The Florida Keys are by far one of our favorite places to camp in the United States, and we’re not alone in that sentiment. The Florida Keys is a popular destination year-round, especially during the winter months. Since affordable hotels and space, in general, are at a premium on the Keys, camping there makes a lot of sense to many RVers like us!
Best Places for RV Camping in the Florida Keys
We have been lucky enough to spend several months camping in the Keys, and we still haven’t visited all the potential camping destinations, but we hope to! Since we have researched a few places to stay, and actually stayed at a few Keys camping locations, here’s our list of the best options for camping in the Florida Keys. We’ll start with Key Largo in the northern Upper Keys, work our way down mile marker by mile marker through Marathon in the Middle Keys, and end up in the Lower Keys in Key West in this guide to Florida Keys campgrounds.
These were our findings at the time of publication and based on our personal opinion, please check with each individual park to verify any details that are important to you before booking, including amenities, dump stations, hookups, site sizes, and their ability to accommodate your RV.
Best Camping in the Upper Keys
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo FL
102601 Overseas Highway (MM 102.5) Key Largo, FL 33037
We are huge fans of the entire Florida State Park system, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is one of the most sought-after reservations one can have out of all of those state parks. It’s a popular spot for several reasons. First, it’s located in Key Largo, which is the first major Key off of the mainland in Florida and a short drive from Miami. This makes it an ideal stopping point on your way in or out of the Keys. Secondly, as the name of the park suggests, the bulk of the square footage in this State Park is underwater, in the acres and acres of protected water and offshore reefs. For this reason, it’s a must-visit destination for divers, snorkelers, or anyone who enjoys the water. In addition to the snorkeling and diving excursions, there are kayak rentals, glass bottom boats, several picnic areas, educational exhibits concessions, a dive shop, and a gift and equipment shop in the day-use section of the park.
The campground is about a 5-minute walk away from these amenities, by way of a paved road and parking lot. The campground sites are on the smaller and less-private side compared to the usually spacious sites with privacy landscaping that Florida State parks have to offer, and many sites are edged by the mangroves which often emit a distinctive smell, and can be a breeding ground for dreaded no-see-ums and other bugs. The real benefit of this campground is the location in the gateway of Keys as well as the proximity to all of the water-focused amenities of John Pennekamp State Park. It’s also located right off Route 1, so there are restaurants nearby –we liked The Fish House— as well as a Publix grocery store.
Biking and walking on this road outside of the park is a bit tricky, especially because it’s a two-lane highway in some spots, but it is doable for short trips if you are cautious. The park road is also pretty dark after hours, so be sure your bike and gear are reflective and well-lit if you are journeying out after sunset. We’ll go into more detail about our stay at John Pennekamp including things to do and places we ate in a post dedicated to our thoughts on that campground. John Pennekamp offers 47 full hookup sites, and is pet friendly.
For day trips and booking water activities visit www.pennekamppark.com , for camping reservations all campsite reservations are managed through Florida State Parks at reserve.floridastateparks.org.
Best Camping in the Middle Keys
Jolly Roger RV Resort, Marathon, FL
59275 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050 (MM 59.2)
This luxury RV Resort is our home away from home in the winter and one of the best parks we’ve ever visited. It’s the ideal combination of a dream location, amenities, service, immaculate grounds, and community that makes this park special.
If you are hoping for waterfront camping with beautiful views of the beautiful clear blue Keys water, this campground is it. There are several waterfront sites and even more water-view sites that give campers a beautiful view of tranquil waters in the Gulf of Mexico, and magnificent sunsets at night.
Because space is at a premium, the camping sites are relatively close together and there’s not a lot of privacy or landscaping between each site. But don’t worry about that too much – the gorgeous grounds of Jolly Roger Travel Park itself give you plenty of places to enjoy the view. There’s a well-maintained pool on site, which provides a tranquil spot to swim and sunbathe. It also frequently hosts morning water aerobics.
If the beach is more your thing, there is a groomed man-made beach complete with tiki shade palapas. lounge chairs and brightly colored Adirondack chairs for reading, sunbathing, or enjoying the sunsets. There’s also a Pavilion that hosts all of the many activities like bingo, dances, special movie nights, and meals and is often just a gathering spot for a little bit of shade and view.
