Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground is the perfect place to let your imagination run wild. Known as the “jungle” of Florida, you will feel like you either stepped into a tropical paradise or Jurassic Park, depending on where you want your imagination to take you.
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Below is a detailed account of our experience at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground.
It was Unusually Cold When We Went to Hanna Park Campground
I can now say that I slept in a public bathroom…
We arrived at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground in mid January to tent camp. That’s right! We tent camped in 20 degree weather. We thought we could escape the cold by heading south to Florida. Unfortunately, that particular weekend was one of the few times that Florida was blasted with a cold front.
The nights were 20 degrees while we were there, and a few days after we left the temperatures climbed back up to 80 degrees, go figure!
One night, I woke up at 2:00 am needing to go to the bathroom. To get to the bathroom from our campsite, we had to walk down a road, then turn right and walk down another road. This was not fun in the frigid night. When I woke up on that night, I knew I had to make a plan before exiting the bed. I had to find my phone, then crawl to the door without waking everyone up. Of course, I woke everyone up. Then I had to unzip the door and find my shoes. I had to hang my feet outside the tent and attempt to put my shoes on while the rest of me was in the tent. Next, I had to get out of the tent and zip it up, and I had to do all of this quickly so that I wouldn’t let the cold air into the tent where everyone else was sleeping.
Tent Campers Need a Headlight Beanie
One thing that made all of this “getting out of the tent in the middle of the night” situation easier was the head-light beanie I got from Twisted Bangles (a shop located at Shoppes at River’s Edge in Rock Hill, SC).
In the past, I had to do another big cumbersome step to get out of the tent. I had to feel around in the dark for my headlamp before getting up to go to the bathroom. My head-light beanie is so soft that I can sleep in it. So on that cold night, I didn’t need to search in the dark for a head light because it was already on my head. I just pushed the button on my head before getting out of bed.
Okay, back to the story..
Alright, I’m making my plan to exit the tent. I have gone though all of the above steps in my head, and now I’m picturing the walk in the cold dark night. Then I think about what a hassle re-entering the tent will be. I will have to wake everyone up and let in the cold air again when I re-enter the tent. I also know that in a few hours I will be waking up and doing it all again to go take my shower, except that time I would also have to search for my make-up bag, towel, and clothes too.
Knowing all of this, I decided to grab all of it (my make-up, towel, clothes), plus my sleeping bag. I decided I wasn’t coming back to the tent until it was time to start the day. My plan was to just sit in the bathroom and warm up until it was time to take a shower and get ready. However, when I got to the bathroom, I was so tired. Soon, I found myself falling asleep. And that is how it happened. On that cold night, I slept on a bench in a public bathroom from 2:00am until 5:00am.
I now have a new understanding for people who are homeless during the winter months. I don’t even understand how they manage on 20 degree frigid nights. It made me think about how desperate homeless people must feel when they are cold. I was willing to risk embarrassment and even the chance of being kicked out of a public bathroom (I wasn’t sure if Hanna Park wanted people sleeping in their bathrooms), all for a few hours of warmth.
When I woke, I took my shower and got ready for the day.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground Has Warm Showers
The shower was gloriously hot! Good job Hanna Park! While in the shower, nothing else mattered but the warmth of the shower. That shower felt like pure heaven. In fact, I now have a new idea for how to perk yourself up when you are feeling a little down. Here is what you do. Get cold, not dangerously cold, but uncomfortably cold for hours. Then take a hot shower. You will experience pure joy.
After my shower, I put on three pairs of pants (leggings and two sweatpants) and a shirt and three sweatshirts, including my Comfy, which is another product I highly recommend. Now I was ready to seize the cold day! You can find the variety of Comfy Sweatshirt Blankets at the link below.
