Best RV Parks & Resorts near Big Pine Key, FL

We were so excited to visit this highly rated Thousand Trails Sunshine Key!  The pictures online are not exactly accurate.  The RV sites are barren with little shade - feels like a parking lot.  There are a LOT of full-timers here and they have the best sites, close to the marina and pool.  The resort has a fun/upbeat vibe with lots going on - happy hour with music, crafts and farmers market.  Our site 57 was more isolated and the park was only 2/3 full, even though the Thousand Trails website says it is full!

There is a small beach area with lounge chairs and a Tiki hut.  Our dogs ran off leash and swam in the ocean as there was no one around.  They also have a marina and dock with beautiful sunset views.  The other guests were very friendly and we wish the weather was better to hang out and meet more people.  We had one day, out of 14 with clear, sunny skies.  The other days were raining a tropical storm and the winds were insane.  This was unusual however for December.

Everyday the staff sends texts to remind you of activities - happy hour, live music, bingo, farmers market and crafts.  Friendly and welcoming and would recommend again.  I don't however, think it lives up to the hype of one of the very best Thousand Trails/Encore in the Keys.

Marathon is a laid back, Keys island with eclectic dining, shops and activities.  We had dinner one night at Isla Bella - very upscale, but expensive.  The Sombrero Beach is beautiful and dog friendly if on a leash.

Curry Hammock State Park, located at mile marker 56, is just outside of Marathon in the Florida Keys on the Atlantic side of US 1. The park is compact, offering excellent gravel, well-leveled sites, and a super clean bath house.

The sites feel secluded because of the vegetation, but don’t expect much shade here. While there is beach access, it’s not much of a beach. Typical of the Florida Keys, it is rocky and weedy. It’s not Miami Beach.

Kayaking, SUP, and bicycling are the main recreational attractions. Kayaks and SUPs can be launched from a small sandy beach spot, where swimming is not allowed. Cyclists can access the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, across US 1 from the park entrance. The asphalt paved path is safely segregated from traffic on the Overseas Highway, allowing access to Marathon.

Curry Hammock State Park is a gorgeous Florida Keys gem; however, that implies hot, muggy, and buggy conditions during the warmer months, which are mostly all year. If those conditions don’t suit you, I would suggest one of the RV resorts down the road a bit.

We love Cudjoe key. This is not a Campground or odd V resort. It is a condominium community that features eclectic housing in a gated Community. It is expensive, but not compared to similar RV resorts in the keys. Yo RV well been nestled among mobile homes, stick built structures, manufactured homes, and other RVs. Amenities include a beautiful swimming pool, rec hall, good laundry and showers, and the sense of being part of the community. The Saint Boondockin. Highly recommend it if you can live with numerous rules that are published in advance. Read them in advance.

It’s a state park so no full hook ups. It has such beautiful scenery and in the ocean. It’s very hard to get a spot.

We stayed here a week our site #99 is right on the water next to the fire pit. Nice view with full hook up, a picnic table, sites are tight with no privacy. This site faces the Atlantic so we weren’t facing another camper. The pool and clubhouse are nice and the laundry room has 5 washers and dryer’s. There is a boat ramp, fish cleaning station, docks for you boat and they sell gas for your boat. 

The deer walk up to you    that’s nice. The office and store are nice lots of good things in there prices were good. We saw some sunrises and sunsets from our site. The bonfire pit is nice it’s propane so no smell which was nice. They turn it on every evening till 10:00. 

The campground is maintained well, clean bath house, pool, clubhouse and laundry room very clean. There is a dish cleaning station next to an outside shower, for tent campers. 

Over in the primitive camping area there’s a trail you can walk along the water lots of deer hoof prints, and derelict crab bouys. It’s a nice trail to walk there are sand spurs so wear shoes.

The entire week we were there it was windy we had lots of seaweed blow in it does smell. Hardly anyone was there mid oct.  They store campers there too lots of snow birds come for the winter. 

On Big pine key there’s a Winn Dixie, 2 hardware stores, the Big Pine Rooster restaurant, cocos has great Cubans, Trinaos taco truck, and drive out to the north name pub they have good pizza and homemade sangria. Bahia Honda state park is across the bridge it’s a nice place to spend a day. On Marathon Porky’s has a good breakfast and barbecue, the Sunset grill has good she crab soup, and the Keys Fishery good raw bar upstairs and cooked food downstairs. 

I gave this campground a 4 star review due to no swim beach.

Stayed here one night. There are only 11 sites with full hook ups, no showers, restrooms, laundry or WiFi, but you can get spots right on the water. They are strict with the rules there which isn't a problem, just a heads up for those disrespectful people who do not clean up after their dogs and those with inadequate sewer hook ups on their rigs. We were told they were recently fined for such behavior from visitors with is sad and that there are cameras to keep a closer eye on things. Chris and Fiona were very nice. It's a quick bike ride into downtown Key West.

Good cell reception with AT&T and Verizon.

We stayed at Big Pine Key from January 21- February 08th of 2022. We had a small trailer camper, Clam screen tent, an outdoor kitchen set-up and hammocks. There was a nice heavy picnic table on the site. Our site was on the channel and provided us with plenty of space for our setup. It had electric and water. There are many wonderful amenities including a pool, laundry room, recreation area with ping pong and a pool table, a nice store with provisions, a community fire pit area, and great walking trails directly off of the rustic tent camping area which runs along the beach. We brought our two Labrador Retrievers with us and felt comfortable with them at all times. Everyone was friendly and respectful. Big Pine Key is a great location for recreation or amenities. It is just 30 minutes to Key West or Marathon.We are already scheduled to go back in January of 2023 for a longer stay.