For fishing and boating lovers, the resort also boasts a boat ramp, marina, boat slips, and a fish-cutting station, providing a great way for boaters and fishermen to have easy access to the water. If you bring your boat or kayak, there’s also a boat launch and roped-off swimming area, which has lots of sea life for exciting on-site snorkeling.
The Park offers full hookups at all 160 sites including big rig-friendly sites, and several areas of pull-through sites for large RVs and trailers. There are freshly updated laundry room facilities, and a small camp store and mail room in the office. There is also a very clean bathroom for all campers with hot showers and a limited number of efficiency apartments available.
Best of all this park is centrally located in Marathon, Florida, which has the most modern conveniences of any of the middle keys like grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and diversions like fishing charters, and jet ski rentals.
It’s within walking distance to the Dolphin Research Center, the SS Wreck (home of the Best Key Lime Pie in the Keys!) and Bongo’s Cafe. It’s the perfect spot to stay to enjoy easy access to Marathon and a great mid-point for exploring all of the Keys. Sites are hard to come by at this resort because of these amazing amenities, but if you do get a reservation, it’s likely that you’ll love your stay. If you stay here, also check our our picks for our favorite happy hours in Marathon, Florida for ideas on where to get food and drinks for less!
Sun Outdoors, Marathon, FL
59151 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050 (MM 59.1)
sunoutdoors.com/florida/sun-outdoors-marathon
Sun Outdoors is quickly becoming one of the major brands of campground management, and while we have mixed feelings about the practice of buying up some of the mom-and-pop campgrounds all over the country, we can’t deny that the Sun Outdoors brand does a great job of updating campgrounds and bringing a little extra polish.
The Sun Outdoors in Marathon is formerly the Pelican RV Resort and Marina. This RV park has a limited number of RV sites but also offers vacation rental sites and motel efficiencies. It’s right next to Jolly Roger RV Resort, which is why we took a tour.
The sites were a mix of gravel and paved, with very little landscaping, but the park also ends with a great clubhouse and common area that gives a view of the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny-home-style motel rooms, seem like a great option for housing guests who might not fit in your RV, or as a vacation option if you’d prefer not to drive down in an RV.
Grassy Flats, Marathon FL
58671 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050 (MM 58.6)
Grassy Key RV Park is another RV park in the highly desirable area of Marathon, FL, and it’s another RV park we heard our fellow campers have enjoyed staying at. While we haven’t stayed here ourselves yet, we see it in our travels around Marathon. It has the benefit of being another waterfront RV park, which is a rarity. It’s also Big Rig-friendly. The sites seem to be level gravel, and there are beautiful water views, some waterfront sites, full hook-up, a pool and dog park as well as a marina and beach area.
Curry Hammock State Park, Marathon FL
56200 Overseas Highway Marathon FL 33050 305-289-2690 (MM 56.2)
floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/curry-hammock-state-park
There are only a few Florida State Parks on the Keys, and there’s a high demand for reservations because they offer beautiful camping sites in amazing natural settings, all for low rates. Curry Hammock is one of the most popular Florida State Parks, because it’s a large swath of protected land in the otherwise populated area of Marathon, FL.
Several of the Curry Hammock camping loops have views of the Atlantic Ocean and offer spacious sites, with level gravel in a nature preserve setting that offers mangroves, and water activities like kayaking. Reservations for Curry Hammock are hard to come by, but we had friends who stayed at Curry Hammock. Because of that, we were able to that a quick tour of the park, even though we didn’t stay there.
What we saw was impressive there are 28 sites, all of them spacious, especially by Keys terms. Electric (20, 30, and 50 amp services are available), and water. There is no sewer and also no laundry facilities making it a little difficult for longer stays, however, there are several laundromats in town. The pads were level and gravel and several of them offered beautiful views of the water. The water and a beach area is just a few steps away from all sites.
We didn’t try the restrooms, but our friend reported that they were clean and serviceable. There are dedicated campsites for tents, in addition to the RV-style sites which allow both tent and RV camping. Curry Hammock, because of its location on the Atlantic side of the Keys, is a destination for kiteboarders, snorkelers, fishermen, paddleboarders and kayakers. There are also nature trails for hiking, spotting unique wildlife and plants, birding, and exercise.
