Camping is one of the best ways to experience the great outdoors. But, did you know you can actually go camping in the Everglades National Park? You can! The park offers camping opportunities in both the front country and back country. Visitors are able to go camping year-round, but the wet season (June through November) is a more difficult and uncomfortable environment for camping. If you’re thinking about experiencing this beautiful wetland through a camping experience, remember to come prepared; the park does not provide any camping equipment for people to buy or rent.

For the front country camping, there are two drive-in accessible campgrounds from the Homestead entrance of the park, which are Long Pine Key Campground and Flamingo Campground. People can bring both tents and RVs to the sites. These are the only two sites in the front country part of the Everglades.

For the most part, the number of camp sites in these campgrounds meet the demand. In the winter (busy) season, it is recommended to reserve a site for Flamingo. A limited number of group sites (which accommodate up to 15 people) are available. A maximum backcountry stay is 14 days.

With backcountry camping, people can camp at a number of ground sites, beach sites, and elevated camping platforms across the park. These sites can be reached by canoe, kayak, motorboat, and some can be reached by hiking. Most of these sites are in the Ten Thousand Islands and along the rivers that flow into these islands.

For this type of wilderness camping, a permit is required, which a person can pick up the day before or day of his or her trip at the Flamingo or Gulf Coast Visitor Center or the fee station at the Homestead park entrance. The permit processing fee costs $15 and there is a $2 per person per day camping fee.

Visitors are asked to use caution at campsites where alligators and other wildlife have been fed/gained access to human food.

Explore the Everglades

If you plan on exploring the Everglades before you set up camp, an airboat tour is a great way to get around the park. To book an airboat tour, contact Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours by clicking here or calling 800-368-0065.