Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge
Ashlee L.
Reviewed Dec. 13, 2019

Great views, nice amenities!

Pros: great staff, great views, very nice amenities (modern and clean), good price for the area

Cons: little privacy, could use toilets closer to the rustic tent area

Overall, this was a great campground.  I was able to get the most private tent site in the campground, the very last one next to their (gorgeous) nature trail on the ocean.  The site was directly on the water, we could hear the ocean all night and we had wonderful views.  Note that it isn't a beach - a lot of decaying sea grass all along those ocean sites, so it not good for swimming or fishing.  But there are nice swimming areas near the campground, so it wasn't a huge loss.  And the woman who booked the reservation on the phone w/ me made it clear that while it was oceanside, it was not a nice swimming area.

There were lots of nice amenities throughout the campground - very nice clean, and modern bathrooms and showers (which were free!), a rooftop swimming pool, a recreation area, an observation platform over the marsh, and free morning coffee.  There was also a fully stocked camp store with lots of great items at fair prices.  On our last day we were disappointed to see that they had a GREAT selection of snorkel gear at super fair prices - we paid 3x what they were asking at a big dive store in the area because we didn't think to check their store.  Make sure you look around there first if you need anything!

One thing that I would have loved would be a bathhouse (even just toilets!) in the rustic tent camping area.  The one shower/bath house was in the RV part of the campground, and was about a 10 minute walk from the tent area, which is not ideal in the middle of the night.  

While we were there, there was lots of construction going on, so lots of noise during the day (luckily we left for Key West or the local state parks in the daytime), and sites that had construction equipment.  That wasn't ideal, but since the campground is open year round there isn't really any way around it.  If that is important to you, you may want to check with them to see if those projects are finished.

There are also key deer in the campground.  They are super curious and will come right up to you!  We just made sure not to pet or feed them.

Overall, great campground - if we stay in the Keys again we will totally return!

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Month of VisitDecember
  • Review photo of Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge by Ashlee L., December 13, 2019
  • Review photo of Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge by Ashlee L., December 13, 2019
  • Review photo of Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge by Ashlee L., December 13, 2019