Ortona Lock - South (COE)

Nice and quiet. Right on the river. Nice sites. 

This is a small park, very quite we didn't see any kids just mainly seniors in the middle of no where. Be careful or you will miss your turn. The Dam is really cool to see you can walk across it. we have a 40' Tiffin with a dolly and car we got right in to our lot, there's four pull thru's that we seen. Wifi was good at times we were at the entrance at the round about #43.

Saw it in the COE book. Stopped for a night. Will definitely come back. Level concrete pads with water and power in the right spot. Clean showers and rest rooms. The fishing looks great. The camp volunteer carries 6 poles with him and is out at sunset and sunrise fishing from the lock. Manatees and aligators fish here also. 
This is one of those magical places you stumble on to occasionally. 

This is a beautiful place. Site 41 and 42 is strange. They call it a shared site.. it’s a driveway with a yellow line dividing the 2 sites. It’s good if you travel with a buddy . It’s not with strangers. Lucky for us we had the most considerate neighbors. I would avoid booking it if you have a choice. The hosts were helpful and kind. While we were there there were boil water warnings. I would suggest using bottled water. 

Large, flat sites with fire pits and grills. Very pretty location. Walked along, saw some rare birds and otters. It was fun to watch a boat go through the locks. 

We used this as a stopping point traveling up from the keys. Nice trip through the middle of Florida. 

Absolutely beautiful campground, extremely well maintained 
Groomed.  Not recommended for kids, nothing for them to do.cell service on T mobile is great .Very peaceful and relaxing. The staff are a wonderful group of people, very friendly and helpful. 

Quiet and clean. Remote location. Large (very) sites with lots of privacy. Some sites more shaded than others. Nestled along the river with occasional boat traffic for entertainment. Park was sparsely occupied this time of the year.

Very peaceful, quiet, clean COE campground. The sites are spacious and all of them have concrete pads and Gravel patio areas with covered picnic tables. The staff is helpful and nice. My only complaint is that the campground gate opens at 7 a.m. and closes at sundown and is not an electric gate. You have to get out and unlock a combination padlock and swing the gate open and closed by hand. Make sure you have a flashlight. 

Wow.  What a find i stumbled on!  Last minute morning call...1 spot left...was told too purchase on recreation.gov and I did! 30 bucks on the water!  Park is immaculate. So peaceful.  Birds galore!  Fish jumping!  Awesome park.  Will for certain be back!  Electric and water at site.  Dump station.  Covered picnic table, grill, fire pit,  Fishing!  Site is concrete and level.  Very dog friendly.  Love this park. 

This place is a hidden gem! The place is clean quiet and tranquil. The person on duty was very helpful and very nice. Labelle it’s only 10 minutes away. Will come again!

Ok so not going to lie i was living my best like on the west side. Very spacious sites with decent privacy and distance between sites. Where as the East side the sites are very close together with smaller sites, limited shade, and not as good of a view as the south west side had. This side has more sites its a long walk to either end to the dumpster or pavilion. But the bathroom is amazing and adorable located right between all the sites. Unfortunately if Youre looking to fish this isnt the side to be on. Its a decent walk as only one dock is opened. This side has a great little information spot with a video screen telling you more about the grounds and a cute little library box. If anything I woulD think there would be a price diffence between the two sides given the differences but there isnt. I would also think they could really benefit from maybe vending machines or even a bait supply shop. The staff is freaking amazing though. Kind and very easy to talk to. Super helpful as well.

Make sure you go to the south side if the river!!!
We types in the address from this app AMD ended up on the wrong side and had to travel an extra 30 miles away to get to the right side.
$30 a day great spots plenty of space between sites. Great relaxing view of the fields from the north sites. Great for latw night stat gazing and the water sounds like Youre near the ocean. Privacy at all sites thanks to the bushes between them. A fire pit, grill, and covered picnic table. Very friendly service. Dumping is only permitted once per stay and $20 per extra dump as the sites dont have waste hookups. Currenty the extra dump fee is waved for covid. Bathrooms are cleaned daily with 2 shower stalls and 3 toilet stalls. No AC in them but well ventilated and withing a short walk from all sites. NO LAUNDRY just to note as it was something I saw on a site map. There are no amenities as far as for food, drinks, or fishing tackle and bait. So be sure to check out the local shops before driving in. Walmart is a great one stop shop but there are plenty of options in between here and there. River is flowing fiercely. If youve come for the fishing be sure to look if lake O is being released or not. People have still caught snook and jack from the west dock.

