Best RV Parks & Resorts near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL

So, we were here a bit long term in the summer. Staying here in the summer is as bad as being in Vermont in winter. You need a reason to be there and sadly we did.
First off, waking up to lions roaring and bonobos scream in the morning was freaking amazing! I will treasure this memory for the rest of my life. The facilities are aging but are clean. The ladies in the front office were awesome and accommodating. We purchased a new RV while there and they had no issues moving us and making sure we were good with moving up from a 30 Amp to a 50 Amp site. At $99/night it is expensive and by not having the facilities of a KOA Holiday and being so far away from the Highway as a KOA Journey I can't give it 5 stars but, it is damn close.

This is a very nice campground which is part of the Miami-Dade County park system.  It is close to the Encore Everglades park (about 4 miles) so we stayed here after we departed.  The campground is divided into pods and each pod has about 15 or so sites.  We were in pod 4 site 20 (420 lol).  We booked this camp with the intent to stay for a month or longer as my husband had an opportunity to Captain boats in Miami.  

The park was very quiet.  Most of the campers were retirees, a few families with kids, but we were there in early January.  The grounds are nicely maintained with lots of places to walk and open space with trees.  They don't allow dogs off-leash and although it is adjacent to the rest of the Larry & Penny park, dogs are not even allowed in the main park, at all.  We did however find a few dog parks within four miles or so which were nice.

They have a very nice pool which was open daily Wed- Sunday 11am - 5pm.  It was raining and rather dreary during our stay so we didn't use the pool.  They have a nice Clubhouse and it looked okay with tables, chairs, books, puzzles, but again very quiet.  Not many activities except for a few and we didn't stay long enough to participate.  After a week, we decided to make moves back home to Lake Tahoe.  It was unseasonably cold, raining so no boat work and not an ideal spot for the dogs.  They don't have WiFi and since we were planning a longer stay, purchased the Starlink system since I work remote during the winter.  Starlink worked great, but costs $500+ to get started and then $120 or so a month.  If you are looking for an affordable long term/monthly stay, it is great.  The rates were $850 a month for full hook-ups.  They had last minute space available, too.  

If you are in the area, check out the Miami Zoo.  We were there when they had the "Zoo Lights" a super fun evening event.  They have other events at the Zoo and lots to do nearby.  You are closer to town than Everglades Encore, but still close to the agricultural area.  I recommend but not as fun or as many activities as some other places.

This Palm Beach County campground and park offers you a lot of things to do. Miles of biking paths, fishing and paddling on Lake Osborne, some hiking trails, fitness pavilion and walking trail... all this with short and long term rv/tent camping spots ONLY 5 miles from the beach. The campground is well maintained, with paved sites for any size vehicle. Short term camping spots have the best views and most are situated on the lake. It is an older campground so the bathrooms are not state of the art but they are clean and functional. This location is also close to 1-95. Our video gives you more info and you can always go to our website to connect with our Facebook/instagram and YouTube platforms. www.travylcouple.com

PROS 

No reservation fee charged 

Camp Host Chris immediately and voluntarily came to our site to lend his knowledge on backing a 28ft trailer into site A16. Very helpful and friendly! 

Nice privacy from neighboring sites due to heavy vegetation 

Site A16 level 

Site A16 partial shade 

Metal fire ring 

Moveable metal and wooden picnic table 

Campground WIFI 

Security gate closed 6pm and assessable with code that was provided at check-in 

Security codes required for bathhouse entry

3 bars T-Mobile 

CONS 

No senior or veteran discount 

Train, plane and traffic(lots of sirens) noise was nonstop and very loud 

Campsite crammed together 

A16 has two large trees on each side of the 12 foot wide campsite entrance 

Bring you A GAME as this campground road is very tight with lots of turns 

All utilities hookups are at the rear of site A16

Not the best part of town

We had high hopes for this campground, as it is a few miles west of our house, and could be a convenient layover when traveling through town. We tried to make a reservation online, but there was some issue with the site, so we called. We explained that we were just overnighting, and didn’t care about water views or amenities. We also told them we were in a 45 foot fifth wheel. The process to make our reservation took 5 phone calls. Every call was like starting from scratch. On the fifth call, which was actually a callback from them, the agent told my wife that luckily, she was able to get us a water site. My wife explained that we didn’t care about a view, and just wanted easy access for our 45’ toy hauler. They went back and forth for a few minutes and finally settled on site 12. They were able to accommodate us for the night for the low price of $120, including tax and a $25 amenity fee.

We were caught in a few traffic jams on the way in, and ended up arriving half an hour after sunset. We were greeted by an armed security guard who showed us on a map where site 110 (our new waterfront site) was. I asked whether I would be able to turn around at the loop at the end of the road, as the site was angled to back in as you would leave rather than enter. He said maybe. I got to the site and realized it would be impossible to back in without dragging my 20,000 pound camper through their grass, so I went to the end of the street to turn around. There wasn’t adequate room to turn my truck around, let alone my camper, so we backed down the street, and proceeded to install some new ruts in the landscape around site 110.

In between the time we made our reservation, and arriving, we received at least 4 phone calls from the campground. One was asking us to text a picture of our rig to a random New York phone number, so they could show their security guy what our camper would look like. We thought this was odd. All of the rest, were to ask about the length of or rig. At one point, my wife asked the woman on the phone if she was sure our rig would fit, and what the actual length of the site was. The woman assured her that the site was “max 50 A-M-P.” My wife said she wasn’t asking about 50 amp electric service, but the length of our site. The women assured her that it was 50 A-M-P.

Turns out we should have been a little more concerned with the electric service, as they had given us a pull in site for a bus, and we were unable to hook up to sewer, and had to run our electric cable and water hose under the camper. Luckily we were able to reach.

Will we stay again? I really hope not. Even though it’s literally 10 minutes west of our house, and by far the most convenient location for us to stay, the park is too tight, and the staff too poorly trained to be tolerable. The spot was pretty, and the location for someone who is doing the tourist thing would be great. Shopping, the beach, and great restaurants are all nearby. We were swapping a few things between the camper and our house, so the location was good for us, but I will probably search for a better spot further from home next time we pass through.

This is city owned and operated Park/Campground. This fact is significant. It is very pretty with lots of mature shade trees. The RV's are assigned space around several pods. Each pod has its own bathhouse with laundry facilities. There are pull through spots for the big motorhomes and spots reserved for the handicapped. The bathhouses for the RV's were in good shape and well maintained. The bathhouse for the tenters not so much. The bathhouse for the RV's is not very far to walk which I would recommend.

The tent area is off to one side and well shaded by mature trees. It's an area rather than sites. You pick your spot, put up a tent and place a large numbered sign by your area and you've got your spot. While there isn't any electric to plug into at the tent sites, water is provided interspersed throughout the area. Picnic tables and barbecue grills are also provided throughout.

There is a great fire ring with benches for bonfires and a great Beach volleyball court. The pool is clean and guarded by life guards. There is a lounge where you have access to WiFi and plus to charge your phones. The RVs have WiFi around their pods.

Tenters can stay for a Max of 7 nights while RV's can stay for 180. Tenters can only pay for 3 nights at once before returning to re-up. No such rule for RVs. There is a kind of second class feel to the tenters but if you overlook that (I recommend you do) you will have a great time. Staff is very nice and the park is clean.