Manatee Cove Campground

We stayed here again the 26-29 Apr 13, again it is a nice park but could be improved. I spoke with one of the MWR reps and he stated the old firing range will eventually turned into RV parking, I just hope they don't put the spots in like the overflow(backwards). There is wifi but you have to be in the clubhouse it's not broadcast across the park. The clubhouse closes @ 2200. Since the opening of the new clubhouse they did move checkin to that building so when you drive to the park the old checkin trailer is there but locked up and like chickenlegs said they moved the hosts close to the new building. While departing the clubhouse you must turn right and loop thru the park to park in the pull thru w/full hookups if you turn left you will hit the guarding posts that are there to protect something????? from getting hit. With all these issues it's still a nice park and they are trying. Yes there are perm. residents there, this visit I saw most of them they do move every 30 days.

L.S. left this review using the Directory software:- There were homesteaders at the park. One man bragged that he lived there for a year and a half. Another one said six months. Thought this was against the rules. No wonder we have trouble getting reservations. Something needs to be done about this abuse.

Rates have increased effective Jan 2013, check the gopatrickfl website for current rates. This is my 3rd stay at Patrick. It's nice that they added power to the overflow sites but the layout is backwards. You're always backing in from your blind side. On one side the power pedestals are very far forward. One was hit by an RV pulling out of the spot. That pedestal has been tilted 45 degrees for the last 2 months. The camp hosts do a great job. Unfortunately, many of the other base support folks seem to care very little. If I come back to this area for the winter again, I'll look at parks in the civilian community. During my limited research this year, there are places that match Patrick for rates even during high season and you don't have to move every 30 days.

We have been coming off & on to PAFB FamCamp since 2002. Our stays are okay but the place could show alot more improvement.. They finally got a great clubhouse which was way over due. But they moved the office and check-in that was at the beginning of the park which was alot more convenient for the RVer into the new clubhouse that is located way down into the rv park. I feel that it was much harder to pull the motorhome with my car/motorcycle trailer to get to my site and set up. They also moved the nite host from the beginning of the park to the middle. Now if you arrive after hours and never been to the FamCamp again this makes it hard on the RVer to find the nite host and get a site alot of unnecessary driving and parking. I also feel it is ashame that the park doesn't have a good internet/TV serviced with all of the thousands of dollars this park makes off the winter season RVers. The last three years that I have stayed the internet service has been down. When asked the park office just replies that this happens all of the time. To me this is a problem and some kind of action should be taken to fix it. If MWR is too cheap to provide this service, why not let a commerical company come and provide it. I try every way I can to avoid staying here but a couple of days can be tolerated.

We enjoyed Patrick famcamp so much more than other military rv parks. The rotation from overflow to full or partial is fair. Everyone has an equal opportunity. The hosts Ralph and Tom are most gracious and are always friendly to everyone. The PX and commisary are close and the Dining Facility is close and good prices. The new community center is very spacious and there is a lot of activites there. Thanks to the new Manager for a wonderful stay.

Warning, we have stayed at this Famcamp many times, but the last time was in 2011. We attempted to spend one night here on 9 Feb. I tried to call the office five times and the message said my calls were during office hours but no answer. Since we stayed here many time in route, we assumed we could spend one night in dry camp overflow, wrong assumption. We arrived at the large vehicle gate at 5pm and waited about 45 minutes to get on base. We arrived at the Famcamp at 6pm. The host on duty didn't look happy and after a few minutes we were not happy campers. No room at the Inn, the overflow was full, the Base/Wing Commander only allows three RVs in overflow. I was very tired after a 450 mile drive. They said we had to leave the base, After about 10 calls to parks we attempted to leave the base, which took about another hour, then a 30 mile drive to a county park in the dark. Looks like this park only caters to long term residents, or to someone that knows someone. I've been retired 10 years and never been turned away from a military Famcamp. The poor communication on the phone message was the main problem, if they had offered me a warning I would stayed at a commercial park. I guess I learned a lesson.

This was my wife and my first adventure with RV'n. We purchased a bumper pull toy hauler and wanted to stay close on our first time out (we live in Clermont FL) so we decided to go to Patrick AFB for the week. It was a great experience for us. The staff was super and the park was well kept. We had a pull thru with water/pwr only. We were 2 spots over from the wash house and the spot we were put on was a large lot so we weren't right on top of our neighbor. Where else can you go and stay on a beach for $15 a night. We can't wait to go back had a blast!!!!!!!! They are suppose to have the family center up and running on/about the 23 Jan 13 so there will be wifi then. We had our IPad so there was no issue with the internet.

