Larry & Penny Thompson Park

This is a very nice campground which is part of the Miami-Dade County park system.  It is close to the Encore Everglades park (about 4 miles) so we stayed here after we departed.  The campground is divided into pods and each pod has about 15 or so sites.  We were in pod 4 site 20 (420 lol).  We booked this camp with the intent to stay for a month or longer as my husband had an opportunity to Captain boats in Miami.  

The park was very quiet.  Most of the campers were retirees, a few families with kids, but we were there in early January.  The grounds are nicely maintained with lots of places to walk and open space with trees.  They don't allow dogs off-leash and although it is adjacent to the rest of the Larry & Penny park, dogs are not even allowed in the main park, at all.  We did however find a few dog parks within four miles or so which were nice.

They have a very nice pool which was open daily Wed- Sunday 11am - 5pm.  It was raining and rather dreary during our stay so we didn't use the pool.  They have a nice Clubhouse and it looked okay with tables, chairs, books, puzzles, but again very quiet.  Not many activities except for a few and we didn't stay long enough to participate.  After a week, we decided to make moves back home to Lake Tahoe.  It was unseasonably cold, raining so no boat work and not an ideal spot for the dogs.  They don't have WiFi and since we were planning a longer stay, purchased the Starlink system since I work remote during the winter.  Starlink worked great, but costs $500+ to get started and then $120 or so a month.  If you are looking for an affordable long term/monthly stay, it is great.  The rates were $850 a month for full hook-ups.  They had last minute space available, too.  

If you are in the area, check out the Miami Zoo.  We were there when they had the "Zoo Lights" a super fun evening event.  They have other events at the Zoo and lots to do nearby.  You are closer to town than Everglades Encore, but still close to the agricultural area.  I recommend but not as fun or as many activities as some other places.

The good: The campground is very reasonably priced relative to accommodations in the surrounding area. The facilities are clean and functional. The meh: This is a family campground so you may end up with noisy neighbors (and/or their children). The bad: Code Compliance is strict and will lurk until you leave your site and then stick a nasty-gram to your door about whatever rule you violated. Apparently good tape is in short supply - I found my note under my camper by chance. They placed the note after nightfall.

A little confusing getting here if it’s your first time. GPS will tell you to turn left into the campground when it’s a right at the stop sign from 184th/127th. The staff at the front was super helpful, but we never got info on a wifi code and didn’t notice until it was too late. Super clean bathrooms, which was surprising since we generally don’t expect much when staying in a public park setting. Very quiet and great for what we needed. The sites have enough room. Our site backed up to the bathrooms / laundry but there was enough space between to not be disruptive.

Good value, good location. Nice facility everything you need except Wifi

Great location, nice surroundings, very peaceful. We hope the pool opens in the next few weeks

Very good rv camp ground. Easy access, good security, pretty surroundings. But pool it’s close.

Right now, nothing is open until memorial day weekend. So no beach and no pool. Also half the park is under construction, and for whatever reason (covid?) All of the bathrooms and showers are closed in the whole park. The only thing open is the laundry- but they don't have change machines or quarters. No wifi. They also don't allow anything other than motorhomes, 2-wheel dollies, TT, or 5th wheels. No other trailers, no van conversions.

It is cheap, and quiet. I have a feeling half the campers are just put there for the price, while everyone goes elsewhere to be tourists. There are kids and dogs around. Several pull through spaces.

They have tent and rv camping!! Right next to zoo Miami

Fairly dispersed camping lots of grass, big park, gates locked at 8pm. Lots of trees scattered but ok shade.

Most Amenities closed due to COVID. Lots of construction around the park, mostly away from sites.

No WiFi due to construction whilst we were there.

Verizon data slow even with booster.

Close to Everglades and Route 1.

Site pretty level good hookups.

Ok for a pass through when in a trip but not extended stay or as main stay.

We camped here for 6 nights as a home base while fishing the area. I would say 17 bucks a night is a little pricey for a tent site but not outrageous. The tent sites were well shaded. Bathrooms were clean and staff was friendly. Water access could have been better. Wifi would have been nice but is it really camping at that point. Fishing was good in the pond nearby. Beware of the feral cats and raccoons though. We spent an entire night fending them off with a slingshot and they didn’t bother us again.

