind of out of the way between Jacksonville & Gainesville, it is not too difficult to find although our GPS wanted to take us in through a gate that is closed. Rent-a-cop security guys are friendly enough and gave good directions to get to campground. Jean in the Recreation office was very helpful and pleasant to deal with. When questioned as to why there is a $2.75 per pet per day charge she explained that they receive no Federal or State funding and so the fee is a money raiser, not a form of punishment or disincentive for pet owners to stay away. I think this is an unfair method of raising money and would rather see a small increase in the camping fees if needed to fund the place. Also, pets are not allowed anywhere on the post outside of the campground. That's unfortunate because it limits the abilty to exercise with your dog. They really need a bath house in the "regular" RV area and a laundry facility in the office area would be a good enhancement. They are in the process of adding sites and that is certainly welcome, but they are doing it in an unorganized fashion. They are simply strip clearing fairly large areas with no idea as to how many sites they'll put there. After they get the area stripped of all living vegetation, they will lay our some sites and figure out what they'll put in. This is too bad because the already existing sites are nicely located under the trees and surrounded by naturally landscaped areas. The new sites will be out the the wide open and hot sun all day long. The only benefit of the work going on is that there is plenty of fire wood for the campfires as they are having the Florida Correction Department prisoners working on the expansion project cut up all the trees into a good size for splitting and burning in the provided fire pits.

Campground was O.K. - did seem like it is currently being worked on. Restroom - shower over at tent camping area is very dirty - needs cleaned - not new dirt - alot of dead bugs. Lake is very nice and could be alot of fun for folks who enjoy water activities. Would stay again - stayed here on our way home from Disney World- at Fort Wilderness. mimikv/ Pittsburgh, Pa.

Nice lake. Clear, clean, scenic. Driving more than 5 mph in park creates a lot of dust. Will stay again. Could use a shower/washroom in RV section. Hook-ups are 50/30 amps, water (clorine heavy), and sewer. Fire pit and grill on each site. Many birds to watch!