10 Best Camping Spots For Your Next Vacation To Florida
Florida is home to many tourist attractions and pristine beaches, but next time you plan to make the journey to Florida, consider camping if you love the outdoors. Florida has some of the best camping spots and there’s even camping on Disney property (Fort Wilderness). However, the focus mainly here is on Florida’s scenery and wildlife. Here’s a list of beautiful spots to add to your vacation to-do list.
1. Ginnie Springs
Out of the recorded 700 natural springs in Florida, Ginnie Springs is one of the most beautiful out of those. Ginnie Springs offers tent sites, water/electric sites, as well as cabins if you prefer “glamping”. With its crystal clear waters, it’s the perfect place for a swim in the hot Florida weather.
The springs have three different dive sites, if you scuba dive, and training course if you’d like to learn. There are caverns and caves to dive through, but some are limited to certified divers only. There are plenty of other activities to do if you aren’t into diving, like swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddle boarding. You can even take a lazy float in a tube down the Santa Fe River!
2. Big Talbot Island State Park
This Florida State Park is located on the coast of Jacksonville and offers tent camping, RV camping, and even hammock camping (if that’s your thing). The best part of this park is that it’s on the beach! If you love fishing, this is a great spot, but license and regulations apply.
If you are more of the trail type, like me, this park has several trails of all kinds. Whether you’d like to bike, trail run, or take a gentle stroll through the canopy forest, there’s a trail perfect for you!
3. Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
One of the best camping spots near the beach is this one in Flagler Beach, Fl. This camping site offers beach or river side camping with full facilities. Serving as a US Army Air Corp post during World War II, this park offers a lot of history.
I suggest staying on the beach side to enjoy the cool ocean breeze. Gamble Rogers offers tent and RV camping with full hook-ups. You can soak up the sun during the day, surf, fish or head over to the river side and rent a kayak or canoe and journey along the river.
4. Anastasia State Park
Located in St. Augustine Florida, this state park offers so much more than you could ask for! If you love wildlife, this is the place to be. Whether you hit the trails or observe from a kayak, you are guaranteed to see something every time.
Aside from the great nature-filled camping sites, a short drive away is the town of St. Augustine that features an old historic town with plenty to do! The Castillo de San Marcos Fort, which is the oldest masonry fort still standing is the main attraction there. You can tour the grounds and watch a reenactment of a cannon fire. There are plenty of shops and restaurants along the town’s strip as well.
5. Dry Tortugas National Park
Easily one of the best camping spots in Florida, hands down! Dry Tortugas is an island off the coast of the Florida Keys. You can take a seaplane or ferry to get to the island that features crystaline blue waters.
Being on an island 70 miles off the coast isn’t the only good part of the park, you can take advantage of the beautiful reefs while snorkeling, or sunbathing on the pristine white sand, or enjoying an evening walk along the shore. You can’t go wrong if you add this place to your itinerary while in Florida!
6. Blue Spring State Park
This place is famous for it’s reoccurring Manatee visits. During the cooler months in Florida, the Manatees congregate in the springs and create quite a scene for tourists and even Floridians, however they close the springs to swimming and diving when the Manatees are present.
The park offers loads to do besides camping like, hiking, fishing, boat tours, tubing and more! The spring water stays at a constant temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit so even if you come during cooler weather, the water will feel warm. Pretty cool, huh?
7. Cayo Costa State Park
One of the best camping spots in Florida is on Cayo Costa. Cayo Costa State Park is a little island off the coast of Fort Myers, Fl. One of the most serene places in Florida as it is mainly undeveloped land. You can get to this island only by boat or kayak.
During your camping trip, take advantage of the wildlife watching, swimming in the turquoise waters, and bike through the trails along the island’s interior. If you want peace and quiet for a romantic getaway with your SO, this is the place to find just that.
8. Biscayne National Park
Yet another beautiful island off the coast of Miami, Fl. This National Park holds some of the most stunning coral reefs to snorkel through and mangrove forests to kayak around. The camping grounds are located on Boca Chita and Elliott Keys, which you can get to by boat.
If you like to dive, Biscayne is home to the remains of some shipwrecks! The park is 95 % water, so the best way to experience this island to its fullest is being in some part of it!
9. Henderson Beach State Park
Do you like sunbathing on powder-white sand beaches while the ocean waves crash rhythmically onto the shore? Imagine the cool sea breeze brushing your skin while you take a dip in the refreshing Gulf water each day. This place offers all you could want in a camping trip to Florida.
This is one of the best camping spots there is due to the vast amount of activities you can do here! This park stays busy all year long so be sure to book in advance for your next trip!
10. Florida Caverns State Park
This unique State Park features air-filled (dry) caves and offers tours of these caves to the public. Within the 1,319 acres of the park there are many campsites available with water and electric hookups.
Another main attraction of Florida Caverns is the swimming area they call the Blue Hole because in times of heavy rain the water can rise more than 10 feet. The Blue Hole has been measured at around 98 feet deep. There are many other activities such as, canoeing, boating, and fishing.
