Best Dog-Friendly Camping near St. Augustine, FL

 This is an urban type campground in St Augustine Beach, which is a small town across the water from St Augustine. The back of a strip mall protects you from the sights of A1A on one side. There's a neighborhood across the pond on the other side. Enter on West Pope Road, exit on 16th street. Traffic noise is loud during the day. Quiets down some at night. 

We spent the extra money & got a site overlooking the pond. We were at site 73, which is also by the bathrooms/showers. The bathroom/shower combos are aggressively cleaned at least twice a day.

 We didn't use the pool. 

The pond is very nice & there were turtles, friendly ducks & fish! My husband caught several, one a nice size bass. Catch& release only. There was a hawk's nest way up in one of the pines by the pond. 

It's a short drive to the beach & many restaurants. 

There's a free shuttle if you're using the St Augustine Trolley Tour Company, which is VERY convenient.

We stayed 4 nights. All in all, I would recommend this campground. Yes, the sites are close together, but so are many private campgrounds. We aren't in our site during the day anyway.

For those of you who find yourself hauling your vacation behind you and / or looking to rent a cabin in a small corner (er, intersection, actually) in the country’s oldest city, and don’t mind a completely pre-fabricated outdoor experience in the midst of an otherwise strip mall environ, then look no further than St. Augustine KOA. While there’s a lot of qualifiers here, I understand, one of the huge upsides to this otherwise overcrowded 2-lane 115 slot filled faux campground RV-slanted outpost is that it places you closest to St. Augustine’s greatest treasure (and no, that wouldn’t be the fabled ‘Fountain of Youth’) – it’s beautiful Atlantic coastline with white powder sand and shark-tooth strewn beaches. 

As for this KOA campground itself, you’ll find this urban jungle outpost on the corner of Pope & AIA, which you’ll stumble across just a block south after taking Highway 312 from St. Augustine proper to Anastasia Island, which is separated from the mainland by the Matanzas River. But don’t worry, for any of you who break out in hives at the thought of leaving civilization when upgrading for a night underneath the stars (which BTW will be drowned out by the light pollution here at this KOA), you will be comfortably surrounded by all the creature comforts of the materialistic surrounding you (pretend) thought you were trying to escape, as there’s a CVS, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and Domino’s Pizza in a single stone’s throw of where you are ‘camping out in nature’ here at St. Augustine KOA. 

Amenities? Well, it’s KOA, so get ready for the massive download on what this camping theme park has to offer: heated pool w/ neon color lounge chairs & umbrellas, 50 max amp back-in RV slots, cable TV, KampK9 (that’s a doggie park in KOA speak), laundr-O-mat, thin tree lines, tetherball, picnic tables, dilapidated wooden fence, fishing (don’t ask me where or how good), firewood (for sale, of course), BBQ, ticks, fire frills, WiFi, propane refilling station, gift shop, tour shuttle, playground, little moat, paddle boats, fleas, banana bikes, automatic key-card security gate, designated trash dumpsters, showers & restrooms (quite in need of some decent cleaning and refurbishment IMHO), micro-swamps, deluxe cabin rentals (a dozen or so) and (the ever so marked-up KOA) convenience store. 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) This is easily the most outdated, run-down KOA I have ever had the unfortunate experience to visit. While I would EASILY recommend MANY other places to ‘drop anchor for the night’ and to have a REAL outdoors camping experience (just drive 3 minutes away to Anastasia Island SP or 15 minutes away to North Beach Campground), if it’s late at night, you’re tired of looking around and are excited to be this close to the beaches, then check-in, grab a coozie and chill at the pool until sunrise when you can leave; (2) While you may be tempted by some of those pretty un-amazing fast food or ‘hole-in-the-wall’ local joints, I would encourage you to drive just a little bit for some otherwise excellent restaurants, including Fillin’ Station, Beachcomber, La Cocina or Sunset Grille; (3) If you’re a tent camper like myself, you’ll be incredibly disappointed by this place, although they do offer up 10 or so designated tent sites (inconveniently located right near all the swooshing car traffic and honking on Pope Road; (4) While you might be living the blues while staying at this KOA, you can actually just head up the street and listen to the blues at probably one of the coolest outdoor venues in the country at St. Augustine Ampitheater; and (5) Make the most out of the fact that you are literally only ¾ mile from St. Augustine Beaches, so while this KOA is not ideal (to say the absolute least), you will relish the fact that you can leave it as early and return as late as you want to experience one of the best white sand beaches in the Sunshine State. 

Happy Camping!

Formerly known as Compass RV Resort, Sun Outdoors of St. Augustine is an RV mega-resort paradise in the midst of Old Florida, placing you in very close proximity to both the cobblestone streets of the touristy oldest city in the nation (a.k.a. Ancient City) as well as the amazing white powder sand beaches of northern Florida. Located just a stone’s throw from the busiest transport artery in all of Florida (I95), whether you’ve just come down from the north to grab some warmth and sunshine or heading further afield as part of a larger trip, Sun Outdoors makes both a good pit stop as well as a spot that you might want to drop anchor for several nights. 