We are going out on a limb..... this is one of, if not the best, COE we have stayed at in our 4 yrs of travel.  Tranquil, well kept and large LEVEL sites!  Now our fear is everyone reads this post and we can’t get back in here.....  

Beautiful COE campground in a rural riverside setting with cattle in a large field across from campground (no odor). My $15 rate reflects senior national park pass good at all U.S. government campgrounds. Paved roads and sites are well spaced, some with shrubbery between for some privacy. Well mowed grass between all sites. Sites 1-30 are closer together but have better views of either the river or fields. I was on site 32 which was very spacious, the primary advantage of sites 31 and above. I had the most shade of any site on 32.
Not much shade so was hot in June – 95 degrees most afternoons with high humidity and bugs. I was desperate for some camping after Covid-19 lockdown, otherwise would only go here in the much cooler weather of November – April. Did not use the bathrooms but found them clean with no air conditioning. Entrance gate is locked with a padlock. You must unlock it upon entry and exit, using the combination provided with your reservation. Very quiet, not a party place which is good for me. No road, train, airplane noise. 20/30/50 amp power is sgtrong and steady. Water of decent quality with good pressure.
Consumer Cellular cell coverage varied from 1 – 3 bars and I was able to use my phone as an internet hot spot. Wifi only in a small area at bathrooms, one bench provided outside for your use. I did not use wifi since my site was too far away. 
The biggest negative of this campground is no sewer connection at sites and the rule that you can only use the dump station once a week, or when you leave. I made it 6 nights with “wash cloth showers” and left a day early. I lowered my rating one star due to this issue.
Please take serious note: there is nothing to do at this campground and there are none of the usual RV park amenities. Talking with other campers and walking was the most I did. It is a great spot to decompress, relax, and spend some quiet time. Far from stores so bring everything you need. The nearest town, LaBelle, is about 10 miles away but it does have a smaller super Wal-Mart.
I do plan to return for a shorter four night visit in cooler weather. I camped in a 25’ class C motorhome.

Nice quiet campground, electric and water with nearby dump station. 

While scrambling to get sites at resorts this little campground was perfect!  Quiet, large sites, extremely friendly volunteer staff, clean.  Each site has covered picnic table, grill and fire ring. Although no sewer, the dump station is clean and not overly crowded for the 50 sites.  Was able to get two nights here and would love to come back!

What a great place! Spent Thanksgiving weekend here, and it was peaceful and quiet. 50 sites, and each one is beautiful. Well-maintained facilities, showers, bathrooms and laundry. Loudest neighbors are the cows and burros next door. The waterway is active, and the lock operations are interesting to see in action. Breeze is always blowing. We are booking return trips already!

Extremely nice bathrooms n laundry.

Nicely done Corps of Engineers campground. Beautiful scenery, peace & quiet, well maintained sites & clean bathrooms. Would have preferred a door on the shower space instead of just a curtain but it was clean. Watching the boats go through the lock was a bonus. We were told that after Christmas it's pretty hard to get in there, better to have a reservation 6 months out. 

Small campground 55 spots with no sewer's but EW are there. There's a dump station on grounds. Love this place its quite right on the river and you can watch the otter or boats go through the locks. Hate talking about it cause more and more people go. 1/2 into town for supplies or meals. Bathroom are super clean..one on each end of the campground..Love it!!!!!

If you are seeking calm and quiet this is it. Extremely clean sites, restrooms and shower facilities. Watching boats pass thru the lock. Saw alligator, hawks and Americsn Eagle oh and on the other side.....cows! Would definitely come back.

Very very clean and campsites all very spacious and all concrete pads. Wonderful scenery.  No wifi or cable but OTA tv reception very good.  Wonderful scenery. Quiet.