Best Tent Camping near Jay, FL
Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Jay? Find the best tent camping sites near Jay. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Jay? Find the best tent camping sites near Jay. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Campers must reserve a site via www.nwfwater.com or by calling (850) 539-5999.
$26 - $500 / night
Big Meadows Campground is near many of the major facilities and popular hiking trails in the Park, with three waterfalls and Big Meadows within walking distance.
Camping fee: $20 per night
Reservations: in early spring, Big Meadows Campground operates on a first-come, first-served basis only. Beginning in early May, there are a combination of reserveable campsites and first-come, first-served sites available. Group sites are available and can be reserved up to one year in advance.
RV Information: features pull-through and deep back-in sites which can handle most RVs and a tow vehicle. No electric or water hookups. Campground has potable water spigots and a dump station.
Generators: use is limited to certain areas and times designated on campground map.
$20 / night
If you are looking for a spot to park your RV/Trailer/Motor home so you can hit up all the Emerald Coast has to offer.......this is it. The parking spot is right off the quiet home filled street on a flat grassy area with views of East Bay. Bike/walking path is right around the corner. Bring your kayaks, canoes, fishing gear and boat so you won't miss out.
Areas of interest:
East Bay Boat Ramp - 4.1 miles
Navarre Beach - 6.8 miles
Blackwater River - 20 miles
$28 - $35 / night
I was really excited to stay here. I absolutely love tent camping, but sadly they do not have tent sites. The app is incorrect.
We tent camped at Ft Pickens for the first time. For $26 a night, you can't beat beach access, good tent sites, walking to historical areas and endless activities. The armadillos and ospreys were an exciting addition to our camping area, and the restroom facilities were decent.
The only downside is lack of supplies,ice,food nearby and it's a drive to get to any convenience store or restaurant. But when you watch the sun go down, and it's just your family, a few ghost crabs and the historic lighthouse behind you- all that is forgotten.
So many things to do here. You have several historic Forts to explore. A discovery center to learn the history of the island and the wildlife. A bookstore with wifi. Beaches to swim . Pier fishing and land fishing. Many trails to ride your bike or walk. And a gated group tent camping as well as tent camping in campground. And the Blue Angels practice and fly right over the campground and forts.
a nice little campground on Hurricane Lake. the restrooms are clean. the tent sites have running water and the rv/tent sites have water and electric. very quiet expect for the frogs. a good place to fish where they built a dock out in the water so if you don't have a boat you can still fish away from shore.
Roomy clean and very pretty area. Lots of amenities! Quiet and things for the kids too. Cabins and tent camping plus pull thrus.
We had a wonderful time tent camping. Great campsites and facilities with hot showers. Everything was kept very clean. Relaxing and friendly atmosphere.
best, cleanest camp ground. Loved the clean bathrooms and location. tent sites were very nice. over all great.
Super easy check in after hours. Host was very nice. Bathrooms/showers clean. Electric/water at tent site
I didn’t stay here. It seemed nice, but $75 for a tent site?!! Also next to a busy fast road.
Drove through the grounds looking for some nice tent camping spots while stationed down in the area. Sites seemed nice enough but more like a parking lot than anything. Not bad. Fun for the kids!
This place is a ok campground, lot size is decent. Grounds keeper can't keep up with all the grass that's about 3ft high. Tent sites are way overgrown. Location is about 3 minutes away from OWA which makes it worth 3 stars.
2000 acres Walking auto cell phone tours of civil war Boat tours Big pull through rv spots and a tent campground. Awesome
We have been camping here for six years and have always loved it. Some of the interior sites flood when it rains, so choose wisely as there is a good chance it will rain. This year they separated tent sites from RV sites and removed water and electric from the tent sites. There is still good access to water faucets, so not a huge deal. Our biggest annoyance this year was that they got reLly fussy about hanging hammocks from trees. We had purposefully picked a site with good trees so that was a bit frustrating. Also, the camp store has been closed down so you have to leave the park to get ice. Be sure you bring whatever you need with you. But they have clean bathrooms and the beach access is close. And since the beach there is really only campers it has never been very crowded.
