Southeast Florida Camping

Southeast Florida is the Gold Coast — Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and the Treasure Coast running north to Stuart — the state's most densely developed stretch and, as a direct consequence, its most camping-starved. Barrier islands are built out; mainland land is at a premium; most sites are inland at county parks, water management preserves, or a short list of state parks that book months ahead. The ecology is still distinct where it survives: sand-pine scrub in the Loxahatchee basin, coastal hammock at Birch and MacArthur, and vast dry prairie in the northwestern interior.

The standouts are Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the Loxahatchee River — the region's largest and the closest thing to a flagship — Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in the heart of Fort Lauderdale, John D. MacArthur Beach State Park on Singer Island, and John U. Lloyd Beach State Park at Dania. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, far inland in Okeechobee County, is a certified International Dark Sky Park and the best stargazing campground in Florida. County parks fill the gap: Markham Park, John Prince Park, Okeeheelee Park. Interior WMAs like J.W. Corbett and DuPuis offer primitive and equestrian sites.

High season runs November through April, when humidity drops and snowbird demand pushes private RV rates well past $100 per night. Summers are brutally hot and storm-prone — the region sits in the most hurricane-exposed stretch of the Florida coast, with Atlantic hurricane season running June through November and peak activity August through October.