Testimonials for Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
- "I recently camped here with my daughter’s girl scout troop. The girl’s enjoyed it very much. We had a great tour with the park ranger, where we all learned about the birds, wildlife, and native plants. We saw deer, crested caracara, and many wading birds. What a fantastic place!"
January 5, 2004
Kathy Vandamas - Loxahatchee, FL - "We are Native Floridians of the Kissimmee Prairie area. We praise the State for efforts applied in making this park/campground one of the finest in our State. It is wilderness camping with the comforts of electric, water, dump station, and wonderful facilities to boot! Not to mention the abundance of wildlife. Highly recommend this park."
January 6, 2004
- Okeechobee, FL - We have been coming to the prairie for several years to do butterfly surveys. We think it is the best park in Florida to see large numbers of some of the rarer skippers such as Palmetto, Berry's, Palatka and Florida Dusted. Even without butterflies, the vistas continue to take our breath away. It is hard to find an area of Florida where you see no powerlines, hear no traffic, can see stars at night and experience the great outdoors as well as you can at the prairie. We love it.
Buck and Linda Cooper - Haines City, FL - To me Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is so unique because of its size and beauty. Growing up in New England makes Florida seem so very different, and living in the Orlando area makes the Prairie seem so different from other parts of Florida. I've always loved nature, and butterfly watching is my solace - my way to get out and enjoy what we have here. As a wildlife survey volunteer to KPPSP, I get to parts of the park most people do not make it to, and it allows me to see some of Florida's most impressive butterflies, like Palmetto and Aaron's skippers - gorgeous when newly hatched. I drive 2 1/2 hours to help out with surveys as often as I can because KPPSP is such a wonderful place.
- Sue Farnsworth, Winter Springs, FL
Susan Farnsworth - Winter Springs, FL - Our family has enjoyed many Florida state parks and Kissimmee Prairie was no different. We began our first day there by hiking a trail behind the office. About 500 yards into the hike we came upon a mother bear and her two cubs not 30 feet off the trail. What an experience!!!
David Baker - St. Cloud, Florida - Kissammee Prairie Preserve State Park is an amazing place we were lucky enough to visit as a family in February. We managed to wangle an invitation to come on one of the monthly butterfly counts. We had been warned it was the dry season and not much would be on the wing. Well all these things are relative! we were privileged to have lovely sunny weather on the 18th Feb and the team saw a total of 38 species. This is not possible in the UK as we only have 55 species in total and the maximum you could see in one day with a lot of travelling around would be around 30. The Park is an amazing natural resource with wonderful wide vista's away from the hectic modern world. I also saw my first wild heliconid, the Zebra Longwing which I have since found out is the State Butterfly of Florida, and needs preserving like the Bald Eagle as it is obviously rare. I will be telling all my Friends in the UK Butterfly Conservation Society, what a marvellous place the Park is for butterflies and recommend they visit.
Simon Glover - UK - Forest of Dean Gloucestershire, - We just started camping again this year (2007) after about 10 years, and this was our first camping trip. We found it online and decided it would be a good place to go for our first time camping with a camper (instead of tent camping) because it was close to home. Well, to our surprise, it turned out to be the best place we had ever been. The Camp Hosts were wonderful and the campground was wonderful! We can't wait to go back again! It was everything we were looking for in a campground. Nature, hiking, biking, and getting away from it all. We will return!!!
Terry & Sheri Quillen - Fort Pierce, Florida - This is a very nice park. It is self service pay. I saw cows, large birds, deer, turkey, and an aligator. There are no markers to tell you which trail is which and the map is little help. The hiking trails just have signs saying foot traffic only. The trails are very straight since this is a praire, so I just walked back the same way back. I parked by the campgrounds. I would talk with someone at the office to figure out which trail is which. This is a nice place to camp as well. There is a bathroom, but no water or shower. The deer and turkeys are at the campsites near the woods. The deer are very tame and did not seem frightened of people. I will definetly be going back to camp and explore other parts of the praire.
Jill H - Orlando, FL - We camped there on a chilly night recently, with our kids and dogs. Had a great time. Hiked through forested area, petted horses, enjoyed the nice, clean bathroom, etc. Awesome!
Brittany Norman - Plantation, FL - (December 2007) Excellent park! Camping facilities are first rate and hosts are wonderful. Plenty of opportunities to hike or just sit and relax. Bring your camera because you will see widlife. One note of caution: BRING A COMPASS if you plan to go hiking. The maps are a tad confusing.
Karl - Melbourne, Florida