The Comfy Sweatshirt Blanket
Raccoons will Steal Your Food
The second morning of our trip, I awake to a a beautiful (but cold) day. Our dog was hungry, so I went to get her some food from her little snack bag. The bag was nowhere to be seen. We looked everywhere and accused each other of moving it. Finally, I think aloud, “Could an animal have taken it?” With this thought in mind, I started looking around in the woods behind our campsite. There it was; my cute little tote bag filled with dog food. It had been dragged into the woods by raccoons!
The next night, we see two raccoons hanging out at the trees just beyond our campfire. They were staring at us as if they were waiting for us to go to bed. Sure enough, later that night, my husband hears raccoons outside of our tent. He opens the tent to discover that the raccoons had figured out how to open our yeti cooler. They had in their hands our sausage balls and container of eggs. The raccoons stopped in their tracks when they saw my husband. The stare battle began. My husband stared with all of his might; He didn’t blink. Who would be the first to break? Fortunately for our food, the raccoons conceded. They dropped the food and ran off.
Searching for Bigfoot (And maybe Trever Lawrence and Travis Etienne?)
The first morning was the mildest morning in terms of weather. On this morning, my daughter and I woke at sunrise, She is a huge Bigfoot fan, so we decided to search for Bigfoot in the mysterious morning darkness. Our hearts raced with excitement as we explored this tropical paradise in the middle of Jacksonville, Florida.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park is an Oceanfront Campground
While we didn’t see Bigfoot, we did find the beach and the lake! Yes! Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground is an oceanfront campground! We watched the sunrise from the beach!
Later that day, we played frisbee and searched for seashells on the beach. My son even did a little skim boarding. I only let him do it for a few minutes, and then I made him take a hot shower afterwards because, you know, frostbite is not fun!
We also joked that Trevor Lawrence or Travis Eteinne could be near since they play for the Jacksonville Jaguars. My husband and I graduated from Clemson University, where Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne carried our team to a National Championship Victory. Naturally, we are now Jaguars fans. Alas, I don’t think either of them were hanging out at the Hanna Park beach.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground has a Lake Too! Yes, An Ocean and a Lake!
After discovering the beach, we headed back to our campsite. When we turned around we realized the lake was on the other side of the road! The beach was on one side and the lake was on the other!
The lake was beautiful, complete with several palm tree covered islands. We had planned on paddle boarding on the lake, but that cold front really messed up our paddle boarding plans.
Instead, we walked along the shoreline and played at the lakefront playground.
The Many Playgrounds of Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground
Speaking of playgrounds, Hanna Park had some of the best I have seen at campgrounds. We played at three different playgrounds while we were camping.
The one by the lake was the most impressive with its zipline and splash pad.
The splash pad wasn’t open because, you know, it was cold.
Even my mother-in-law and I played. We had a blast on the wooden see-saws at the playground near our campsite.
Hiking and Mountain Biking at Hanna Park
The hiking and mountain biking trails are a sight to see. You will absolutely feel like you are in a jungle!
We walked 7 miles on a trail. The trial we went on started near our campsite and ended on the other side of the lake. Hanna park also has 12 bike trails that range from easy to very difficult.
The Campsite
The campsite had a fire pit and picnic table.
If you stay at an RV site, you will have all the standard hookups as well. We had the best time sitting by the fire. We roasted hotdogs ad marshmallows for smores, and we laughed until it hurt.
The campfire was a necessity during this trip. Did I mention it was cold? Without the campfire, we wouldn’t have been able to stay warm enough. We needed a fire in the morning and night. The middle of the day was the only time we could get by without a fire as long as we wore multiple layers of clothes.
Hanna Park Store and Nature Center
The store had everything you could want. My son bought a skim board and the rest of us bought Hanna Park Campground sweatshirts.
We never went into the nature center, but we did have fun at checkers table and a little free library outside of the nature center.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground Ranking
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground is at the top of our “best campgrounds” list. The only issue was the cold weather, but that is not Hanna Park’s fault. The raccoons made for a good story, but next time we will lock up our cooler in the car.
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground Photo Gallery
