Perdido Key At Gulf Islands National Seashore Primitive Camping
You can no longer backpack into the isolated east end of Perdido Key and pitch your tent on the sand.
But if youre an experienced saltwater kayak camper, you can still camp on Perdido Key away from everybody and everything. A park ranger cautioned that this can be a harsh climate and its a remote location, so this is for experienced kayakers with a healthy respect for nature who consider weather conditions and forecasts.
There is no fee for camping, but there is an $20 per vehicle entrance fee, which is good for one week.
Driftwood is not abundant, so bring your own firewood . You do have to register and obtain a free camping permit at the Perdido Key Entrance Station so park rangers know youre out there in the dune-filled wilderness. Boaters do not need to register if they originated outside the park. Be aware that there is a section of beach that is clothing-optional, something to consider if you are taking children.
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Perdido Key. 13300 Johnsons Beach Rd, Perdido Key, FL. 850-934-2600. Web site: nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/backcountrycamping.htm
Activities: Primitive camping, picnicking, fishing, hiking, snorkeling, swimming, bicycling.
Camping: Beach camping permits are free, although campers arriving by vehicle must pay a $20 entrance fee.
Pets: Yes, but not on beaches
Heres a Florida Rambler guide to Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Sebastian Inlet State Park
Thanks to the park, you can camp at the most famous surfing spot in Florida, located right off A1A. Even if you’re not a surfer, it’s fun to watch them riding some of the best waves in the state. The camping area isn’t right on the beach, but it’s close enough. The park spans both sides of Sebastian Inlet. The jetty, popular with fishermen and surfers, is on the north side of the inlet the camping area is on the south side. With three miles of beautiful beaches, a boat ramp, and the Indian River Lagoon for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, you’ll never run out of things to do.
Tips For Boondocking In Florida
Florida spans 65,757 square miles. Most of this enormous land area includes white sand coastlines and sub-tropical forests.
You couldnt choose a more unique landscape for your camping trip in the U.S. While this can be exciting, some difficult obstacles do arise in such a wild environment.
Furthermore, the government, along with its citizenry, make every effort to preserve Floridas wilderness.
Weve included important tips to help you enjoy a safe and legal camping trip in The Sunshine State:
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Everglades National Park Free Camping 35 Miles:
Address Elevation: 13
Management Private Casino
The road in is Paved. There are 30 or more campsites at this location and the maximum RV length is unlimited. You may stay 5 days at Miccosuke Resort and Casino.
Nice parking lot in the casino. Indian reservation so they have private police and security, nice small casino with huge bingo room, good buffet with bogo deals, great bar with cheap drinks. You must register your rv at the security desk and get an orange permit, theyll let you stay quite a few days with registration for free. There are trash cans in the parking lot but if they are full they ask you to pack it out.
Amenities:
Florida Beach Camping Guide
Floridas incredible coastline offers hundreds of beachfront campsites, ranging from primitive tent camping to hotel-quality cabins and sites. Follow this handy camping guide for tips on beach camping destinations in the Sunshine State.
Have you ever been lying on your beach blanket, watching the sun set and the first stars come out, and dreamed about spending the night right there on the beach?
You can make your dream a reality, because there are more than 900 campgrounds in Florida with more than 100,000 campsites. Some of the best and most popular campgrounds are located at the beach.
Most beach campsites are located in the slightly sheltered area behind the sand dunes. Camping right out on the beach near the waves is not usually permitted for safety reasons and to protect wildlife like sea turtles and nesting birds.
The season and your choice of shelter both play a big part in choosing your beach campground. Tent campers are more sensitive to weather conditions than RV campers who have access to heaters and air-conditioning. Some campgrounds cater more to RV campers than to tent campers, but Florida State park campgrounds generally make room for both.
Whichever camping rig you bring, you’ll find a beach campground to accommodate you, and many will even accommodate your pet. Most campgrounds offer sites that are ADA accessible.
– Lauren Tjaden for VISIT FLORIDA
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Great Everglades National Park Free Campsites
We have chosen 15 Everglades National Park Free Campsites for you, boondocking and free camping is difficult in the sunshine state but not impossible.
Everglades National Park is found in the southern part of Florida. It serves as a home of various prevalent species such as the American crocodile, Florida panther, and, not to forget, the manatee. This park offers a good mixture of luxury and wilderness.
The prime reason why you should visit Everglades National Park is due to the exceptional encounter you will get, as well as unparalleled comfort. So if you are preparing to go for a Boondocking trip, Everglades is the place to be.
Slogging and hiking are the most predominant activities that take place in Everglades National Park. However, the real fun begins after you hit the water. Fascinating right? Considering that most of the park is only reachable through a boat fishing, canoeing, boating, and kayaking are the common recreations in this park. And this makes it ideal for boondocks like yourself.