You can’t call an otherwise RV parking lot a ‘resort’ without throwing down a number of amenities and Sun Outdoors – a chain of RV pit stops throughout the country with dizzying amounts of distractions and add-ons – will deliver on this front easily. From offering the basics like back-in and pull-through well-paved, flat RV slots (there’s more than 160 spots to choose from) with gravel pads and all the full hook-ups (20 / 30 / 50 amp electric, sewage and water) offering solo, patio and buddy sites. There’s 3 different sections to this park each offering up a slightly different experience, including: The Grove, The Pond and The Oasis. In addition to standard pet-friendly hook-ups, all sites provide complimentary cable and WiFi, fire ring with foldable BBQ rack and picnic tables as well as full access to spartan cleaned restroom and shower facilities as well as other community amenities (see more below). 

Additional amenities include: spacious dog park, heated in-ground swimming pool, nature trails that encircle the resort, fitness center, coin-operated laundr-O-mat, on-site storage, corn hole, gazebo / picnic area, clubhouse as well as catch & release fishing in the small pond on-site. And if you don’t have an RV, don’t worry, the good folks here at Sun Outdoors will rent you one of two versions of newly fabricated 1BR mobile homes. Bonus points additionally as Sun Outdoors is protected by a remote-control operated entrance gate, along with a main office (where you’ll check-in) that is fully staffed around the clock adding extra layers of security. 

Insider’s tips? (1) If you’re a golfing fanatic (and admittedly, I am not), then you are in luck as just a bit further up north on I95 you’ll come across World Golf Village, where in addition to offering up Buccee’s and CostCo for all your camping and shopping needs (where a Home Depot and Bass Pro Fishing will be installed shortly), there’s also World Golf Hall of Fame featuring exhibits and displays of the sport; (2) For the history buffs, there’s Castille de San Marcos National Monument, which is one of the oldest stone masonry fortifications in the western hemisphere (let alone the US) originally founded by the Spanish way; (3) While you might be living the blues inside your RV or simply want to replace the sound of highway traffic with something more pleasant, you can actually just head up the street and listen to the blues at probably one of the coolest outdoor venues in the country at St. Augustine Ampitheater; (4) If you are looking for a decent place to do some great hiking, then look no further than due south of Sun Outdoors 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); (5) If you’ve forgot anything, while there’s an on-site market here at Sun Outdoors, there’s also a Dollar General Store and slightly further down the road, a Publix; (6) Carrying watercraft and looking for a nice spot to hit the water? Then I HIGHLY recommend Princess Place Preserve that offers access to the Matanzas and Tolomato Rivers as well as Pellicer Creek; and (7) Lastly, if you are craving some great local fare and too tired to figure out what that next meal is, then I highly recommend these local favorite joints: Scoop for ice cream, Sunday for brunch, Munch for an assortment of food trucks and St. Augustine Fish House& Oyster Company for amazing fresh seafood with great Intracoastal water views overlooking St. Augustine. 

Happy Camping!

Compass RV Resort was easy to get to. We followed the campground instructions versus our GPS. Check in was a breeze as they came out to our rig and gave us a good rundown on the CG then escorted us to site 126 in the newer Oasis area. This site had FHUs that were smartly placed midway down along the stone paver pad. Back-in was a breeze. We were glad we paid the fee to reserve a specific site as this site was probably one of the very best and most spacious in the CG. Our site had more front area lawn plus bushes that separated us from the next site. We also had to pay$3 per night for our 2 pups. The pull through sites were quite close to each other where the back in sites provided more room, this was especially true near the front of the CG. This was a large CG that was fairly full throughout our 6 nights stay but surprisingly quiet. You could hear some road noise but it was not too bad. We were in the far back of the CG but if you were more towards the office/entry you would have a lot more road noise. Their cable worked well plus there were multiple OTA channels. Some people had their satellite dishes out too. Most sites in the Oasis area would support satellite, as well as the pull through sites near the middle of the park. The older sites near the entrance had many more trees. We were surprised that we only got 2 bars on Verizon. The CG WiFi worked OK and we had a repeater next to our site. You could upgrade to faster CG internet for a fee, but we did not use this service. The CG has ice, firewood, and propane for sale. There was a small fenced dog park next to the shower, laundry and exercise facility in the Oasis section. Near the entrance there was a larger fenced dog park(about an acre) with a smaller fenced area within the dog park. St. Augustine’s historic, shopping, and restaurant area is stupid busy Friday- Sunday. Parking is limited in general and tougher for a dually. Best time to visit is during the week.

Great location & in close proximity to St. Augustine. One of my favorite places to visit in Florida. If you've never been to St. Augustine, I highly suggest checking out this cute, historic city along the coast in Florida. Amazing ocean views and sandy beaches. Some of the best restaurants and shops found among the streets of St. Augustine. There is a location to rent bikes, kayaks, SUP, & canoes. Tent rate seemed higher compared to what I've paid at other locations and states for tent only rates. However, very economical way to see and stay near St. Augustine versus paying high hotel rates. I traveled by car from Gainesville & tented a couple nights while visiting friends that live in Florida. Great area! A+ to Florida State Parks!

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.