Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Hastings, FL

We stayed here during Spring Break as it was the only thing available in Saint Augustine when we booked. However, we really enjoyed the park. It was close to the beaches and all major attractions. The pool was nice and there was a basket ball court, corn hole and table tennis as well as a small playground. Since we booked late we were in what was considered a buddy site which was a little different since we had a neighbor facing our site who we didn’t know but still we had a great time and my kids made several new friends. The bathrooms were clean and there was a laundry area with a separate laundry for washing pet bedding. The park was almost separated into 2 sections with the sites in the back having mixed paved pads while the ones in the front were gravel. There were several trails through the campground and there was an off leash dog park as well. All in all we really enjoyed our visit and would definitely return in the future.

This is the type of campground that wants to get as much as they can out of ever square inch. Roads are narrow, turns are sharp and sites are small. We were in the back, by the dog park and leech field, the smell of sewer was noticeable.

Ever fantasized about parking your RV so near the ocean that you could feel the salt spray coming off those Atlantic ‘white caps’? Well, look no further than Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort, which depending upon the specific RV slot you are fortunate enough to book here, you too could be kicking back and living life in the 'slow lane’ right in front of idyllic white sand beaches against a backdrop of an endless aquatic blue horizon. Located just 8 miles / 20 minutes south of St. Augustine (a.k.a. Ancient City), Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort resides on the famous A1A, but down in this neck of the woods, you will find that you have escaped the whir of traffic, busyness of everyday life and won’t have to put up with the touristy side of this northernmost Floridian outpost.

As for this location itself, Bryn Mawr boasts the largest family pool in the county (which I cannot independently verify here), although there are actually 2 swimming pools, along with a spa and private walkways with beach access to some of the finest ocean views along the eastern seaboard. Boasting some 236 RV slots, Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort is a massive RV oceanfront wonderland, hidden in the shades of the palms, wherein you’ll enter the compound through a very well appointed security gate after first being greeted by the good folks at the main office building. Once inside, you’ll swerve a bit around the bend to the right before heading straight, wherein on both sides of this RV ‘main street’ you’ll intersect four different perpendicular lanes (Sea Bird, followed by Sea Coast, then Sea Dog and finally Sea Eagle) before reaching a T intersection (at Sea Eagle) where you’ll have to either turn left or right in order to access the 9 (yes, count ‘em, 9) vertical RV slotted lanes (and unfortunately, yes, all of them also begin with the word ‘Sea’, making it very difficult to remember which ‘Sea’ lane you are in) that from north to south are called: Sea Fan, Sea Gull, Sea Horse, Sea Jetty, Sea Anchor, Sea King, Sea Ladder, Sea Millie and Sea Nettle. 

Nomenclature aside, it all doesn’t really matter if you are looking for simply the best, which are the oceanfront RV slots (that run parallel to the beach along Sea Otter lane), whose numbered sites are #219– 238. Trust me, whatever the premium is to pay and park in one of these 20 RV slots is ABSOLUTELY worth it, given the proximity to the beach, as well as the additional distance from traffic that you’ll have back here in the furthest reaches of Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort.  Oh, and then there's the priceless oceanfront views you'll have - but to be clear, that really only works out if your particular RV has a rear-facing panoramic view, otherwise, you'll have to get outside your vehicle and post a few picnic chairs to enjoy the view.

Amenities: dog park / pet walking area, basketball court, lighted tennis / pickle-ball courts, shuffleboard, complimentary WiFi and cable, main office with marketplace store, spartan showers & restroom facilities (there are multiple units spread throughout the RV campus), laundr-O-mat, activity center, horseshoe pitch, propane refill station and children’s playground. Of course, all RV sites come with full hook-ups (30 / 50 amp electric along with water and sewage) and concrete pads. There’s also scattered picnic tables, BBQ grills and fire rings.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) While I’ve already HIGHLY recommended the oceanfront slots of #219– 238, I would also recommend the following locations (if being near the ocean is important to you): 82, 96, 110, 123, 135, 249, 143, 154, 167, 168, 250, 181, 195, 209 and 218; (2) This place is one of the most pet-friendly RV outposts I’ve come across, so don’t be shy about bringing all your pets – I couldn’t find a single RV’er who didn’t have at least 1 dog, if not an entire entourage of cats, iguanas, fish and even an alpaca en towe!; (3) While next to the ocean is great, you will feel a substantial lack of privacy with the spaces being quite close to one another, so if that bothers you (and let’s be honest, it should), then when booking, ask for what available spots there are to determine which of those offer up the most amount of either space or privacy; (4) When you get tired of trying to figure out what that next meal is going to be when staring down at your mini-fridge or Cordova roto-molded cooler, then check out some local haunts, like Salt Water Cowboy (where anything from the Land, Sea and Swamp section like fried Alligator is pretty amazing), World Famous Oasis Restaurant or Connolly’s Shore Grill for fresh caught seafood; (5) If you are looking for a decent place to do some great hiking, then look no further than due southwest of Bryn Mawr where you can check out Matanzas State Park, that has miles and miles of unspoiled hiking trails with virtually the entire place to yourself (save the deer and gators that you might come across); and (6) Carrying watercraft and looking for a nice spot to hit the water? Then I HIGHLY recommend Princess Place Preserve AND Faver-Dyke SP that offers access to the Matanzas and Tolomato Rivers as well as Pellicer Creek.