Coconut Cay RV Resort and Marina, Marathon FL
7200 Aviation Blvd, Marathon, FL 33050 (305) 289-1870
Coconut Cay is a small RV park in Marathon, which we drove by and took a quick look into. Coconut Cay is one of the newest parks in the area and is part of a Resort Hotel and Marina that are also on the property. This small campground offers a beautiful swimming pool, close proximity to the restaurants and other amenities in Marathon. We loved the look of the houseboats known as Aqua Lodges in the marina area.
Best Camping in the Lower Keys
The Lower Keys offer beauty, nature, and tranquility if you stay towards Big Pine and end in the nightlife and excitement in Key West and Stock Island. Here are a few of the RV-friendly campgrounds we considered in the Lower Keys.
Bahia Honda State Park, Big Pine Key, FL
36850 Overseas Highway Big Pine Key FL 33043 305-872-2353 (MM 36.8)
floridastateparks.org/BahiaHonda
There’s a reason Bahia Honda usually gets ranked the top Florida State Park to visit and as one of the top campgrounds to visit in the US — it really is a rare gem. We watched countless reviews and YouTube videos of Bahia Honda State Park campground, but nothing really prepares you for exactly how beautiful and unique this campground is until you visit it yourself.
The Park is open for day use for snorkeling, beaches, and enjoying nature there. The Campground is waterfront with many waterview sites and views of both the Gulf side and the Atlantic side and views of both the old and new the old Bahia Honda bridges.
We visited as day visitors and enjoyed the snorkeling, beach, concessions, and riding our bikes around the campground and road loops. At the time of our visit, the Sandspur sites and beach were closed for construction and damage sustained in Hurricane Irma, but we hear that they have reopened during the summer of 2022. The Buttonwood loop was open ( sites 1-48) which seemed like the most desirable spots since they are best suited to RV camping, and offer water and electric.
Getting reservations for Bahia Honda Campground is beyond tricky, with sites that are reserved the second they become available, but we will keep trying to see if we can camp here someday! Some campers report issues with bugs as well as bridge noise, but most feel that the idyllic and unforgettable views supersede any minor inconveniences.
Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA
251 State Rd 939, Sugarloaf Key, FL 33042 (786) 876-7724
koa.com/campgrounds/sugarloaf-key/
This privately-owned campground on Sugarloaf Key offers various amenities, including RV sites, tent sites, and cabins. Known as the “Southernmost KOA” We drove by in on our way to Key West, and noted the proximity to great water views and that it seems to have very modern and updated facilities. It is a wide-open park that can accommodate many RVs, especially bigger Class As and those needing pull-through sites. It’s a luxury campground and as a part of the KOA chain, there are certain amenities you can count on, and is equipped with swimming pools, a marina, and recreational facilities. Being right along Route One, it provides easy access to Key West, without being too close to the hustle and bustle.
Boyd’s Key West Campground, Key West FL
6401 Maloney Ave, Key West, FL 33040 305-294-1465
For camping closer to the action and excitement of Key West, many campers seek out Boyd’s on Stock Island. Boyd’s is only 4 miles from downtown Key West and is a family-run campground that has been in business since 1963. Three generations of the family now still run the business and are known for providing family-friendly hospitality to all.
Most sites, except for those designated for tent camping, include full hookup, i.e., 30/50 Electric, Water, Sewer, Cable, picnic tables, and pad. The most desirable sites are the full hook-up sites that back up to the waterfront for all classes of RVs as well as travel trailers, there are also Dockside and Limited Waterview as well as Inland sites. Boyd’s offers a marina, fish cleaning station, and kayak rentals for water lovers a large pool swimming offer laundry, and security, and is pet friendly. Boyd’s is also near restaurants including the legendary Hogfish Grill.
We have not yet stayed at Boyd’s but we drove by on our way to Hogfish Grill. While we loved the proximity to downtown Key West, we also saw that the surrounding area of Stock Island revealed properties that showed both extreme wealth and extreme poverty, with some of the houses and streets still showing the devastation from storms.
