Frontcountry camping in the Everglades

Love spending time in nature? How about overnight? Camp in the Everglades! This camping trip is surely one you’ll never forget. Camping, both frontcountry and backcountry, is available year-round. Even during this rainy season, people do head out and camp in the Everglades. The National Park Service notes that during the rainy season, camping can be more difficult and uncomfortable.

The Park does not have camping equipment to rent or purchase, so you must bring everything you will need to set up camp.

If you’re looking for a frontcountry camping experience, the Everglades has two places: Long Pine Key Campground and Flamingo Campground. Right now, the Long Pine Key Campground is closed for summer months. The Flamingo Campground is accessible from the Homestead Entrance of the Everglades. It can accommodate both tents and RVs. Since it is the summer season, reservations aren’t necessary, but you are still able to make one if you’d prefer. Flamingo has 234 drive-up sites, which are $20 per night for a campsite with no electric hookup and 41 sites are $30 per night with electric hookups. Many of the sites have a view of Florida Bay, as this site is on the southernmost tip of Florida.

The summer time is a good time to camp in this area if you prefer fewer people around. There is a visitor center at the campground, a store, and canoe and kayak rentals. This campground is a large open field with strong breezes coming off the bay. There are solar-heated showers, dump stations, picnic tables, grills and an amphitheater for winter programs. The Flamingo area also has lots of hiking and canoe trails. To make a reservation at Flamingo Campground, call 1-877-444-6777.

While camping in the Everglades, you can explore even more of the wetland on an airboat tour during your trip. An airboat ride can bring you around areas of the Everglades you are unable to reach by trails. If you’d like to go on an airboat tour, join Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours for an adventure. To book a trip, click here or call 800-368-0065.