Bulow Creek State Park
No entrance fee is required for the Bulow Creek State Park. If you like the forest, you will love it here as the campground has one of the largest live oak forests along Floridas east coast. The Park has a lot of trails for hikers to explore and to see the deer, raccoons and barred owls. The place is also perfect for bicycling, picnicking, paddling, wildlife viewing, geo-seeking, and weddings.
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Bureau Of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is a government agency that manages land primarily in the western United States, and generally in open, desert landscapes. The BLM manages land for a number of uses, including recreation, grazing, logging, and resource extraction. Free camping on BLM is usually capped at 30 days, but can be shorter or longer depending on the location.
BLM land is suitable for RVs, vans, and sometimes for tent campers. Because of the variety of uses on BLM land, you may wake up with a herd of cattle or a band of sheep in your campsite, so it pays to do a bit of research ahead of time to know what you might find.
How to Find Free BLM Camping on Campendium
- Use a text search to zoom into the area youre interested in.
- Select Category BLM.
- Select Price Free.
Red Coconut Rv Resort
Want to step right out of your tent or RV onto a white-sand beach? Located on Fort Myers Beach, this palm fringed Resort caters to RVs. Many campers return to its shores year after year, forming a little beach community. It’s close to all the conveniences of Fort Myers Beach and is on a trolley stop. It’s also close to traffic noise. If you don’t have an RV, there are rentals available.
The Pensacola area is home to Johnson Beach, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore on Perdido Key, which features snow-white sands.
– Lauren Tjaden for VISIT FLORIDA
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Bring Mosquito Spray And Sunscreen
Florida has one seasonSummer. It comes in two variants, wet and wetter. Needless to say, this hot, moist climate creates a few issues, namely mosquitoes and sunburns.
Buy some good bug spray and, while youre at it, get sunscreen as well. The tropical sun will sizzle your skin in a couple hours.
Furthermore, when youre boondocking youll find yourself further from cities and thus, closer to mosquitoes. A few itchy bites can ruin a trip fast. Protect yourself.
History Of Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is one of the oldest parks in its category. It was approved back in 1934 however, due to the constraints of getting land, it wasnt formal until 1947. This large National park is the center of attraction for thousands of visitors owing to its outdoor adventure activities.
Everglades National Park has various visitor centers with an expected rich history. However, its mostly popular with canoeing devotees as private companies provide boat tours in some park segments.
Off late, it measures 6,105 square kilometers, and this is part of Florida Bay. The park secures a perfect blend of temperature, freshwater, marine habitats, and other useful things. So give this park a visit and bid goodbye to the unbearable destinations.
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Everglades National Park Free Campsites 28 Miles: Exxon
Address Elevation: 7
Management Private Gas station
While our focus is boondocking and free camping, we also list and utilize overnight RV parking locations. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it might seem strange to run across rest areas, truck stops, and Walmart parking lots in a camping directory. However, for some RVers, it is how they get from one location to the another.
Most parking lots are completely empty at night and many travelers do not need the amenities of an RV park. They just want a couple hours of shut eye before hitting the road again. A place to park is all they need.
Its a symbiotic relationship everyone benefits. Truck stops regularly provide space for truckers and often extend the service to RVers. Just like truckers, RVers use and pay for the facilities inside. Retail stores like Walmart, Cabelas, and Bass Pro enjoy the sales that come from overnighters who come in and browse the store the next day. Restaurants like Cracker Barrel and the Apple Peddler hope that their overnight guests have dinner or breakfast there.
In order for this practice to continue, we must respect our hosts and their property. That is why we strongly believe in and endorse the RVers Good Neighbor Policy. Please read and follow its guidelines. We must be gracious and humble guests. If we are not, there will be more pressure to institute state, county, and local ordinances that prohibit parking on private property.
Amenities:
Davenport Landing Ocala National Forest
An old steamboat stop thats no longer used. It can be found down a rugged road deep in the Ocala National Forest, home to some of the areas most impressive landscape features.
Furthermore, a swimming hole with a rope swing lies only a short distance from the campsite. Its a unique and rare place, even for Florida!
Why do we love it?
Another campsite that will reconnect you with your inner Neanderthal. This might be the most isolated site on our list however, its also the cleanest, most pristine, and most private.
The lack of humans encourages more wildlife to hang around. Visitors have reported all types of local wildlife here. Keep your eye out for them!
Location
- Amenities: No amenities
- Max Stay: 14 days
Top Things to do Nearby
- Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration Area 2400 acres of prairie wetlands containing boundless wildlife. This type of restoration area is rare in Florida!
- Mill Dam Recreation Area Large lake with tons of water activities, including fishing, kayaking, and swimming.
- Created by the Civilian Corps in the 1930s. Its one of the oldest and best-known recreation areas on the East coast. Youll find hundreds of bubbling springs and dense forests peppered with wildlife.
