John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Campground

Full hookups, beaches, marina, hiking paths, small park and lots of relaxing in the sun. Down the road has grocery stores, small shops and great restaurants.

General: Small campground (47 sites) in a larger state park with many activities you can participate in. 

Site Quality: All sites are level and gravel but are pretty close together with little to no foliage separating them. 

Bathhouse: Typical of all the other Florida state parks we have stayed in. Clean with good showers. 

Activities/Amenities: This is where this park shines! Swimming, boating, snorkeling. You can rent kayaks or SUPS for a reasonable amount. There are also snorkel tours. There is a food truck, marina, and aquarium. Laundry facilities but one of the two dryers was out of order. Two swimming beaches but we have been to better ones in Florida. Note that alcohol is permitted in your campsite but not in the public areas of the park. Note also that the playground was closed due to safety reasons. 

We were lucky to snag a one-night reservation 11 months ago so had to decide which activities to partake in. We chose kayaking and SUP but wish we could have also done a snorkel tour!

Considered purely as a campground, this place was a big disappointment. It's basically an RV park, and a mediocre one at that. The spaces are tight and close together. You get a gravel pad with little to no shade or privacy, an old picnic table in one corner, and... that's about it. Full hookup, but not terribly useful to me as a tent camper.

I had much higher expectations for this place, given the reviews. I thought I had lucked out when I showed up without a reservation and they told me there had been a cancellation so yes, there was a site available (so, it was booked almost solid on a Monday night in August). But the fee was sky high for what I got. Haven't been this let down by a campground all summer.

The only redeeming qualities from my perspective were the nice bathrooms and the walking trails. Otherwise, the rest of the park was in sorry shape as well. Bathrooms closed, playground closed, boardwalk closed. Wouldn't recommend this campground unless you're mainly there to go snorkeling or to take a glass bottom boat tour.