These are just a few of the options we looked into for camping in the Florida Keys, but there are many more campgrounds to visit and review. We’ll be providing in-depth details on our stays at John Pennekamp and Jolly Roger and we’ll add any future stays in the Keys or campground considerations to this post as we visit more camping spots in the Florida Keys.
10 Reasons to RV Camp In the Florida Keys
Camping in the Florida Keys offers a unique and memorable experience due to the natural beauty, warm climate, and abundant opportunities for fun. Here are some reasons why we think camping in the Florida Keys is a not-to-be missed experience!
1. Crystal Blue Waters
The Florida Keys are known for the crystal blue-green water that surrounds this string of islands on both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic sides. It’s like being transported to the Caribbean, except that you can drive and bring your RV. Camping allows you to wake up near the beach and enjoy activities such as swimming, sunbathing, beachcombing, and relaxing by the water, then jump back into your RV for air conditioning, refreshing food or drinks, and take a quick shower after a day on or near the water.
2. Stunning Sunsets
The Florida Keys are renowned for their long sunny days, with a light breeze followed by spectacular sunsets and many waterfront campgrounds offer views that rival the sunset you’ll see in Key West. Each night at our RV Resort it’s a ritual to head down to the common areas along the water and watch the sunset set over the bays on the Gulf of Mexico. Watch for the green flash!
3. Water Activities
Visiting the Florida Keys means being in close proximity to both the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. You can enjoy a wide range of water activities, including jet skiing, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, and boating. It’s a paradise for water enthusiasts, and there are lots of campgrounds and parks that will give you the opportunity to interact with the marine life in a way that is safe for both you and the animals.
4. Tropical Climate
The Florida Keys are tropical environment, which means you can expect warm temperatures and lush palm trees, tropical flowers, and other vegetation. There’s always a slight breeze blowing which helps the humid warm air. It’s the only place we know of in the US where the climate rivals that of the Caribbean islands. There is consistently good weather and warm temps between 70-80 if you stay in January, February, or March.
6. Marine Life and Wildlife
The Florida Keys are home to a rich array of fish, birds and other wildlife, both on land and in the water. While camping, you may have the chance to spot creatures like birds and lizards, and on the water, you’ll see marine creatures like dolphins, manatees, pelicans, and sea turtles, as well as a variety of unique and colorful fish and coral reefs while snorkeling or diving.
7. Island Atmosphere Without the Plane Trip
The Florida Keys provides a laid-back island atmosphere in almost every spot you’ll visit. Whether you stay at a campground or in a resort you can unwind and enjoy the relaxed pace of the Keys. Tropical drinks, island-themed food, and a slower schedule all create an easy way of living. It’s one of the few places in the US that you can drive to and feel like you’re visiting an island in the Carribean.
8. More for Your Money
While the Keys are always a very expensive place to visit, camping there makes staying in the Keys a bit more reasonably priced, so that you can stay for longer. While you’ll still pay top dollar for restaurants and groceries, you’ll be paying a moderate fee for your site, rather than a huge fee for the room rate at a resort or hotel.
9. Plenty of Things to Do
Whether you’re out on the water boating, snorkeling, kayaking or fishing in Key Largo or having a few cocktails in Key West, there’s so much to do in each mile of the Keys.
10. Great Food and Drink
We found so many restaurants and bars to enjoy while visiting each of the Keys. Here are our favorite restaurants in Marathon, our favorite happy hour deals in Marathon, and our picks for the best Key Lime Pie in the Keys.
Remember to plan and prepare for your camping trip in advance, considering factors such as reservations, campground facilities, and any specific regulations or guidelines set by the campsite or park. Enjoy the natural beauty and outdoor adventures that the Florida Keys have to offer during your camping experience!
More Adventures to Read About
If you like the combination of summers in the Northern US and winters in the South, you might like these recent posts we’ve done on Camping in Maine in Boothbay, Camping in Delaware at Lums Pond, Cape Henlopen in Lewes, and Delaware Seashore State Park in Rehoboth Beach. You might also be interested in our review of our RV, the Thor Gemini 23TW on the Ford Transit chassis.