For more information on RV camping at Davenport Landing Campground visit HERE.
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Hickory Hammock Wma Lorida
The beautiful campsite offers you a peep to the wildlife while you are camping amidst nature. This is a remote place where you can have a peaceful time with your friends. There are some nearby lakes where people sit and enjoy the view. For a weekend camping with friends, you may consider the place.
The wonderful sites of Florida will always be in your heart, with their intricate details of nature. So, be it with family or friends pick any one from the list and enjoy for free.
Grayton Beach State Park Beautiful Beach
This 2,000-acre park embraces one of the most beautiful beaches in the U.S., a sugar-sand paradise that stretches for a mile along a peninsula between Destin and Seaside. The park features a 4.5 mile trail for hiking and biking, and theres a boat ramp where you can launch your canoe or kayak for paddling Western Lake. A new campground loop has added 24 new sites with water, 50-amp electric and sewer hookups, bringing the total number of sites to 52. Both camping loops have restrooms with hot showers, although the restrooms in the old loop are closed until the end of the year for renovations. The park also has 30 two-bedroom, one-bath duplex cabins that accommodate up to six people each, so invite your friends to spend a week or a weekend when youre here. Pets are welcome in the campground, and the maximum RV length is 40 feet.
Grayton Beach State Park, 357 Main Park Road, Santa Rosa Beach, FL. 850-267-8300. Web site: floridastateparks.org/park/Grayton-Beach
Activities: Beach, Bicycling, Birding, Boat Ramp, Camping, Cabins, Canoe/Kayak, Fishing, Hiking, Picnicking, Swimming.
Camping: $24/night plus tax and a non-refundable $6.70 reservation fee. Cabins: $110-$130/night. For campground reservations up to 11 months in advance, Call
Pets:Yes, but not on beaches
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Seventeen Mile Hunt Camp In Osceola National Forest
Hugging the Georgia state line, you will find the Osceola National Forest in which is located the Seventeen Mile Hunt Camp. If you are looking for primitive camping, this is the place to be.
The campsites offer a good dry camping experience. You get picnic tables and fire rings. In the day, there are many people from around visiting, mostly hiking, but the nights are quiet and serene.
On some resources, they say that this campsite does not require any reservations. You should contact the Osceola Ranger District on 386-752-2577 for more information.
Of much interest though is not what you can see in the campsite, but what lies beyond it. This is the Big Gum Swamp Wilderness that has fully returned to its original state of ecosystem after being protected by Congress in 1984.
This expansive freshwater swamp that measures 13,600 acres and is home to hundreds of different species of animals, insects and birds.
Remember The Middle Keys
The Overseas Highway is an incredibly popular destination. Like all tourist destinations, most folks are in a hurry. They spend their time at either the north end near Miami, or at the South end, near Key west.
If you want to avoid crowds and find bargains, consider spending time exploring the middle Keys.
It may come at the cost of a longer drive to explore Key West, but you may find better bargains and lower prices in the middle Keys, away from the crowds.
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Free Camping Florida Keys
TLDR Find free parking lots that dont close after a certain time, and side roads with pull-offs. Be stealth.
Ill start by noting that it will be really difficult to free camp if youre in an RV . If anyone disagrees with that or has made it happen easily, let me know in the comments or at . Free camping is easiest if youre staying in a regular vehicle or camper van. There are a few parking lots that allow free 24-hour parking. One example is the Casa Marina Key West . We talked to people whod been sleeping in their vehicles for weeks in a Casa Marina spillover lot. From what we understood, as long as you arent obvious about it , then you can generally sleep in any parking lot that allows free parking and isnt monitored . We also were told that there were roads behind Leos Campground on Stock Island where people, including RVs, were seen camping for days or weeks at a time. I cant confirm that this is possible since we didnt try it and didnt see it ourselves, however I think you could make it work for a couple of nights on Stock Island or on roads around the Naval Air Station .
Where you can no longer free camp Ramrod Swimming Hole. Unfortunately, free camping is no longer allowed at Ramrod Swimming Hole. We tried and were advised by locals that it was no longer possible. However, Ramrod is a gorgeous spot, and free to enter, so I highly recommend checking it out.
Federal Rv Camping Information
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Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area
Location: Southern Central Florida, south of Lake Okeechobee
Camping Info: Camp year-round at one of the two designated camping areas. Kowechobe Camp is an open field with easy access for trailers. Hammock Camp is located under an oak hammock with plenty of shade and a vault toilet. See aerial pictures below of the two camp areas. You will need to bring your own water.
Our Thoughts: We stayed at the Kowechobe Camp in the open field. It was a little soft, so we parked right in the middle where it looked like there had been a stabilized road at one point. Bring bug spray. The area has miles and miles of dirt roads for biking or driving. We saw many gators, birds, caracaras, and cows. The WMA is slowly reclaiming the land as ranching leases expire.