I think that you get more for what you pay. Clean and quiet place.

Our Ford F-250 King Ranch 4x4 diesel got stolen in the middle of the day from right in front of our RV at this park. This state park is NOT secure! We just purchased this vehicle and we did not drive it. Whomever stole our truck was an insider that cased the place. It is very scary to know that guests cannot feel secure here. Talking to neighbors today we found out that theft of bicycles and other items is common here. We wish we would have known earlier.

Our Ford F-250 King Ranch 4x4 diesel got stolen in the middle of the day from right in front of our RV at this park. This state park is NOT secure! We just purchased this vehicle and we did not drive it. Whomever stole our truck was an insider that cased the place. It is very scary to know that guests cannot feel secure here. Talking to neighbors today we found that theft of bycicles and other items is common, we wish we would have known earlier.

This is city owned and operated Park/Campground. This fact is significant. It is very pretty with lots of mature shade trees. The RV's are assigned space around several pods. Each pod has its own bathhouse with laundry facilities. There are pull through spots for the big motorhomes and spots reserved for the handicapped. The bathhouses for the RV's were in good shape and well maintained. The bathhouse for the tenters not so much. The bathhouse for the RV's is not very far to walk which I would recommend.

The tent area is off to one side and well shaded by mature trees. It's an area rather than sites. You pick your spot, put up a tent and place a large numbered sign by your area and you've got your spot. While there isn't any electric to plug into at the tent sites, water is provided interspersed throughout the area. Picnic tables and barbecue grills are also provided throughout.

There is a great fire ring with benches for bonfires and a great Beach volleyball court. The pool is clean and guarded by life guards. There is a lounge where you have access to WiFi and plus to charge your phones. The RVs have WiFi around their pods.

Tenters can stay for a Max of 7 nights while RV's can stay for 180. Tenters can only pay for 3 nights at once before returning to re-up. No such rule for RVs. There is a kind of second class feel to the tenters but if you overlook that (I recommend you do) you will have a great time. Staff is very nice and the park is clean.

This campsite is a great central base camp for those visiting Biscayne NP/ Everglades NP and Miami. Clean and safe, with spots for both rv’s and tents. Bathrooms/showers/laundry facilities on site are well maintained.

Wish the website was clearer on length of stay - 30 days for RVs and 7 days for tent campers. After 7 days, you have to leave and can’t return for 30 days 😟. They do provide a list of other local campgrounds you can move to, though.

Near a major street, so it can get noisy - and on weekends you can hear the music from a local bar.

In southern Florida, campgrounds don’t usually come cheap, but we found Larry & Penny’s to be a great value with close access (30 minutes) to Biscayne National Park.

At $17/night for a tent site, we got wifi, access to laundry, great showers, and a perfectly adequate site. We weren’t spending much time at the actual campground, so we didn’t mind that it wasn’t the most scenic place we’d seen during our year on the road. Larry & Penny’s was a perfect place to crash!

Visiting Biscayne National Park was a bit more frustrating. We knew going in that they had not been running regular tours out to the keys, the heart of the park, because of issues with switching to a new concessioner. We thought that our 10 days in southern Florida (visiting Biscayne and Everglades) would be plenty of time for us to figure out a way to get to the keys, but a private charter from Miami wasn’t worth it to us, so we disappointedly stuck to the mainland park.

Since we had our own kayak, we were able to skirt the shore and paddle through some of the mangrove forests in Biscayne. This was the highlight of our two short days at Biscayne, since the only other activity we could do was explore the visitor center and walk the very short boardwalk trail.

We’ll be back, Biscayne!

You can read much more about our two days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Biscayne)

I'm a tent camper and loved this area. Overall great value with a swimming pool and washer/dryers. Grounds mostly quiet with expected weekenders. Miami Zoo and groceries nearby and great location. Tent sites in open field setup with trees.

sites: no pets allowed. welcoming atmosphere. mostly shaded. near residential neighborhood but quiet. flat sites. amenities: large bathhouse. clean. other attractions: zoo. beach/waterslide. I would go back again.