Happy Camping!

This park was a very quiet and clean golf rv resort with older snowbirds. Sites are very close together and pricey. If your in your 70 to 80s and love golf and golf carts this parks for you. Alot of full time permanent older folks living onsite. Large dog park near the entrance not near the camp sites. Does have a restaurant onsite and outdoor seating. Bring the bug spray. Have to drive 20 to 30 minutes North or South to get to a grocery store. Not a site we would return to.

I am a huge fan of Florida State Parks. Anastasia has good size sites that are very private. We could not see our side neighborhoods only the ones across from us. Bathrooms were clean and the showers were large. There was always staff around keeping the grounds picked up and tidy. The camp ground is very pet friendly, but dogs are not allowed on the beach in the park. There are many pet friendly beaches nearby. There is no camping near the ocean, but it is just a short bike ride/drive from the campsites to the beach. Water and electric hook up at the sites, a large trash compactor is located near the the 3 lane dump station.

Great camp ground, but make sure you reserve far in advance, they book up quick.

Stopped here on the way north to get out of the Florida Keys. Stayed 2 nights and used the laundry(wash was 1.50 per load, and 25 cents per 18min for drying). It was very affordable. Very large dog park for off-leash. One weird quirk we noticed was not all sites had a picnic table. Ours was one of those. 

Here are some notes for data for people interested in staying here and needing connectivity. They have an amazing campground WiFi deployment. I was getting about 15mbs down and 6mbs up. Obviously depending on when people are using it all that can change. I

 have a Pepwave Max Transit CAT18 modem paired up with a Parsec Husky Pro 7-in-1 4x4 MIMO antenna mounted on our travel trailer. I ran a speedtest from Ookla on my laptop three times per provider while I was deciding which connection to use. I ended up leveraging Speedfusion on my router to bond my best connection with the campground WiFi 

Verizon 

LTE Band 66(AWS 1700/2100 MHz) RSSI:-77dBm SINR: 12.7dB RSRP:-108dBm RSRQ:-10.0dB 

9.40ms down| 5.03mbs up| 39ms ping 

AT&T 

LTE Band 14(700 MHz) RSSI:-53dBm SINR: 20.7dB RSRP:-81dBm RSRQ:-10.0dB 

8.51mbs down| 5.53mbs up| 43ms ping

Very private camp sites, water and electric hook ups, walk to the beach, quiet and friendly and not a thing to complain about.

Has both tent and RV sties, bathrooms and a store (though not much in it). Dogs or any other pets are NOT allowed don the beach. Leashed animals ok in campground area. Would definitely stay again. Lucked out an got a spot for the night by reserving the night before...otherwise booked! 

Good cell reception with AT&T and Verizon.

This pet friendly campground has many magical options. The Florida Trail runs right through this spot and has a natural spring connection as well. We camped out near the facilities and am happy to report everything was maintained and clean. The vibes are on point here.

We spent one night at Payne’s Prairie in mid February, site 46. The campground is ok - nice wooded sites, but not as much privacy between sites as we have been spoiled by in other FL state parks. The biggest disappointment for this state park is that all of the things they advertise (and I was looking forward to) - bison, horses, wildlife - are all on trails where pets are not allowed. We did one of the only trails you can take your dog on (the Lake Trail) and drove over to the ecopassage observation boardwalk site. It’s a pretty area, but we were very disappointed we couldn’t do most of the hiking trails with a dog. We won’t return unless we come someday without our dog.

Awesome distance to beach Walk to a few restaurants and pet friendly Fishing pier nice also but on the small side A bit overpriced and spots close together

Pet-friendly, two campground areas - one beachside and one riverside.

Love this area. Beautiful, quiet beach town.

The park rangers/campground check-in were super friendly.

Bathroom was spectacularly clean.

My new favorite spot.

Located within a stone’s throw (or two) of I95 – Florida’s major highway artery running due north and south – you’ll come across Sunshine Holiday Daytona just due west of the main exit to Daytona Beach and the Daytona Speedway. Here you will discover a massive RV depot that has 2 distinct campuses to choose from with altogether 602 individual RV, tent camping, cottage and cabin spots to choose from. If you think this sounds like an overcrowded, RV parking lot too close to a major highway interstate with all of the fast food restaurants you can throw a rock at all within walking distance (and a Harley Davidson dealer to boot) then you would be correct! 

