The Lauderdale County Agri-Center, next to the park, presents equestrian events year-round at its covered arena. The center also hosts concerts, 4-H events, even monster truck shows. It rents RV hookups and horse stalls and has parking for horse trailers. A trailhead behind the center leads to the park’s horse trails.

There’s an RV park near Bonita Lakes, but you can’t stay overnight in the park itself. Fortunately, you can at Okatibbee Lake, just north of the city.

If “tranquility” sums up Bonita Lakes, the word for Okatibbee is “activities.” Let’s start with the water: 4,000 surface acres provide plenty of room for boating – and for zipping along behind a boat on skis or bouncing on an inflatable. The lake has five boat ramps and a marina. Personal watercraft (Jet Skis and the like) and swimming are allowed, each in designated areas.

The fishing is good for largemouth and striped bass, crappie, bream, and catfish, both in the lake itself and, for all but bream, at the tailrace below the dam.

Four parks around the lake include ball fields, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and picnic shelters. The full-service Twiltley Branch Campground accommodates tent and RV camping, and four cabins are available. So is primitive camping for those who really want to get away.

Squirrel and deer hunters love the Okatibbee Wildlife Management Area – nearly 7,000 acres that wrap around the lake. Waterfowl hunters can have decent luck, considering that the lake isn’t along a major flyway. Those who prefer just to watch wildlife can look out for alligators during the summer and bald eagles in winter.