Best Tent Camping near Big Pine Key, FL

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.

Down at Flamingo, there’s four types of camping: eco tents, tents (A Loop), campers/ RVs (T Loop) and the backcountry chickees. This review is for the ✨eco tents✨.

The eco tents are awesome in general, but more so if you’re new to camping. Some come fully furnished with beds, nightstands, etc, while others are completely unfurnished and you can set up your own gear, so you choose your level of comfort. They also come with electric fans.

It’s incredibly quiet down there and the full moons are outta this world - no pun intended! 😉 Waking up and drinking your coffee on the shore of Florida Bay is a great way to start the day.

But there is no food allowed in the tents whatsoever. Because the walkways to and the platforms of the eco tents are elevated, there’s also no way to cook even near your eco tent. There are fire rings and picnic tables near the parking area, which is also where the bathrooms are. So if you’re someone who wakes often in the middle of the night for “bio breaks”, you might want to keep that walk in mind - or plan for an alternative.

There are bathrooms with running (non potable) water and toilets with real plumbing, but no showers.

I’d definitely recommend the eco tents for a short stay!

A well-kept campground with just enough greenery between sites to suggest a whisper of privacy — rare and welcome. The real charm, though, is the direct access to the shoreline. Not exactly a swimmer’s paradise, but perfect for sitting in quiet contemplation, watching the light play on the water and pretending — briefly — that time isn’t real.

The sites are leveled, clean, and smartly set up. I had barely started wondering how I’d stake down the tent against the wind when I noticed the perimeter already fitted with anchor rings. A small detail, but one that says: “We’ve thought this through.”

Power and water? All good. Bathrooms and showers? Clean, well-maintained, no notes. There’s no A/C, only a ceiling fan — which worked fine until the midday sun decided to get philosophical about what "shade" really means.

We camped with a tent in June, and while the breeze was nice, the ants liked our car and the mosquitoes liked us, sprays or not. Still, it’s a solid campground — quiet, thoughtful, and worth the stay. I’d absolutely recommend it.

Starlink - excellent coverage

I have camped here many, many times. Since the other overnight options were destroyed by hurricanes, this is the only way to remain at the end of the road overnight without having to drive back out (40 miles) or wilderness camp.

The campsites are separated into three sections, one for RVs, the other not, and a special "walk in" field. I've only stayed at the "tents" areas. Each is essentially a large mowed field with sparse trees. The "walk in" field is essentially treeless and probably best described as an overflow area for tent campers.

The RV and regular camping areas are loops that allow vehicles to access and park close to the campsite, which is a parking pad, a picnic table, and a fire containment device for cooking and/or a campfire. BTW... you must bring your own fire wood.

There is no privacy, the ambiance is more one of community than peaceful tranquility. The combined restroom, showers, and dish washing buildings are few but never far from any campsite. Consider their location when choosing your site, closer might not be better for you if you might be offended by foot traffic through your site. A recent upgrade to solar heated water for the showers is fantastic!

The entire area is famously buggy in all but the coldest months, and even then you better be prepared. It is also incredibly hot during the summer, making the few shaded sites a consideration... but the bugs love shade too!

Despite the above bleak description, the camping area is commonly filled to capacity (hence the "walk in" area) during the cooler months. But it is also commonly empty during the summer when only fanatical anglers will brave the conditions.

I have camped all of my life, mostly tent camping. This is the worst tent camping facility I’ve ever paid for. It is disgraceful. This place is designed for RVs and not well designed for them. The closest trash, potable water, and bath house facilities to much of the tent sites are over a block and a half away. All facilities are in the middle of the RV sites. Tent sites can be rocky. Not every site even has a picnic table. There are no fire rings or grills. Few tent campers were cooking at all. Tent campers have no privacy. You hear people farting in other tents. You can’t have a private conversation. So much for getting away from it all. The management doesn’t care about tent campers. Dennis, the main MWR manager, in his own words said “I don’t care any more” when it comes to dealing with problems reported like - people having a pit bull mix dog not tied up, tent campers expanding beyond their assigned spaces, RV school bus conversions illegally boondocking in tent site parking areas to avoid paying camping fees, no assigned parking spaces for tent sites, etc. Our 8’ wide, four person blue tent is shown in the photo. We were told tent sites were 20’ by 20’. There is no way our site was that wide. When I showed the photo to Dennis, he said to me ‘that photo doesn’t tell me anything”. I felt like saying to him, “Get off your dead a$$ and get out there and look at what is going on!”  Again, it just shows the terrible attitude of the people who run the place. It really shows. Other campers do let their dogs run loose, especially at night. One evening I was charged by someone’s unchained, growling large dog that I had startled as I was out walking. Had I not stood my ground, I think the dog would have attacked me. The bath house facilities are mostly clean, but the facilities are OLD, think built in the 1950’s. The entire campground (all RVs and tents) has TWO toilets in the one men’s room. The bar and lounge are really kinda sad. Food available is mostly fried. Drinks are only ok. Prices aren’t great. The commissary and exchange which are small and not well stocked are closed all day on Sunday and Monday. There is no real place to eat a sit down meal with table service or get coffee anywhere on the base. This isn’t a “real” military base. Navy MWR runs it. Most of the time there is no on at the gate checking people coming on the base. So much for security. The entire operation is nothing short of a sh!t show. The campground is near the water. That is its only redeeming quality. Do yourself a favor. Pay more and camp somewhere else in the Keys. No matter how cheap this is, it isn’t worth it. It really sucks. Needless to say, even though we only live a few hours away we will NEVER EVER be back.

