Best RV Parks & Resorts near Miami Beach, FL

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.

Pinecrest: Group camp. (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: 3.5 for a group campground Security: None. Isolated.
Usage during visit: Empty Site Privacy: None - Two defined areas Site Spacing:
Site surface: Grass Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet Road Noise: No e Through Traffic in campground: No reason Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: At Midway CG Generators: Yes Bathroom: Pit toilet Showers: No Pull Throughs: Yes Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: Open grass area surrounded by trees Recent Weather: 50s to 80s. Some high winds. Tornado warnings Solar: Yes Host: Not on premises Rig Size: Can accommodate large rigs Sites: See pics

Long Pine : Sites are more private here than the one other Everglades established campground (Flamingo). More trails here. Flamingo is closer to water activities. We saw a rattlesnake this trip. Previously, we had a water moccasin under our trailer I figure having been disoriented during a torrential downpour. (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: 3.5. Lower rating than the camping experience deserves. Reasons:? Poor cleanliness of facilities as is often my experience in concessionaire run campgrounds. The interagency pass only attains a 10% discount. Our stay and other retirees I have spoken with limit our stays. Note the campground was only full on weekdays! Price 2023: $ 34 w interagency pass Usage during visit: 1/2 to 3/4 mostly Site Privacy: Low growing shrubs give great privacy between most all RV sites Site Spacing: Good Site surface: Grass Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Inner loop roads are short with limited # of spaces in each. This coupled with dense foliage keeps the noise down. Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: Only the outer loop road because of campground traffic only. It’s not too bad Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Near restroom facilities. Generators: Yes Bathroom: Flush toilets are kept clean. The ready of the facility boarders on disgusting.
Showers: Solar. Water temperature depends on sunshine, time of day, usage , and the length showers folks take.
Pull Throughs: Available. Cell Service (AT&T): Good, Flamingo is stronger. Setting: Carved into a dense palm shrub lower canopy. Recent Weather: Really varied during our stay. Solar: Good on the clear days. Host: Full time personnel

Mitchell’s Landing: this isolated campground has an airboat launch area. I met a man, Bill, who grew up on this property, owned by his Miccosukee family until the mid 70s. According to him, the department of the interior, reneged on their promise that this land would stay in his family. (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 Price 2023: $ w interagency pass Security: No - Remote Usage during visit: Light Site Privacy: about half the sites are spread out in an open park lake area. Are very nice. Some sites are very nice. I was those below. Site Spacing: the nicest sites are pretty good in this regard Site surface: grass Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet when we were here Road Noise: too remote. Through Traffic in campground: None while I was visiting. Electric Hookup: no Sewer Hookup: no, no Dump Station: at Midway campground. (30 minutes). Potable Water Available: The closest water is at Midway CG (30 minutes). Generators: allowed Bathroom: pit toilets. Moderately clean Showers: no. Pull Throughs: some Cell Service (AT&T): three Setting: surrounded by trees Recent Weather: very mixed this year. 50s into the 80s. Solar: some Host: yes Rig Size: 30 footers are here. Be careful with site you choose for that size Sites: my favorite – 4,5,6,7,10, 8 Okay:15

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.