Florida Camping — Permits, Best Public Campgrounds, and How to Book
Florida has 175 state parks, three national forests, and four national park units that take campers. Each runs on its own booking system, price ladder, and permit rules. Here's the practical breakdown — windows, top ten campgrounds, wildlife, bugs, what it isn't.
The first morning at a Florida campsite you don’t wake up to an alarm. You wake up to a bull gator bellowing in the next pond over — somewhere between a foghorn and a tractor turning over — and you lie there a minute trying to figure out how close next pond actually is.
That’s the trade. Cypress canopies, springs at 72°F all winter, beachfront sites in the Keys — in exchange you book months out, bring more water than you think, and respect the wildlife.
Three jurisdictions
Florida public-land camping splits into three systems, each with its own booking site and rules.
State Parks — 175 of them, the workhorse. Book on floridastateparks.reserveamerica.com. Standard sites $24–$36/night + $7 reservation fee + $5 entrance. Most have RV hookups and hot showers. 80% of Florida camping happens here.
National Forests — three: Ocala NF (sand-pine scrub + springs), Apalachicola NF (longleaf pine), Osceola NF (cypress swamp). Developed sites on recreation.gov, $10–$25/night. Dispersed primitive camping is free — no reservation, 14-day max, then move at least one mile.
National Parks — four take campers: Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Big Cypress. Also recreation.gov. Backcountry sites in Everglades and Big Cypress need a free wilderness permit; some also need a reservation.
Booking — the 11-month wars
State parks open reservations 11 months out, on the 1st of each month at 8 AM Eastern. At 8 AM on June 1st, the entire month of May (next year) goes live.
Peak winter sites at Bahia Honda, Long Key, St. Joseph Peninsula, and Anastasia sell out in the first 60 seconds. For a beachfront site over Christmas, set an alarm, log in at 7:55, refresh until it opens. People miss it. The sites are gone.
NF and NP windows vary — most open six months out, some twelve. Less competitive but still tight in February–March.
Cancellation: state parks charge $7 plus you lose one night. Hurricane evacuation orders trigger full refunds automatically.
Best public campgrounds
Ten picks with a one-line verdict.
Bahia Honda SP (Keys) — beachfront, $36/night, books a year ahead. The benchmark.
Long Key SP (middle Keys) — easier to book than Bahia Honda, oceanfront, $36/night. The smart alternative.
Dry Tortugas NP (Garden Key) — 10 sites, boat-only from Key West, $15/night. Most remote camp in the continental U.S.
St. Joseph Peninsula SP (panhandle) — nine-mile peninsula, dark-sky, $24/night. Best stars on the Gulf.
Cayo Costa SP (southwest) — primitive cabins on a ferry-only barrier island, $40/night cabin. No bridge, no cars.
Ocala NF dispersed (Juniper Run, Alexander Spring) — free, primitive, no reservation. 200 ft off the trail, Leave No Trace.
Big Cypress NP backcountry — free wilderness permit at Oasis Visitor Center, paddle or foot only. Real swamp.
Anastasia SP (St. Augustine) — beach on one side, walkable old town on the other, $28/night. Rare combo.
Highlands Hammock SP (central) — virgin cypress, raised swamp boardwalk, $24/night. Oldest park in the system.
Myakka River SP (Sarasota) — gators, canopy walkway over the floodplain, $26/night. The easy starter.
Permits — what you actually need
State parks — your reservation IS your permit. Print it or have it on the phone at the gate.
NF dispersed — no permit required. Florida Trail Association sells the section map and data book (floridahiking.org); useful, not mandatory.
NP frontcountry — your campground reservation is the permit.
NP backcountry (Everglades, Big Cypress) — you must get a free wilderness permit in person at the ranger station within 24 hours of your trip. Some sites (Florida Bay chickees) also need an advance recreation.gov reservation.
Wildlife in camp
Bears in Ocala NF — densest population in the state. Bear-bag food or use an Ursack, cook 200 ft from the tent, keep the site clean. Curious, not aggressive — they will shred a pack left on the ground.
Gators near any fresh water — don’t leave food out, don’t leave dogs near the bank, don’t swim at dusk. They’re interested in what you cooked, not you.
Raccoons everywhere — they open a soft cooler in under a minute. Lock the hard cooler or put it in the car.
Bugs — the truth
Mosquitoes are the actual problem. April through October, dawn and dusk, near any standing water — which is to say, all of Florida. Bring DEET. Treat clothes with permethrin a week before the trip. A pop-up screen room over the picnic table is worth the bag space May–October. November to March is the only light window, and even then the Everglades will surprise you.
No-see-ums show up on the coast after sunset — they go through standard netting. You need a fine “no-see-um proof” mesh or you stay in the tent.
What it’s not
Florida camping isn’t always remote. State-park loops are RV-dense, generator-allowed until 10 PM, full of families. For primitive solitude, book tent-only loops or go to NF dispersed / NP backcountry. Don’t show up at Anastasia in March expecting silence.
Practical card
- Booking: state parks 11 months ahead, 8 AM ET on the 1st
- Price: state $24–$36 + $7 + $5 entrance · NF $10–$25 · NF dispersed FREE · NP varies
- Best: November–April
- Permits: state res = permit · NF dispersed none · NP backcountry free at ranger station
- Bring: DEET, permethrin clothes, bear bag in Ocala, hard cooler
- Cancel: state $7 + 1 night · hurricane evac = full refund