About Sunshine Holiday Daytona specifically, you’ll find that this RV campground is basically two very large concentric circles separated by a canal, with Circle A, the first encircled campground space that you will come to upon entry, where the main lodge, shower / restrooms, laundr-O-mat, market and swimming pool is located in the center, is organized by sites #1– 100, and on the outer periphery, you’ll find a dozen and a half or so sites designated for tent campers, but as a fellow tent-pitcher, I wouldn’t recommend this. For those that don’t have an RV or a tent, no problem, as there’s also a handful of scattered cottages and cabins that you can rent for the night. 

The second concentric circle, located just due west of the first large circle, which you’ll come to after first crossing a small canal, is organized in the same fashion as the first circle with a basic hub-like structure in the center with restrooms / showers (but no market or swimming pool here). Both circles have 4 - 5 expanding rings all with intersecting lanes that surround the center, so obviously, the outer rings provide the most amount of shelter and privacy, although you should note that the southernmost part of each external ring is closest to the 4-lane US1 highway from whence you came, so if possible, for Circle A, you’ll want to be on the northern or eastern side and for Circle B, you’ll want to be on the northern or western side. 

Amenities: Clubhouse / lounge, swimming pool, near Daytona’s beaches (biggest upside), pet-friendly, horseshoe pits, bocce ball, WiFi, dog park, playground, restroom / shower facilities, market / store, RV and boat storage, mini golf, badminton, shuffle board, tennis, basketball, bingo / card playing, activities center, volleyball, laundr-O-mat, designated dump station, propane refueling station, as well as full hook-ups for RV (30/ 50 electric amp, sewage, water). 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few:(1) If you love watching canines battle it out for who’s the fastest, then head on over to Daytona Beach Kennel Club for a good half day at the races along with some hefty pints of Guinness being poured; (2) If fast food isn’t your thing (and you’re not alone here), then check out Colt’s Pig Stand for some pretty great (not excellent) BBQ or if in need of a decent and quick no frills breakfast, then check out Honey Bee Café – both are located just down the street on US1 towards I95; (3) While en route to your destination and find yourself hauling some ATVs or 4X4’s, then you may have hit the jackpot as just down the road from Sunshine Holiday Daytona, you’ll come across Florida Cracker Ranch (and you just have to love that name, right?!), where for some small change, you too can get your off-roading muddin’ driving pleasures realized and if that’s not really your thing, they also have hiking, biking, horseback riding, skeet shooting and many other activities that will keep you out enjoying nature for as long as possible; and (4) When looking for some great trails to hike or ravines to navigate, head on over to Bulow Creek State Park, where you’ll have no shortage of Ancient Oak trees and submerged lands to navigate, complete with a pretty amazing primitive running trail and isolated campground. Further afield, you’ll discover Tomoka SP, which is one of my favorite little hidden gems in all of Florida, so be sure to give them both a look. 

Happy Camping!

North Beach Camp Resort is located on Vilano Beach approximately 20 minutes from historic St. Augustine. We stayed for 3 nights in January. Reservations were not available online at the time we booked, we had to contact the resort via phone and they had advised us only 1 space was available and was 50amp with water. The fee was $82 each night before the AAA discount. We’re a married couple in our forties traveling with two dogs and a cat in our 37 foot motorhome with slideouts on both sides. This campground is pet friendly and we were allowed to take our dogs to the beach with us. The site had trees with tall bushes on both sides providing adequate privacy from other resort guests. The water faucet had a significant leak and sprayed water throughout the stay. We opted to not call for maintenance as the workers servicing another site nearby were smoking cigarettes and we have allergies. A map publication is provided at checkin and the staff provided good directions to the site. All roads throughout the park are compacted sand, we had good traction throughout in both our Class A and MINI Cooper. The signs directing traffic throughout the resort are dark and may be difficult to see at night or by people with poor eyesight. The main building seems to have been built in the 1970’s. It is old, very worn and in disrepair with visible ceiling stains from leaks. The laundry facilities and restrooms vary in age from the 70’s to more recent and most are clean but in need of repair and updates. We opted not to utilize it because they were over used and dirty in appearance. The staff kept the grounds clean of debris and trash, there are multiple receptacles for doggy waste collection. The noise levels were relatively low from the highway. You can hear the waves from the beach at night. However there is significant noise from the Northeast Florida Regional Airport. We were able to hear private jets flying over every 5 minutes all day. The beach access is what brought us to this campground. To get to the ocean you must cross over A1A with traffic speeding up to 50mph. There are no crosswalks or caution signs alerting traffic to pedestrians. There is a restaurant nearby we did not visit as most of our time was at the restaurants in St. Augustine. The Tolomato river provides beautiful views of the sunset. This is a popular evening activity, plan to arrive early to secure your favorite spot.