We stayed for just one night and was pleasantly surprised at the changes since we last visited two years ago. There were no standard sites available for us but once we saw how they have improved the overflow area, we had absolutely no issues staying there. As others have already pointed out, the pistol range is gone, another nice surprise. The tent camping area has been cleaned out of all brush and trees have been trimmed up. Restrooms were the same as our last visit there, its not 'hospital clean' but it certainly wasn't filthy. The only issue I can see they are going to have is that the overflow area was hastily paved. I dont know if it is a low grade of asphalt, laid to thin, or needed some extra rolling; it was certainly brittle. For being there one night, our 8x12 inch wood blocks we put under out stabilizers and tongue jack sank into the asphalt about an inch. Like I said, we were there for one night and it wasn't exceptionally warm. Overall a great place to stay. Will certainly do it again.

Can't say enough about this well run campground. The Hosts made our visit the best we'd ever experienced at a military campground. We had never stayed here before and were wonderfully surprised at the awesome location and friendly atmosphere. The former shooting range has been moved to its new permanent facility and a contractor is busy removing all of the berms and the former range building will be turned over to the campground for their use in the near future. The Air Force should be paying these people a bonus for the outstanding work they do from welcoming campers to keeping the park pristine. We look forward to returning here in the future and will tell all of our military friends about this GREAT CAMPGROUND....!!! Judi and Ralph Caldwell.

We live in Orlando but took our popup to Manatee Cove twice this year so far. Our first visit was exploratory and we found the lack of signage on A1A to be a serious problem. Fortunately, we located the correct commercial/truck entrance without by-passing it. Locating the Manatee Cove was easy but there was NO signage along the way if you didn't know where to go. We found eating at the Riverside Dining facility to be an inexpensive and convenient vacation option. Better yet, we realized it was easier to shop at the huge commissary every afternoon rather than worry about keeping fresh provisions healthy in a cooler. The dining facility overlooks the Banana River and for the view alone it is worth the bike ride (less than a mile). We were able to launch our kayak from the sandy shore on the Banana River and saw sting ray, dolphin, and schools of fish. Behind our site was an estuary of the river that was fenced off and during our first trip we watched a dolphin playing with the mullet; throwing them in the air and catching them. We were able to capture his escapades on video for posterity. There is a healthy, friendly population of raccoon so be prepared to have anything left outside shook, rattled, opened, and walked all over.
The host staff are excellent. They can and will answer any question and assist in any way to make your visit pleasant. We forgot our dogs shot record the first time over but we were able to drop the popup and go back to get it. So DON'T leave home without your pet's records. There is a vet on base that you can make an appointment with if your pet needs care. And there is a great dog walk enclosure for pets to make friends. Only complaint is the entire place is covered in burrs that are painful to pets and people. We learned the hard way. Other's have mentioned the movie theater that we took advantage of both visits and if you're into major physical fitness, there is an awesome gym and pool on base within an easy bike ride with ample parking. Our second visit included the 4th of July holiday and I was amazed that the park was not full. We had called ahead to make sure something was available and we were even able to get our same site #70 by the estuary. Of course it has only partial hookups but we don't need sewer hookups since the bath house was conveniently located and extremely well lit. We celebrated the 4th on the Atlantic Ocean beach. There was a base club house that rented umbrellas, paddle boards, kayaks, bicycles, and surfboards. A food truck menu was available at reasonable prices. Fireworks back at the campsite were awesome from the Banana River as far as we could see. We will be going back for the Cocoa Beach Air Show in September. Hope to see you there! Jim & Pat Webb

We arrived and was able to get a back in spot right on the water. We are in spot 10, right next to some pine trees and, as I said, backs up to the river. Jimmy took good care of us and got us comfortably tucked in. The place is in a great location, within reasonable driving distance to virtually every good destination in the state. We were stationed here with the 6549th CAMs in the early 70s when this was the Air Force Eastern Test Range. I was surprised how little the base had changed. Yes, some buildings were gone and there were quite a few new ones, but entering the base through the main gate and it looks pretty much the same. I worked on the flight line and my old hanger (750) was still there looking much the same. Unfortunately, our old base housing unit, a Capehart Unit, was long gone, although there were a few units left in private ownership and they look pretty ragged. All in all our stay here has been great, even the liquid sunshine that falls from time to time and here in Florida, when it rains, it doesn't fool around. There is WiFi, it emanates from the laundry building but my lap top picked it up nicely in spot #10. An older computer may not be as sensitive. My wife's Kindle did not. Also, the laundry room itself is hotter than Hades. It really needs some better ventilation than the little window fan and the fan mounted on the wall. Apart from that, the place was great.

