Best Tent Camping near Weston, FL

This is a primitive campground off the loop road south of Tamiami trail through Big Cypress National Preserve. The first couple of sites have large parking pads for campgrounds hosts that were unoccupied when I was there.  Sites are first-come, first served and you'll have a choice of sites that are tucked away behind brush and trees or large, more open sites. There's no drinking water available. There are vault toilets available that were clean. Few of the sites were occupied in late January. At the back of the campground there is airboat access to backcountry trails in the Stairsteps section of the Big Cypress Preservel elsewhere along the loop road you may be able to use swamp buggies and ATVs. There are extensive rules and permitting to take your vehicle on these trails as well as online training requirements, so check them out on the Big Cypress website. 

Sites are $24/night, half price if you have a Senior pass or Access pass, though to be honest I didn't see any envelopes for payments and the campers I spoke with indicated they weren't paying anything. You can stay 10 nights during peak season (Jan-Apr), 14 consecutive nights the rest of the year. They  have picnic tables (look at the end of the table for the site number), fire rings, and lantern poles. Bearboxes provide food protection if you don't have a hardsided vehicle. You're in a panther habitat.

The only indication that you have reached the turn off for Pinecrest group campground is the brown tent sign. The sign for the campground itself is parallel to the road, so you won't see it until you are upon it. You'll need to reserve a campsite online in advance. Otherwise the gate to the campground is locked. Each of the 4 sites can accommodate 15 campers/8 tents as they are paired in such a way that sites 1&2 are together and 3&4 occupy a separate corner, perfect if you're group requires two sites.. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, and half of a bear box; extra tables were gathered in the center. There are vault toilets, but no running water. Plenty to do in the area...fishing, birding, boating, hinting. Explore the preserve or neighboring Everglades. It's off the gravel loop road south of Tamiami Trail Rd.

My husband and I lucked out to get an absolutely gorgeous day to tent camp at this campground. The next day was back to Florida’s hot and humidity. This campground is in one of natire’s most wonderful places, big cypress national preserve. This campground has tent and rv sites. No electric sites. We went on a Sunday and the whole campground was full, it’s a popular spot, would recommend making reservations in advance. There are vault toilets over on the rv sites and flush toilets by the tent sites. There are campground hosts, fire pits in the tent area, and a lake that does have alligators, because this is Florida. The nite sky was perfect so many stars to see. Little to no noise pollution. Make sure to bring your insect repellent, I got eaten alive once the sun started setting. No trails at the campground but there are trails within big cypress. Tent campsites were level and not right on top of one another. There were a few trees for shade as well.

This site was beautiful and well kept. The gentleman (park ranger?) who greeted everyone and made sure the rules were followed was very nice and answered all of our questions. I appreciated that he was around as it make me feel safer if I were to travel alone. This is a great site for families or groups as the sites are close together so one could reserve 2 and have a lot of room for multiple tents/cars. On the other hand, if you are looking to get away from people, this is not it. The sites are close to each other with little to no barriers/designation lines between them. This is a great site for those testing camping with their dogs or small children. Not too far of a trip, great walking space, and the ranger is great about making sure all dogs are kept on leash. It is near to the Oasis Ranger Station and the Florida Trail, as well as loop road and Shark Valley. The stars were absolutely incredible being so far from major cities. Other than how close the tent sites were, my one big negative is the amount of road noise. The closest campsites are maybe 100 meters from the Tamiami Trail so if you're a light sleeper, it is less than ideal.

There are plenty of RV spots around a cute lake. We stayed in a tent only campsite which was a little farther from the lake. They were far apart from each other and did not seem too crowded. It seems every site was full the weekend we camped there. There is no shade in the tent only campgrounds and as this is south Florida, I recommend bringing some sort of pop-up or tarp to escape the sun. They had pretty great fire rings that were high with a grate across the top. There is one building with bathrooms and showers. It was pretty clean while we were there. There is also animal proof trash cans that are near by as well.

Keep in mind that there are no stores anywhere near this campground. It is located in the big cypress preserve almost right between Miami and Naples. You have to bring everything you need with you (water, firewood, food, etc). There aren't many activities in the campground besides a short walk around the lake. The lake is NOT for swimming as there are gators so you'd have to drive to get to the activities.

All in all it is nice if you are looking just to relax and hang out around your campsite for a few days but it is a littler underwhelming.

Midway in Big Cypress: This is our forth time here. We love this campground, though the sites are open. All trailer sites look over the lake which is in the middle of the campground. This campground seems to be very conducive to meeting people. (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: 4.5 for the lake view Price 2023: $ 15 w interagency pass Usage during visit: RV sites full every night. Tent sites accommodate vans, rooftop tents…. Site Privacy: None Site Spacing: Fair Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Required Campground Noise: Tent area - defiantly.
Road Noise: Tent area - defiantly. From # 21, yes. Through Traffic in campground: Folks might come in to have picnics at tables around the lake. Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes, at the dump station. Generators: Allowed. Bathroom: Flush toilet. Only one stall in the men’s. Clean. Showers: At Monument Lake CH, 20 minutes. Pull Throughs: None in RV Loop Cell Service (AT&T): Site 21 usually has 1 bar. Sites at the near the end have weaker reception. Setting: All RV sites are situated around the lake
Recent Weather: High 50s to 80s. Rain Solar: Plenty in the tent sites Host: Three Rig Size: Largest bus RVs are here Sites: 19 - 26 are best shaded sites. 13 and 14 are corner sites with less shade . 1 is near a shed, but a fine site. Picnic tables along the lake and in between these sites: 22&23, 3&4, 11&12, 16&17. (On nice weekend days you can expect small groups using these spots for day usage.)

PROS 

Cindy very helpful with reservations and check-in 

Quiet. No traffic noise. Train whistles in distance 

Insecticide fogging truck ran thru campground each evening around 7pm when no winds

 Site 351 100% grass 

Site 351 backed up to a canal 

Moveable metal fire ring at site 351 

Climate controlled, Individual shower/toilet/sink rooms with four to every 100 campsites. 

Very nice complimentary pancake breakfast on a Saturday morning 

Lots of birds 

Security gate always closed. Must buy keycard to open gate. 

CONS 

Numerous pages of COVID liability release forms had to be signed and notarized at checkin 

General Liability release forms had to be signed at checkin 

Very tight roadways. 

No turn around at end of roadway so plan accordingly. 

Most larger trailer had the front of their trailer on the roadway edge 

Had to park tow vehicle next to camper so limited outdoor space. We did not have sufficient space to deploy our awning 

Two power failures in less than 12 hours. One was 5 hours long. 

Site 351 unlevel 

No picnic table at site 351. Sites with picnic table were hit or miss. 

Insufficient supply of TP in park restrooms 

Black ash from nearby sugar cane field burning raining down on everything---what a big mess. 

Lots of construction workers staying in park who leave in their diesel trucks starting at 5am 

Park WIFI 1 bar 

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Margaritas Restaurant 

Banyan Tree Restaurant Nice 

Winn-Dixie Grocery on Main Street