Florida Keys campgrounds & RV parks: public vs private, booking windows and rig limits

Public campgrounds and private RV parks are different products

Camping in the Florida Keys is a reserved site, not a hotel you can roll into at dusk. Public inventory in this directory is Florida state parks plus primitive camping on Garden Key at Dry Tortugas. Private RV parks add commercial sites, often with hookups. They solve different jobs: a state-park loop is a park night under Florida State Parks rules, while a private park may be the one that can take a long rig, a longer stay or full hookups. We do not rank either list. Verified source means stronger source verification, and organic directory order is unsold.

Do not assume a campground fits the rig because the name says RV. Read maximum length, slide room, overhead clearance, hookup type, tow-vehicle rules and arrival instructions for the specific site. Bahia Honda’s loops are not interchangeable. Sandspur’s 23-foot hitch-to-bumper limit and Bayside’s non-electric sites are on the park page; the loop-by-loop operations live on Bahia Honda camping: Buttonwood, Sandspur & Bayside loops so this page can stay the chain-wide hub.

Book the scarce night before the rest of the week, then match it to a pillow plan on Where to stay in the Florida Keys: best base by Key for a 5–7 night trip and southbound pacing on First-time Florida Keys road trip: overnight pacing MM 100 → 0. The region sections below name the parks. Mile markers, Trip planner and Campgrounds & RV Parks are how you turn that list into a drive. Re-open each listing’s official source before you pay.

Upper Keys campgrounds and RV parks

The public Upper Keys campground in this directory is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Campground on Key Largo (Key Largo, directory MM 97–107). The curated listing places the campground at about mile marker 102.5, at 102601 Overseas Highway. Florida State Parks’ experiences page says the campground has 42 reservable campsites, each with 30-amp, 50-amp and 110 electrical outlets, plus water and sewer, a picnic table and a grill: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/john-pennekamp-coral-reef-state-park/experiences-amenities. That same directory listing describes most sites as fitting RVs to about 40 feet—confirm the length on the live reservation record before you pay. This listing is the overnight campground, not day-use park access and not marina overnight.

The source-backed private park on the same island is Keys Palms RV Resort at mile marker 104, 104200 Overseas Highway. The mile marker and the resort description come from the operator site linked on that listing. Confirm site length, hookups, marina access and whether a transient site is actually for rent. This guide does not publish nightly rates.

Other private Key Largo parks with a sourced listing, in no particular order: Sun Outdoors Key Largo at 97680 Overseas Highway, about mile marker 97.5, formerly Riptide RV Resort & Marina, pairs RV sites with motel and cottage stays, a guest beach and boat access. Blue Fin Rock Harbor Marina & RV Resort at 97601 Overseas Highway on Rock Harbor splits its RV sites between oceanfront and non-waterfront and adds marina dockage. Key Largo Kampground at 101551 Overseas Highway covers about 40 Atlantic-side acres with RV, tent and glamping sites, a small marina and a ramp; its North and South beaches are for guests, not public parks. Campers Cove at 101644 Overseas Highway is an adults-only, Gulf-side RV park whose operator lists room for units up to 43 feet plus dockage and a ramp to the Gulf. King's Kamp RV Park and Marina and Captain Jax Trailer Resort are next door to each other at 103620 Overseas Highway, mile marker 103.5 bayside, and are run by the same operator family. King's Kamp lists RV and tent sites, bay dockage, a boat ramp and day passes; Captain Jax lists 55 sites plus a marina and a boat ramp. Call the office for current availability.

In Islamorada, Sun Outdoors Islamorada at 87395 Old Highway lists full-hookup RV sites, including pull-through and waterview classes, plus vacation homes. It is a year-round park: dated fall offers on the operator site are rate promotions, not an opening season. For all of these, confirm rig length, hookups, pet rules and any minimum stay on the operator page; this guide does not publish rates.

A map marker without an operator write-up is not a reservation. If a name is missing here, open Campgrounds & RV Parks on Key Largo and read the listing source. Fuel and groceries for that night stay on Key Largo; pair them with Florida Keys gas stations and EV charging: plan Overseas Highway stops by Key. The park gate is not a truck stop.

Middle Keys campgrounds and RV parks

Long Key State Park primitive camping is the public camp on Layton & Long Key (Layton & Long Key, directory MM 65–72). The day-use shoreline park is Long Key State Park at MM 67.5. Florida State Parks describes hike-in, tent-only campsites along the Atlantic, each with a picnic table, grill and hammock stand, and no electric or water hookups: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/long-key-state-park/experiences-amenities. The KeysCompass park page notes that all primitive camping closed for construction effective July 12, 2026. Treat that notice as a reason to re-check, not as a live open or closed flag for the week you travel. Florida State Parks also posts a King Tide notice: effective September 26, 2026, Long Key State Park may be closed for portions of the day due to tidal surge flooding from King Tides. Check the closures and alerts at https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/long-key-state-park before you tow. This is not an RV hookup camp, and it is not a same-day overflow hotel. Provision in Islamorada or Marathon.