We love Bahia Honda and camp there every year. It's hard to get a reservation there so good luck. The Atlantic and the Gulf meet and it's a beautiful park. There are 2 main loops for camping. Buttonwood has some bigger sites and a little more privacy. If you lucky enough to get a waterfront site you can snorkel off your site or launch your kayak. We float on rafts after a day of fun and cool off. You see a good sunset here too. 

The sandspur loop is for campers under 23' and they are tighter with no shade or privacy. Yet they are right on the Atlantic ocean and the view is awesome. Loggerhead beach is beautiful. 

You can rent a kayak if you don't have one and paddle around the island. It's all good. The old Flagler bridge is a great photo op and you can walk up to it and catch a beautiful sunset or stargaze. 

There is a primitive campground  loop too on the gulf side near the Cabins. You can't get under the bridge to drive back with a high vehicle so make sure you look at the standards if you are booking a cabin or a primitive site. My truck with the kayak racks on top won't go under it. 

Lot's of good eats south on Big Pine Key and north on Marathon. There are 2 grocery stores on Marathon Key and a Winn Dixie on Big Pine Key. Lot's of small deer on Big Pine Key do not speed they will get you. As a matter of fact the keys are loaded with police looking for speeders so take it slow.

After some of the reviews we read here, we had some trepidation. Much of the ‘cons’ that other people experienced, we did not. We stayed in T loop since we wanted electrical hookup. This loop is designed for RVs and travel trailers, electric hookups at each site, but you needed to fill your water tanks from the spigot at the bathrooms. There is a dump station to make your deposit on the way out. Sites are all pull-thru and very level. Each site has a fire ring with grate, and a picnic table (very heavy and hard to move). There is a smattering of trees throughout, but not enough to offer much shade. There is a good amount of space between sites so you are not crammed in like sardines, which we have experienced at other National park campgrounds.

At this particular time of year, we experienced little to no bugs and there was a constant slight sea breeze which helped to make it feel a bit cooler. We were here the second week of February and it was plenty hot (80s) and humid for us northerners. The area we were in was very quiet, mostly us “older” folks. Very peaceful here at night, and a great location for stargazing since the campground has very few lights. Some previous reviews mentioned pesky vultures, we never saw any. I can’t speak to the conditions of the bathrooms in this loop as we had our own and didn’t need to visit them. Bring your bikes, fishing gear and kayaks as those seem to be the major activities here. It’s long way from major stores, so be sure to bring whatever supplies you might need. The store at the marina has some basics, but you won’t want to buy many groceries there.

Glad we went, but now that we’ve been there, probably won’t feel the need to go back, but it’s a nice place to get to at least once!

This campground (buttonwood loop) is where the Atlantic meets the gulf. Beautiful view from the waterfront sites. Kayak, fish, float on a raft or swim from your own campsite.  The view of the old bridge is amazing. We've stayed in several sites yet do have some favorites.  You need to book 11 months in advance to get on the water or maybe you luck out if someone cancels. 

We had water & electric & there is a dump station. They have snorkel trips from camp store there & a little museum near the swim beach. Walk up on the old bridge what a great view. Good place to see sunset not that you site isn't a good place to see it too.  If you like to look at beautiful night sky the old bridge is a great place to take it in. 

The restrooms are being redone they were working on it when we were there this year. Hurricane Irma did some damage there they were also working on rebuilding sandspur campground. 

Manatees hang out near the fish cleaning station they drink the fresh water coming from cleaning the fish. There's a small nurse shark that hangs out there too.  There is a small area for some boats first come first serve to keep your boat in the water. Very shallow coming in and out the dock area stay in the middle or you will be sorry. If you snorkel along the campground you must have a floating buoy with a dive flag. Boats need to see you. 

They rent Kayaks if you don't have your own, it's a great paddle around the key. 

Usually at sunset someone blows the conch shell (sounds like a ship horn). 

Close to Marathon & Big Pine Key (deer key). Some good eats close by Sunset Grill has great crab soup, and a pool.  The Keys Fishery Raw bar is a fun place to see the sunset. They serve a free shot at sunset. La Nina has good cuban food.  Porky's is a favorite. And don't forget the No Name Pub on Big pine Key their Pizza is good and the sangria.  From Bahia Honda it's an easy drive to Key West always a good time down there.

We did not have enough time to do everything we would have liked. Flamingo Adventures is about as far away as you can get from the rat race. They have eco tents, dry camping and hook ups. You can camp in the open grassy tent field by the bay, or in one of the campgrounds with hook ups for RVs. When the FHU sites fill there are still lots of dry sites available. They have clean bathrooms with showers. Some have solar heated water and some don’t. We stayed in the dry area and heard a lot of generator noise but most were considerate. The marina and store are an easy bike ride along a path that follows the waterfront. Manatee activities are in the canal and marina. There are many side trips along the very long ride from the visitors center at the entrance to Everglades National Park to Flamingo. They were working on many new and updated amenities: visitor center, conference center and lodging. Crocodiles can be seen in and around marina. Many friendly people everywhere; staff, rangers and visitors.

This campground has great reviews and we were looking forward to our visit.  Our site was right on the water, facing the overseas freeway.  We loved the location but we could not sleep, it was so loud with the traffic, trucks and cars.  Our site was 15 and faced the highway.  The park was lovely, the grounds and the beaches beautiful.  However, if you have dogs, it's a no-go.  No dogs allowed and they have to stay at your camp.  We were disappointed because potentially, we could return and stay for 14 nights, but with two nights of zero sleep, we were ready to go.  The nearest town is Big Pine Key and there's a Winn Dixie, UPS store, bagel shop and a dog park.  The dog park was packed so not an option.  Maybe check out other campsites that don't have the freeway noise.