Have not been here for 3 years and am very impressed with the progress they have made and continue to make in the FamCamp. This certainly will be a contender for a Military Campground award and the 30 day max stay rule should be a standard at the popular Military Campgrounds. It is a fact the building at the existing firing range will become a community room for the FamCamp but no definite date when this will happen but the new building for the range is under roof, so just maybe it will be all in place for the winter season of campers. Not impressed with the Riverside Dining facility food and most folks in the campground said the same thing. For this time of year it stays almost full in the full hook-up sites and office personnel also said it is fuller this year than last year at this time. Movie theater has movies on Friday night and Sat. afternoon that are free and took advantage of this. Please all of you who arrive here, USE THE COMMERCIAL GATE TO ENTER AND DEPART as someone arrived in a Class A with a tow car when it was getting dark and attempted to come in the main gate and the gate guard allowed it but a big oops happened and the driver of the RV damaged his RV and property at the gate. There is so much to see and do in this area so two weeks goes by quickly so we will be back in a couple months to see continuing progress and explore more in the area.

We will definitely be back. Learned that after April 1 you can sponsor another RV. We did that and our friends who are non-military were able to stay there too while we had a campsite. You can not sponsor more than one RV though regardless of how empty the place is because, "the regulation states...." . I will leave it at that. Our sites on the Banana River was excellent! Lots of dolphins, fish jumping, birds etc. The firing range will move to their new location out of the middle of the Famcamp by next season so that will be nice. Nice bike trail nearby. We also made frequent use of the fitness center, golf course and library. Place is hard to beat.

Nice campground located close to ocean and banana river. No cable but antenna reception is good for all the local channels. No wifi unless you go to laundry facility and hook up. Nice laundry and showers. Rates are different than posted here. No weekly rates. Monthly is 470 for full hookup, 440 for partial. 18 a day for full, 17 for partial, 15 for overflow w/electric. Will definitely return.

This is one nice RV park. This was my first visit here, and it will not be the last. The staff are true professionals, and helped me out during my visit.I would like to thank Leslie for her assistance and friendly welcome aboard meeting. I believe this park could be number if the facilities were upgraded. The park needs some find of club house. This park is number one in patrons friendliness,ie,happy hour everyday by the guest makes your visit even better. Most parks (Kings Bay) are loaded with snowbirds,and you as a guest feel like a outsider and not welcome. Everyone is treated equally,and fair,and this my fellow RVers is the reason that i will be back,Thank You Patrick Air Force Base,Ray Wyatt,retired USN

First time here - what a great location, and a very helpful and friendly staff! Arrived without a reservation, and went straight to partial hook-up. Dump station has two blue totes to check out, so no worries about maxing out tanks. Relatively close to Orlando, water on both sides, fishing right at the campground, no jet noise, wonderful sunrises/sunsets. Only complaint is men's bathroom - someone needs to take the cleaning a bit more serious - the whole place smells of old urine. Overall - a great value!

Have been here several times and always like it. We are usually lucky and get a good site. Having electric in overflow is a great addition. Only problem this visit is that we arrived on Sunday. Commercial gate was closed. We had to wait for an hour for police to come and open it for us. RV's must use this gate as other gates are too small. Hope to return next year and stay longer. Nice crowd of people and very welcoming to "newbies".

This Fam camp is very nice. The Air Force could do a so much better job at maintaining this campground. The facilities are not enough for the amount of campers paying to stay in dry camp and parking lot. The firing range in the middle of the Fam Camp is a bit scary. The location is exceptional and the view is breath taking. The hosts are very friendly and helpful. I totally enjoyed my month of winter in Manatee Cove.

Although the park was very crowded and the waiting list to get into full hook ups is about 3 weeks, it was worth staying for just one night. A place that you would definitely want to get back to at a different time. The duty host was very nice.

We truly found a gem of a RV Park! The staff was great and provided a lot of sightseeing information during the check in process. The sites were spacious and clean, and the park was quiet! 75 cents to wash/dry and the laundry/restroom facilities were very clean. MWR was in the process of wiring 45 overflow sites with 50 amp service, which will be an added benefit for all. We will be back again soon.