Experiences & Amenities

Hard-shell roads suitable for biking, along with 100 miles of trails/service roads for off-road bicycling, are shared with hikers, horseback riders and park vehicles. 

• Helmets are highly recommended for all cyclists and Florida law requires helmets for cyclists age 16 and under.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park offers excellent seasonal birding opportunities. The park offers refuge to six federally threatened and endangered species and an additional six species of special concern. Highlights of a birding trip to Kissimmee Prairie may include the Florida grasshopper sparrow, burrowing owls, crested caracaras and wood storks.

The park's varied habitats, including wetlands, dry prairie and hardwood hammocks, offer a full day of bird-watching.

Keep an eye out during breeding season (April through August) for unique avian aerial acrobats – swallow-tailed and white-tailed kites! Swallow-tailed kites gracefully soar above the trees in search of prey that they eat on the fly. There are usually a few nesting swallow-tailed kites throughout the preserve. White-tailed kites are known for their hovering tactic while hunting and are rarer in Florida. In recent years, there has been a pair of white-tailed kites nesting in the oak snags just west of the Prairie Loop Trail, near the primitive campsite hammock. Let one of our preserve staff members point you in the right direction of these majestic birds.

Surrounded by 54,000 acres of prairie, campers at the Kilpatrick Hammock Campground can experience real Florida wilderness with access to modern conveniences. Water and electricity are provided at all 35 campsites along with a spacious accessible restroom with showers and laundry. A water-filling and dump station is centrally located.

Trails are located near the campground to allow for exploration of the preserve. The park's remoteness makes Kissimmee Prairie an ideal location for stargazing. The park also offers the Bedtime Story Camper Lending Library of picture books for campers ages 4 to 9. Check out the books at the park office. Well-behaved pets are allowed in the campground in accordance with our Pet Policy.

• Maximum recreational vehicle length is 65 feet.
• Reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance. For reservations, visit the Florida State Parks reservations website or call 800-326-3521 or TDD 888-433-0287.

Kilpatrick Hammock Campground offers equestrian camping with 50-amp electrical service and water at each of the 10 available sites. One paddock is provided for each campsite. Water is provided in the southwestern-most paddocks, and a central community water source is located near the kiosk at the entry to this camp loop.

There is a four-room ADA accessible bathhouse located in the equestrian campground. Equestrian campers also have access to the bathhouse in the family camp loop.

• Please call ahead to confirm paddock availability.
• Areas for temporary fencing are available if the paddocks are full.
• Pets are permitted in accordance with our Pet Policy.

The preserve offers three wilderness primitive campsites located 2.5 miles from the office. Since these sites can be reached only by hiking or biking, please check in at the office two hours before sunset. Sites have a picnic table and a fire ring. Everything must be packed in - including water - and packed out. The three sites are available to individuals or groups, with a maximum of four people per site. Pets are not allowed in the wilderness primitive campsites. 

There is no other place on earth to see the same combination of plants and animals that you'll find in the grasslands of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. You may startle white-tailed deer feeding on the tender grasses or send an indigo snake slithering off the trail to hide in the wiregrass.

Scan the skies and see a crested caracara or bald eagle soaring overhead; listen carefully and you may hear endangered Florida grasshopper sparrows singing in their natural prairie habitat.

Wildflowers dot the countryside, including yellow bachelors buttons, pipewort, blazing star, meadow beauty and the delicate alligator lily. Enjoy the prairie by looking into it – not at it. Please be aware that trails are shared with horseback riders, bicyclists and park vehicles.

• Pets must be on a six-foot hand-held leash and well-behaved at all times. Pets are allowed on the service roads. Pets are not allowed on the Hammock Trail (red markers).

Riding the trails on horseback is one of the best ways to see the preserve. With more than 100 miles of two-trail roads, horseback riders are apt to see an abundance of wildlife. The trails take you through dry prairie, moist wetlands and cool, shady hammocks.

Bring your own horses and enjoy a day's ride, or stay overnight in our equestrian campground. Please be aware that trails are shared with hikers, bicyclists and park vehicles. Pets must be on a six-foot hand-held leash and well-behaved at all times.

• Pets are allowed on the service roads. Pets are not allowed on the Hammock Trail (red markers).

A small number of picnic tables are available near the park entrance and next to the park office.

It is difficult to find a location in Florida that is farther removed from urban and suburban light pollution than Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. In 2016, Kissimmee Prairie Preserve was recognized as Florida's first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association.

All Florida State Parks close at sunset; however, we offer several ways to gain after-hours access to the preserve to enjoy the dark skies:

1. Go online to reserve a campsite in either our family campground or equestrian campground,   
2. Reserve an astronomy pad site online or call 800-326-3521 or TDD 888-433-0287. There are special restrictions for the astronomy sites. After dark, all lights must be red spectrum and no campfires are allowed on these sites. When an astronomy viewing pad is reserved, you must arrive at the preserve prior to sunset and contact the ranger on duty to receive additional pertinent information.
3. If you are a Florida State Parks Family Annual Pass holder interested in gaining access to the preserve after sunset, please come into the office during our regular hours and sign up for an after-hours permit, which will grant you access to the preserve's common day-use areas after hours. 
4. Stargazers have the chance to see stars, planets and other celestial bodies in incomprehensible numbers and unforgettable brilliance. Jupiter and Saturn are both clearly visible in the night sky. You might be able to witness the International Space Station making its orbit around Earth. Rocket launches from the space centers on the east coast are also viewable. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park offers the best viewing of the night sky in the region and has the credentials to prove it!
5. The entrance is closed daily 15 minutes after sunset. Only registered campers or after-hours pass holders are allowed entry after dark.

Take a ranger-led prairie buggy tour and see the remote areas of the park. From an elevated seat, one will see spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife. The ride lasts two to three hours. Bring sunscreen, a hat, drinks and snacks.

Tours are offered Saturday, Sunday and state holidays at 9 a.m., November through March. Tours depart promptly at 9 a.m. from the park office.

• Reservations must be made, up to 60 days in advance, by calling the park office at 863-462-5360.
• Tickets are $25 per person. 
• Tours are contingent on weather and the availability of the prairie buggy.

The park contains many different habitats including wetlands, dry prairie and hardwood hammocks, which provide endless wildlife viewing opportunities of unique species of birds (see "Birding" section), mammals, amphibians, insects and reptiles.

The main park drive takes you through some of our best Florida dry prairie where many species can be seen without leaving your car! From white-tailed deer and river otters to gopher tortoises and rough green snakes, there are many wildlife sightings daily. Dawn and dusk tend to be the best time for a hike, bike or drive down the main park drive. Be sure not to exceed 25 mph so you increase your chance of seeing (and avoiding collision with) wildlife along our park drive.

While hiking our many miles of trails, keep an eye out for both spotted or striped skunks, bobcats, raccoons, coyotes and even Florida panthers. Although not very common, there have been confirmed sightings of both Florida panther and Florida black bear at Kissimmee Prairie. Look for tracks in sandy or muddy patches of trail.

If you are camping with us, enjoy the nighttime calls of frogs and toads. Green tree frogs, oak toads, little grass frogs and narrow-mouthed toads are some of the commonly calling amphibians around the park. If you're lucky, you might hear a gopher frog - an imperiled species that inhabits gopher tortoise burrows.

Kissimmee Prairie is known for its wildflower diversity, and with flowers comes pollinators. Look for unique butterfly species including zebra swallowtail, tropical checkered skipper, zebra heliconian, cloudless sulphur, Palamedes swallowtail, Georgia satyr, whirlabout and many grass-skippers including the rare Berry's skipper!