The park is set up on a historic site where they have several trails set up talking about civil war battles that occurred there. They have two separate areas for camping where one is for RVs and tents and the other is the more basic tent only sites. I visited the tent only area which had many many sites and most had a nice amount of space with a good bit of privacy. I was there in June though and it gets really hot during the day and night and also very buggy. If you were here in the fall or winter it could be a great place to camp though. The bathrooms were nice but nothing special. There is a single bathroom for all of the tent sites so if you are far you could have a pretty long walk. The sites are pretty cool to see so if you are a civil war buff it might be worth checking out. The camping is expensive though at $20 a night for the tent sites and $30 for an RV site. People were friendly though and it was one of the nicest places in the area.
Great tent campground. Most sites have some privacy but a few are close to neighboring sites. Its a short walk to the bathhouse and tons of hiking trails are nearby. Rates are reasonable, picnic tables, and fire rings at the sites. Our favorite nearby camlground!
This beautiful equestrian campground offers 55 RV/tent campsites and one tent only site and 60 horse stalls. All campsites have water and electrical hookups. There is a dump station, restrooms, showers, and a dining facility available by reservation. Cold Water Creek runs along the north edge of the campgrounds with easy access from the camp sites. A very beautiful area. Only complaint is the the campsites are right next to each other with no screening between sites.
I camped here for one night in the improved tent campsites at bartram campground. The site had trees to hang my hammock, a fire ring, water, and a picnic table. You walk maybe 50ft from your parking spot to the site in the woods. The bathroom was clean, had a light, very soft toilet paper, and hand sanitizer. Would definitely stay here again!
The camping for tent sites was nice expect they are hard to book at last minute. I was there during the last week of September 2021. During the week it was peaceful. However, on my last night there “
Friday” I had some very rude tent campers surrounding me. They were up all night extremely loud ~ holleringuntil I couldn’t stand the noise any longer I got up around 3:00 am and started packing up since I was leaving that Saturday. They have some nice showers through the campground with hot water and there is also a laundry room at campground A .
I stayed at the base lodging. Found out there are no more tent sites here and was directed to Blue Angel site, which is off base. Chose the lodging instead.
That being said, the beach was very clean. A solid 3 mile round trip walking. Saw some dolphins in the early morning and some rays. Not many people and plenty of space. The beach area is closed after sunset; per the military police. The RV site itself appeared very busy and crowded but very clean and well managed. Would have wished to being able to camp, but it was not meant to be.
Blakely State Park is a very large State Park, with different choices for camping. There are larger primitive tent sites, smaller tent sites with power/water hookups, RV sites, two primitive cabins and 2 newer cabins which are very nice. There's TONS of hiking, a battleground for history buffs, a playground, a boatdock, lots of hiking, horseback riding etc.
I stayed in one of the two Squirrels Nest, which are primitive cabins. Basically open air cabins. 2 walls, a roof and 2 walls of screens. There are two wooden platforms for beds. A twin and a queen, and barstools to sit inside and look out into the woods, over the hill in which they are nestled. There's a sink (but no water) and a cabinet, and outside a large deck with bench seating. Below is a fire pit and picnic table. There is a shared porta potty outside of the two cabins. These cabins are a bit of a drive out in the woods, so make sure your vehicle is up to it. It's very peaceful out there. My cabin was inhabited by mice at night, so I kept my food in airtight plastic paint bucket containers & my belongings covered by garbage bags on one of the platforms and had my air mattress inside a pop-up mosquito tent, so the mice did not bother me. I was after all in their house. I sprinkled peppermint oil around my gear & my bed platform to keep the mice away. Next time I will have my food in a large cooler so that the wildlife is not attracted.
There are hiking trails by these sites, as well as, steps down the hill, leading off into another trail.
i would stay there again. Great place to get away.
First you will check in at the front office, where you will be greeted by a very kind lady. They are very knowledgeable about the area and when you are done checking in a man on a cart will escort you to your campsite. We tent camped but we had a nice shady spot on a comfortable raised sand bed. This campground has it's own sweet little beach and pier. Also has a small hot tub and a 4 foot deep heated pool. It is also a mile away from the public beach across the Santa rosa sound. Dont forget to stop at Tommy's Sno Balls we went there every day and tried a different flavor snow cone every time.