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.

Flamingo Campground, Florida Everglades—eco-tent

Pro: The location is superb. Ours was located closest to the water(#6). You don’t get to choose—assigned when you check in. There was a lovely breeze each afternoon and very few mosquitoes. Egrets and Anhingas were in abundance. Our eco-tent was equipped with a queen size bed, pillows, bed linens, blankets, fluffy large bath towels, a fan and bedside lights. The towels were a pleasant surprise because I had specifically asked about towels and was told “no.” The tents are located on boardwalks with embedded lights to the bathroom building (it can be a fair walk from your tent) so you can see your way there at night. There is an electrical outlet box with one spare outlet. We brought a surge protector with additional outlets so we could charge electronics and toothbrushes. Several people we met rented empty eco-tents for $50 (no beds, lights, etc) a night.

Con: a solar panel was broken wide open with water flowing out onto the ground so there was no warm water at all in the showers. The bathrooms are adequate but old and tired—cleaned once daily. Only one shower in the ladies room was working. For the price, a decent bathroom would be anticipated. There is an electrical outlet near the sinks which seemed to be constantly in use by a crockpot. (Despite a sign on the boardwalk saying for eco-tents only, this bathroom and the nearby picnic tables were heavily used by tent campers.) There are two dish washing stations at the bathroom building—faucets were not sealed and so water ran out the sides splashing on the backsplash. There are no water spigots so if you need water, you must use the dish washing faucet (the water is potable but for drinking, you might want to bring in your own as it has a salty taste). Maintenance certainly could be improved.

Eco-tent residents must use tables and fire pits close to the parking lot which are not very close. No food is allowed in the tents. There are no lights around the picnic tables so if you are cooking after dark, be sure you’ve planned for that. Also know that you cannot leave unaccompanied food at the picnic tables or the Anhingas will be feasting with abandon.

The food truck was open at the Marina. It had been closed due to hurricane damage. Because of the long new year’s weekend, the shop had no ice, no firewood and only minimal supplies like snacks and beer—lots of empty shelves and coolers. We received an email just before arriving telling us that there was no ice or wood due to the holiday long weekend so we needed to get them before arriving. We had planned to bring all our food which was a good thing given the lack of items at the store. With a 38 mile drive from the Coe entrance center to the campground and another 45 minutes to Homestead, you don’t want to have to go back to Homestead for supplies!

No internet or phone service (other than AT&T). Was wonderful to escape!!

If you can beat the bugs, stargaze and enjoy the sunrise. But take the bug seriously. Even in late January the mosquitoes or vicious. You'll want insect repellent long sleeve long pants and maybe even a mosquito net when you are out and about.

Flamingo Everglades is the concessionaire that operates this campground and the nearby marina. The campground is arranged into 2 loops (one for trailers; about half of them with electric) plus a bayside field area that also includes a group tent site. For these, you park and walk to your site, but you get a great view of the bay and sunrises. In addition, there are several new eco-tents (platform tents) with beds two chairs and lamps. I stayed in one of these.

The Flamingo area still shows the effects of Hurricane Irma a couple of years ago and some neglect. The B & C loops are not open, though NPS is working to clean them up. An employee I spoke with indicated that they hoped to have those open next year. I was there midweek and only the trailer loop was full. On the weekends they do fill up.

The campsites in the loops have picnic tables and fire rings. The bayside field sites have scattered picnic tables and fire rings in various states of rusty disrepair. The eco-tents some picnic tables closer to the bathrooms for the field sites are not occupied, you can use one of those. You can't use a stove in your tent or on your deck, so you do need to cook elsewhere.

Bathrooms include flush toilets and free showers, although the water never got very warm. They are solar heated.

Remember everything you need because it's a long trip back to Florida city or Homestead the nearest places for picking up supplies. Stop at "Robert is Here" on your way in or out for a smoothie or milkshake. The shop at the marina has some basic snacks and drinks. Tuesday to Saturday afternoons there is a food truck available. For activities, campers get a discount on bike rentals. They also rent kayaks & canoes and offer boat trips, though I wouldn't do the boat trip again.

If you choose to stay in an eco-tent, there is a cart with bicycle tires to quietly take your gear to your tent. The boardwalk lights up at night so you can safely find your way to the bathroom. You'll be conscious of the sound the zipper makes when you leave and return to your tent. These are tents and not cabins, so you may hear some neighbors talking or snoring. Even so, it was a welcome change from a sleepless, noisy night at a campground in the Keys.

If you're looking for birds, nearby Eco pond or the waterfront near the bayside campsites offer a nice variety for minimal effort.

No Verizon coverage, but I've been told there is AT&T. Wifi is available at the visitors center.