Best Tent Camping near Florida City, FL

My husband and I lucked out to get an absolutely gorgeous day to tent camp at this campground. The next day was back to Florida’s hot and humidity. This campground is in one of natire’s most wonderful places, big cypress national preserve. This campground has tent and rv sites. No electric sites. We went on a Sunday and the whole campground was full, it’s a popular spot, would recommend making reservations in advance. There are vault toilets over on the rv sites and flush toilets by the tent sites. There are campground hosts, fire pits in the tent area, and a lake that does have alligators, because this is Florida. The nite sky was perfect so many stars to see. Little to no noise pollution. Make sure to bring your insect repellent, I got eaten alive once the sun started setting. No trails at the campground but there are trails within big cypress. Tent campsites were level and not right on top of one another. There were a few trees for shade as well.

Kings Kamp is a unique property that will work for all visitors. Personally, I camped in a tent, but they also have RV spots and on-site cabins. It was right off the main highway through the keys so it was very easy to get to. Very close to John Pennekamp and everything else in Key Largo. Pretty standard tent sites, nothing glamorous. The campground is in The Keys, so you can't complain about anything! It actually has a small marina, so bring the boat or kayak and launch right there. We found a nice little spot where we fished and had our lunch by (pictured). We did not stay for very long, and truthfully, we ventured out around town for most of the day. That being said, we didn't worry about our gear while out. It felt very safe.

Very beautiful location and reasonable price compared to most other options in the area. Would stay again.

nice campground with tent and RV sites. The tent site we stayed had the perfect view of the sunrise over the lake without even leaving the tent! Lots of families with kids. Picnic tables and fire rings at the tent sites and very friendly campground hosts!

They have tent camping without electric and a lot of rv area.. plenty of bathrooms and Washer and dryer area.. great place to visit while in south Florida I have been many times and different times of year

TL;DR Great for RVs, sucks for tents

Stayed for 2 nights in the tent loop in early January and encountered several problems with the campground.

1. Every night at 7pm the tent sites were swarmed with a fly hatch (may flies, I’m guessing). We couldn’t breathe without inhaling them. All campers were forced inside their tents at that time and for the rest of the night. Fires didn’t help. We mentioned the situation to a Ranger who was picking up the trash outside of our campsite and suggested that they refer new comers to a different section of the loop because sites 8-10 were the worst. Ranger said it was not her job and that she would not pass the information on to the camp host. Their RVs were parked RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER and we saw them drinking together at sunset, since their sites didn’t have the fly hatch, but no: She would not pass this along and spare the next campers. The positive is that the mosquitos weren’t bad. Just cleaning the dead bugs from your ears and nose gets nasty fast.
2. Old reviews on the campground mention that there are showers. In fact, there are showers in the restrooms. However, no one is allowed to use them except apparently the camp host and ranger. We had been snorkeling the day before and wanted to rinse off the saltwater. When we asked the camp host where the closest place to buy a shower was, she said she had no idea and suggested we go ask some other campgrounds and see if anyone would let us. This seems like something a camp host should know. But for reference, the answer is: there aren’t any showers for sale. The best we could find was 10 miles west down the road at the Skunk Ape Museum there’s a campground that will sell you a $25 tent site and as many people as you have with you can shower and then just not use the site. For a family, that’s a decent deal. For the 2 of us, we just went on without them. We did see people washing their hair and taking birdbaths in the dish sink if you need.
3. As we were packing up, a ranger dropped by and we spoke briefly and pointed out a fire ant mound near our site that we had been fastidiously avoiding. She immediately came back and threw some kind of stuff on it that causes them to run away and create a nest elsewhere. She clarified that it was NOT an insecticide and all it did was make them mad. No surprise, they ran over onto us and started biting us. She could’ve just waited until we were done packing up, but again, no one who works there seems to think that tent campers are part of their job. I’m pretty pissed about the fire ant stings though. It’s one thing to not know about showers, it’s another to sick fire ants on people while knowingly saying “this’ll make them mad!”

So basically the review is this: if you want to boondock in an RV, this is a beautiful place to do it. It’s got a little pond with a couple of gators and beautiful views of marl grass prairie. You can get away from the fly hatch, take a shower, block out the night traffic noise, and hopefully avoid the fire ants. For tent camping, this place was the worst we’ve stayed in for a while. While a lot of things can’t be controlled, the host nor ranger were ever helpful (and sometimes actively making the experience worse!), though they were very chummy with RV campers. Bathrooms were clean though, which was fantastic.

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 ✨A Loop Tent Camping.✨

I happened to be down here on a weekend of a full moon, so my thoughts on tent camping in Flamingo might be a bit skewed because that night sky was IMPRESSIVE.

There’s not much by way of privacy on A Loop, but I personally didn’t mind. I had a corner site near a bathroom and even despite that, the evenings were still pretty quiet.

The bathroom was in clean condition and had plenty of stalls. No showers or potable water down this way though!

Bring plenty of mosquito repellent or a thermacell because the bugs take no prisoners down there!

OK. So the Everglades can be cool. You can rent a canoe here, and tent camp or RV camp. The bugs can be hellish though. I was bit like a million times (exaggeration, but everywhere).

