Patrick SFB Manatee Cove Campground

Really enjoyed our stay. Was on the water lot. Dog fence was nice but my small dog could get under gate and get out. Very secure place to stay. No activities going on but enough tourists activities to keep us busy

Stayed in January. Weather was very comfortable, of course. The park is large with reasonable space between the sites and big rig friendly. Two shower houses and laundry bldgs and seems to be in good repair. The Camp host was a bit plain spoken, but friendly (Marine, go figure). The Camp is right next to the airstrip so there is some noise but not too often . When we got here the "doomsday" plane was parked and in ready standby so the drone of the 747 engines was constant. Place seemed very quiet after it rotated out. The Chow hall, sorry "Dining Facility" is open to everyone and there were more civilians and retired eating than active duty and it's about 3 miles to the large bx/commissary.

They make rules that are unnecessary and illogical. For example: You must park on the opposite side of the tents where you camp...in the grass....that's the exact same as the other side. There is no logic to it. This place COULD be a haven and paradise for retired military like me but... Customer service is not the goal. Why do military campgrounds and MWR seem to do the bare minimum? They should learn to take care of us retired vets the way the government seems to take care of non citizen immigrants. The camp hosts are very clicky and it's a great place if you just stick to yourself. People are way too disgruntled nowadays. They reduced tent sites to 5...no reason there can't be more other than tent camping is not a priority for this base. Best thing about this RV park and Campgroind is proximity to nearby beaches, cruise boats and an hour from Disney/Universal.

It's the playground for Veterans who want to live in the moment and deep down I believe it's a place we get to be kids again.

We are full timers, so our review is after 90 days of staying here. We are leaving soon, but of the 10 plus bases we have stayed, this one is no hidden secret to race to. Spaces are available, and with the new rules and constant control of hosts, we are hearing more and more wont be back. Pros - Some sites are on water, and you can see dolphins on the regular. You are on a base, so security, PX, Commissary, childcare, auto hobby shop, gym, courts, pool, golf, marina, outdoor rec, and other amenities are on base. DFAC is open to guests and is good food and cheap. You see plenty of c130s, c17s, and heli's flying. Entrance at construction/contractor gate is very accessible. Sites are level and currently are covered in sand/stone, so there is no sinking of jacks. You can watch launches right by the campground ( the best place is near the tennis court or pier) The biggest positive was the number of great neighbors and others we interacted with over our stay. Many understood the problems we all were facing, so I feel the RV families were way awesome and supportive and made the stay pleasant. CONS - -Camp hosts are miserable, power tripping, uninviting, and unfriendly. -Sites are very close to each other, and they are going to get tighter as they prep to do concrete pads, which will make sites slightly bigger than they are. -Signage is very poor, and speeding is a very bad problem. They refuse to add speed bumps. When it rains and water pools, it floods in front of steps and sites. It then allows for more mosquitoes to have breeding grounds, which are bad enough already. -They pick the absolute worst time to do construction through the campground. It is nearly daily that you see dump trucks, large trailers with equipment, machinery, and crew racing through the campground as they work at the far end as well on other areas. (None of which seems like making the camp sites or campground any better at the moment) -The grass is rarely mowed, and the grounds are not very attractive. (We actually were approved at some leadership level to volunteer our time and money to redo the entrance beautification, but we were never provided the green light by ODR to start). Oh, they provide mowers to mow your own area as well, but don't dare mow weeds or make it look nice, or the camp host will scold you!!!!. -The older laundry facility up front never gets cleaned, floods during rainy periods, and has no AC (so it becomes a sweat box). -There is only 1 vehicle allowed on site, and they are now adding rule that the overflow parking is "unofficially" allowed for now. If you have 2 vehicles and can't walk that far, you can't even have a golf cart as it, too, counts as your vehicle. -This is not always first come first serve for check in, as I have seen way too many say they had no options on which site, or, the camp host told us many times to move our vehicle as we dropped off groceries in the site beside us. (They tell us every time, "this site is reserved for someone inbound," but most always, no one arrived or the campers were not Active Duty). -Lastly, from the checkin process and their plethora of old rules and now the new rules and new requirements, it is now making this location far from desired. It's definitely not a family camp setting as there are literally zero things for kids or families to do at the campground and limited options on base. Like many bases, this campground needs to invest in the campground as the return on investment is obviously waiting to be collected. Most civilian sites off base are fully booked with the waiting list and are way more expensive, so this may be the only option you have at the moment. We won't be returning next winter to this one. Update: Once you start seeing the improvements at other locations (Ft Sam Houston, TX), you really have to wonder why there is not a better standard for all MWR Famcamps. This is likely one of the worst ran and, unfortunately costs are rising for campers when it's not reinvested back into the RV park(this is no way a FamCamp).

This by far the best military campground we stayed. This is a good place to run from the winter. Pros: They have a clubhouse with a full kitchen which is a plus for me. Laundry $1 a load, Small beach area to relax, enjoy sunset or 🐬 dolphins, let children play in the sand. You can just opt to go to a beach off base. Plenty of opportunities to see rockets in the sky or drive to Cape Canaveral area to get a closer look at launches from NASA. See aircraft come & go for the little ones was good. Seeing airborne jumps to other training you might get to see is cool for the little ones. Depending on your site the view of the water is relaxing. Just a 10 minute drive to get off base. Clubhouse is a nice place to hangout with other campers & do events. The Outdoor recreation MWR a few miles up the road to rent kayaks, fishing gear to many other things to rent. Cons: No playground, certain times it gets very loud from the airstrip located directly behind the campground but it was not an issue for us but more likely for others. Mosquitoes & no seeums are supposedly bad when it warms up but not not an issue for the most part of my stay. I can imagine during the summer how bad it gets. Believe rigs bigger than 25ft have to use commercial gate to get on basw. Depending on arrival the gate likely closed & will need to call SF to open gate. Hopefully, with the current construction at South gate will accommodate bigger rigs when complete. Neutral: some sites are fairly close but there are sites that give more space between neighbors. Pricing in general can go one way or the other depends who you ask because prices supposedly drastically increased over the last couple of years. Monthly during winter is $1,100. MWR management may argue they are cheaper than local parks but my position that's not your competition because their market is the civilian/non veteran market. Veteran market is a small slice of the pie. I say their competition are other military campgrounds such as McGuire AFB that have similar amenities but McGuire $200-$300 less a month. I have more thoughts but that's my 2 cents.