My husband and I tent camped at fort Pickens campground in February, 2019. We were able to use our senior national park pass to get in for free and a discount on our site. This is a busy park due to beaches and the actual old fort Pickens buildings, but the campsites were fairly peaceful. We were less than a 10 minute walk from the beach and walked about 30 minutes to the old fort. The showers were separate from the bathrooms and what you might expect for a beach, the water was nice and hot. There is supposed to be a store, but it was closed when we were there. There is a book store in the old fort. The beach and water were just beautiful.
We weren’t sure how much we’d like this campground as there is no pool or campground scheduled activities, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We did some paddle-boarding and walked trails. There is so much more we want to do, like play volleyball, mini golf, go kayaking, and ride bikes. It was quiet at quiet time, no problems. Nice area to explore and friendly campers. Lots of wildlife.. deer and we heard a coyote howl at night. Also, the tent campsites were nice - platforms, waterfront view, grill, and a little tree house. We look forward to returning!
For campers that like things closer to basic camping in unspoiled nature, this is great place to camp. The rates are great especially for national park pass holders. Loved $20 a night at discount. It has nice bath houses and most sites with electric and water. Also laundry available and dish washing station. There are also primitive tent sites available. Short walk to bay or ocean. Easy drive to Ft Pickens and numerous battery sites for site seeing. Easy drive over to Pensacola Beach when you wish to go for dining or shopping or other activities. We love it. Highly recommend for campers who wish to get away from high priced resort camping.
Bear Lake Campground is a little piece of paradise! Nestled within the Blackwater River State Forest, you are surrounded by beautiful nature. The lake is so gorgeous, I kept saying to my husband that I felt like I was in a jigsaw puzzle picture.
I visited in late January, and was unfortunately hit with a rogue cold snap much colder than usual Florida temperatures. We did unfortunately cut the camping short, but really enjoyed the little bit of time we had there. The campground is pretty small, and the RVs are on one side and the tent sites are on another, which I really like as a tent-er. Given the season, we were the only ones on the tent side, so we were right up on the lake and I can't remember ever staying in a more beautiful site anywhere. Sites have a picnic table and a fire pit with a grate. Bare ground here, no rocky tent pads. We were at the furthest site from the (very clean) bath/shower house, but it wasn't far at all.
You are about a half hour to the nearest town, so get your essentials beforehand. There is a small country shop closer, but options are limited.
Great fishing and canoeing available. Highly recommended!
We stayed at the Historic Blakeley State Park campground in the Apalachee Campground. This is a super cool campground and state park with tons of stuff to do. The RV campsites are very spread out providing ample privacy from your neighbors and other park visitors while still providing water, power and sewer hookup ups. This campground loop was named in honor of the Apalachee Indians who once occupied park grounds. We would recommend staying at this campground or even the tent sites as there is TONS of stuff to do with lots of history!
Check out our blog at www.unnamedadventures.com and follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram or on our YouTube Channel at Unnamed Adventures.
We went tent camping for two nights with our pups at Fort Pickens and we really did enjoy it. The campground was nice and clean. They had nice showers and potties as well. The showers in the RV section have better shower heads btw. The beaches are gorgeous! A tip for travelers with pets, FL does not allow dogs on their beaches accept in specific "dog park" locations. Our dogs are not.. eh, normal .. so we ended up driving down to a private beach so they could enjoy the ocean. There is a lot of night life but We decided to skip that this trip. We enjoyed the beaches in the park at night and i highly recommend it! All in all we enjoyed our trip but we probably won't be back to Fort Pickens campground. The sites are very close together and we had a very nosey and drunk neighbor who really wanted to chat. We camp to get away from people, just saying. We were also bothered by RV and truck lights shining directly into our tent both nights from people driving through the campground. Not the best but we enjoyed camping at the beach.
Tent camping near Jay, Florida offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure, perfect for those looking to escape into the wilderness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Jay, FL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Jay, FL is Mystic Springs Recreation Area with a 4.5-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Jay, FL?
TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Jay, FL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring