Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Jacksonville, FL

We enjoyed staying here 7 days, Nov. 19-25, 2021. Description Highlights:

1. Full service gravel sites (ours was pull-through as were many others). Each site had a picnic table, a tire-rim for a fire pit, and electric-water-and sewer hookups.-
2. Free WiFi with strong signal. There were 2 router polls, including one near the entrance. The signal was strong enough to support streaming on a Roku device.
3. Pretty grounds with many oak trees that had Spanish moss hanging from the limbs. Nice for a morning walk.
4. Pets are welcome. It seems like everyone had a dog as I would see them walking the dogs but the place remained quiet and barking was not heard.
5. There is a small pond. We didn’t fish but I think that fishing is allowed.
6. Close to gas, restaurants, stores and attractions. The campground is at exit #1 on I-95 just mile North of the GA/FL State line. Exit 3 (two miles north) is where you can find many restaurants (Cracker B., IHOP, etc.) plus supplies (Walmart, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, Dollar Tree).
7. Good Sam discount (10%) is offered at the campground plus there is a Pilot/flying J at the same exit (#1) that gives a Good Sam discount on Gas. I got 5 cents per gallon off plus I noticed that the Pilot gas price was at least 15 cents less than the cost of gas at neighboring stations.
8. Laundry on site
9. Many local (from Jacksonville) TV stations could easily be picked up OTA with out even raising the campers TV antenna. Many radio stations also available NPR is at 88.9 FM and there was a station playing all Christmas music- 96.1 FM.
10. Recommended nearby non-fast food restaurants include Steffens Restaurant was delicious homemade style food (since the 1940’s). Great breakfast (recommend the biscuits and gravy-with large chunks of sausage) and dinner (recommend the fried whole catfish). Steffens Restaurant is about 3 miles from the campground - turn left onto Scrubby Bluff rd (away from the Interstate) when exiting the campground and go 2 miles; then, turn right onto Hwy 17 and go about a mile or so - the restaurant will be on your left. We also really enjoyed seafood at St Marys Seafood & More(Georgia) 1837 Osborne Rd, St Marys, GA 31558. They had great shrimp and special homemade sides (such as four-bean baked beans and butter beans with smoky ham). If you want to drive about 30 miles to Brunswick Georgia for lunchtime, you can taste the BEST FRIES ON THE PLANET at Twin Oaks BBQ restaurant 2618 Norwich St, Brunswick, GA 31520.
11. Nearby Attractions: Cumberland Island (go to St. Marys and take the ferry- ) It has a beautiful pristine beach where wild horses roam. Jekyll Island has a lovely beach, fishing pier, nice restaurants, historic places/tours, and golf and put-put.

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.

Conveniently located on route between Destin and Savannah, because it’s just north of Jacksonville and did not require going into the city. Park looks fairly new with clean, level paved sites and smooth roads. Easy access into and around the park for big rigs and the premium spots towards the front are worth it. Cottages look very nice and new. Clean dog parks (two) with agility course near the front entrance. My site 503 is on the catch and release pond which is the side of the park to choose if you want the waterfront scenery. Laundry facility looks very nice although I did not use it. I also did not venture to their Expansion park, but there is a clubhouse there. Based on what I did see, I would assume the facilities that I missed, like the showers, are pretty nice too. Room for improvement would be providing recycling service as there is none here.

If you’re looking for a quick pullover that doesn’t take you too far off the beaten path (around here, that would be I-95) and plants you right next door to the local EconoLodge (where the outdoor pool has a sign saying‘All Welcome’), then you’ve found a prime destination to park your RV. So if hearing the swooshing from nearby fly-by traffic doesn't have you driving in the opposite direction of this place, and you're simply looking for a piece of pavement to lay up for the night, Kiki might do the trick.

The basic hook-ups are available and there’s even a breakfast diner in front of the joint, should you find yourself in the mood to have someone else make you breakfast at the crack of dawn.  In all, by my count at least, there's some 2 dozen RV slots that can fit even the longest of mobile camping units with all spots offering up FHUs featuring 

20 / 30 / 50 amp service, cable, WiFi hotspots available.  Bonus points as besides the restaurant next door, there's also to fuel up on as well on both sides, with Petro Travel Center on the west and Circle K to the east, making this very convenient, if you can get over the eye sore of a place that it is. 

Insider's tips?  Sure, here's a few: (1) Don't select this location if you are looking for a destination - trust me, this is a layover only (or should be); (2) Located 35 miles from Jacksonville, FL and 45 miles from Jekyll and St. Simons Islands, there's plenty to explore from here; and (3) If you need to grab some grub, there's both a Cracker Barrel as well as an IHOP right across the street, but slightly further afield, you have plenty more to chose from, such as Malson's BBQ and Sazon's Tequila.

Happy Camping!

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!