State parks are a treasure, us campers know this.  Here is my confession: I love state parks.  I don’t think I have been to one that I couldn’t love for one reason or another.  Lake Kissimmee State Park is about 45 minutes from where I live.  I made plans to grab a short camping trip with some of my beautiful friends.  These are folks that also like to bike and kayak while camping.

Our busy schedule makes it difficult to carve out time that fits but we managed to get a two-night trip in in April 2018.  You can see from the Venn diagram how little overlap there is.  Time with friends is so precious. 

My friends were using a tent this trip so we were able to share the campsite.  We enjoyed many of the amenities that this state park offers.  Access to Lake Kissimmee from their boat ramp makes launching kayaks easy.  Watch for the alligators that like to stay close to shore.  You never want to startle the alligators.  Once we launched we had a nice paddle out to the main section of the lake.  We were able to get out and play for a bit in the clear water.  

Lake Kissimmee has plenty of low traffic roads to ride your bike.  We rode from the park to a local restaurant for lunch.  Dinner and stories with lots of laughter happen around the campfire.  When the armadillo shows up after dark the first time the reaction is priceless.  And in the blink of an eye our time to rush back to daily life returned.   

Take some time to visit with friends at Lake Kissimmee, or another state park near you.