Great camp sites, leveled with electric for the RVs and tent camping off on the side. Clean bathrooms (no showers) and dump station. Attendant was friendly. Central pond for fishing just watch for the gators.

Would not recommend this campground if you are tent camping. It was packed with RVs and the spaces are very close together. Dogs are allowed but there were so many when we went it was difficult to walk our dogs. Great place to snorkel, small beaches, fishing, boat rentals.

There aren’t that many big open fields on the water in the USA for tent camping. Lots of fun, easy to meet people, and chill atmosphere. I slept in my car in the parking lot and they had no problem with that, BUT the mosquitoes were intense. Even the campfire and wind didn’t stop them.

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.

This seemed like the only option around for staying on the east side of everglades. It's a very large campground. We had no problem getting a site (apparently they are first come first serve but I've read reviews that there is a way to reserve sites) during "peak season". Some of the sites are fairly close to one another but we got one on the perimeter which was really nice and a little more private. The showers are huge plus (beware water only gets luke cold at best- no hot or warm water in the winter) and having flushing toilets are always nice. Tables and fire rings at each campground. I believe I read that you needed to bring your own wood but I think you could buy some. The campground is in a pretty ideal location. Close to a couple great trails (Anhinga and Long Pine Key). We were able to break up our 2 days in the everglades by splitting it with an day in Biscayne bay- driving too and from the campground to Biscayne NP was very reasonable from this "home base". The only down side to the campground is how close sites are to one another (again perimeter sites seem a little better). Additionally, walking around and seeing people sitting in their RVs watching TV kind of takes away from the camping experience (especially a NP). It's also pretty pricey for camping in a tent. Lastly, their staff is terrible. They're not bright (they'll have trouble figuring out which sites are open and then tell you sites that are obviously taken are actually open). They also lack any customer service skills and can be rude at times.

There’s not much shade and there can be plenty of mosquitos depending on the time of year but it’s a fair trade for sleeping on the edge of the wild. We tent camped right on the water and woke up to dolphins swimming by every morning. We saw crocodiles, alligators, every bird and more. I absolutley love being out where I don’t hear road noise. I would definitely only go in the winter. We will go back!

Midway in Big Cypress: This is our forth time here. We love this campground, though the sites are open. All trailer sites look over the lake which is in the middle of the campground. This campground seems to be very conducive to meeting people. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer. Our rating of a campground is influenced by the following: The general ambiance- sort of wilderness feel the campground gives us. A selection of campsites which offer some visual privacy and/or view from sites. Cleanliness of whatever facilities are offered is important and usually noted in my review.

Overall Rating: 4.5 for the lake view Price 2023: $ 15 w interagency pass Usage during visit: RV sites full every night. Tent sites accommodate vans, rooftop tents…. Site Privacy: None Site Spacing: Fair Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Tent area - defiantly.
Road Noise: Tent area - defiantly. From # 21, yes. Through Traffic in campground: Folks might come in to have picnics at tables around the lake. Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes, at the dump station. Generators: Allowed. Bathroom: Flush toilet. Only one stall in the men’s. Clean. Showers: At Monument Lake CH, 20 minutes. Pull Throughs: None in RV Loop Cell Service (AT&T): Site 21 usually has 1 bar. Sites at the near the end have weaker reception. Setting: All RV sites are situated around the lake
Recent Weather: High 50s to 80s. Rain Solar: Plenty in the tent sites Host: Three Rig Size: Largest bus RVs are here Sites: 19 - 26 are best shaded sites. 13 and 14 are corner sites with less shade . 1 is near a shed, but a fine site. Picnic tables along the lake and in between these sites: 22&23, 3&4, 11&12, 16&17. (On nice weekend days you can expect small groups using these spots for day usage.)

Went there and loved it! Our site backed up to a swamp where the ibis were wading all the time. The iguanas were an issue and we had to make sure and put away all our food but they were neat. The tent site didn't offer a lot of privacy but on the island theres really not much room so I wasn't shocked by this. Great bathrooms and laundry facilities. Very neat places to swim and we even tubbed around the offshoots. Beautiful sunrise.

Open field surrounding an older burrow pit has been transformed into a decent RV and tent camping spot. The facilities include a fire ring and picnic table. Flush toilets but no power or showers This is a good stopping point when crossing the glades or exploring the surrounding area. Private wilderness camping it is not. Watch for gators in and along the lake.

To the east is a big open prairie which lends itself to a steady breeze. That helps keep the bugs down but it got really buggy at dusk. Gators have been know to cross from the prairie through the campsites on their way back to the lake.

Good cell service from nearby tower.

Originally I was over in the Trailer loop but was able to relocate to the tent camping loop.

Site #53 was a winner with a nice big tree for plenty of afternoon shade.

Nice bathroom with solar heated showers centrally located in the loop.

Also within walking distance of a beach area and the trailhead for the Coastal Prairie trail (~12 miles round trip).

Mosquitoes were on the cusp of being pretty bad, but as long as you layered up and light a fire a little before dusk, they weren't unbearable.

Quick drive over to the marina to restock on food, firewood, ice, and other supplies.

Also highly recommend taking a boat tour up the canal and checking out manatees in the bay!