Curry Hammock State Park Campground is the reserved Middle Keys state-park camp, filed with Marathon beside the Key Colony Beach stretch (Key Colony Beach). The park manager’s message places Curry Hammock at mile marker 56.2: https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/managers-message-9. The curated listing describes a 28-site campground with water and electrical service. The experiences page states a maximum RV length of 70 feet, and reservations up to 11 months in advance on the Florida State Parks reservation site or by calling 800-326-3521: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/curry-hammock-state-park/experiences-amenities. Day-use and camping are different gates. If Marathon is the service town for that night, use Marathon as a Mid-Keys base: day plan. Do not stack Curry Hammock, a Marathon beach and Bahia Honda because they look close on a map.

Private parks on this stretch are a shortlist to verify, not a ranking. Fiesta Key RV Resort & Marina is at 70001 Overseas Highway on Long Key. On Grassy Key, in the Duck Key-area view (Duck Key), Grassy Key RV Park & Resort is at MM 58.7 and Jolly Roger RV Resort is at MM 59. Those mile markers are on the operator-sourced listings. The Grassy Key listing describes full-hookup big-rig sites; confirm the length that fits your unit at https://www.grassykeyrvpark.com/. In Marathon proper, Coconut Cay RV Resort & Marina and Safe Harbor Marathon—the former Marathon Marina & RV Resort on Boot Key Channel—are curated RV parks; Sun Outdoors Marathon is the additional Marathon-east / Grassy Key stretch listing in this directory (confirm transient sites and length on the operator source). Confirm length, hookups, pet rules and transient availability on each operator source. This guide does not list nightly rates.

Lower Keys campgrounds and RV parks

When you need a private RV park west of Marathon—not a KeysCompass ranking—compare Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina on the Bahia Honda / Ohio Key stretch, Big Pine Key Resort and Breezy Pines RV Estates on Big Pine Key, Venture Out at Cudjoe Cay, and Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort plus Sugarloaf Key RV Resort & Cottages on the Cudjoe–Sugarloaf stretch. Confirm length limits, hookups, pet rules and whether transient sites are actually for rent on each operator source—some Lower Keys parks are condo- or association-managed. This guide does not list nightly rates.

Mile markers already carried on those listings: Breezy Pines RV Estates is addressed as MM 30 bayside on Big Pine Key (Big Pine Key, directory MM 29–33). Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort is at MM 20 on the Cudjoe–Sugarloaf stretch (Cudjoe & Sugarloaf Keys, directory MM 17–23). Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina sits on the Bahia Honda / Ohio Key stretch next to Bahia Honda. Big Pine Key Resort is at 33000 Overseas Highway on Big Pine. Venture Out at Cudjoe Cay is a gated community of privately managed sites—call before you treat one as a transient rental.

Public overnight in the same region is Bahia Honda State Park Campgrounds. The island page is Bahia Honda (directory MM 36–38). A Florida State Parks brochure places the entrance between mile markers 36 and 37, oceanside of U.S. 1: https://floridastateparks.org/sites/default/files/media/file/Bahia-Honda-0119.pdf. Buttonwood, Sandspur and Bayside, and the rig limits that go with them, are in the booking section below. Loop operations—day-use capacity, pets, what to buy on Big Pine before the gate—stay on Bahia Honda camping: Buttonwood, Sandspur & Bayside loops. If Bahia Honda dates or rig limits miss, use that guide, then return here for the private cluster. Informal highway parking is not the backup.

Closer to Key West, still not a ranking: Geiger Key RV Park & Fish Camp is on Big Coppitt & Geiger Keys. The City of Key West oversized-vehicle page places Geiger Key at mile marker 10: https://cityofkeywest-fl.gov/332/Tour-Bus-Motor-Coach-Parking-Information. On Stock Island (Stock Island, directory MM 4–5), Boyd’s Key West Campground and Leo’s Campground & RV Park are the curated overnight bases next to Key West. That city page still lists older names, “Lazy Lakes” and “Key West KOA.” In this directory those Sugarloaf stays are Sugarloaf Key RV Resort & Cottages, the successor to the former Lazy Lakes property, and Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort at MM 20. The same city page says military-affiliated visitors may be able to use camping at Naval Air Station Key West (Sigsbee and Trumbo). That is an installation rule, not a public campground in this directory. Key West proper does not have a visitor campground here. Confirm every private park on its operator source.

Dry Tortugas camping is not an RV plan

Garden Key Campground is primitive camping at Dry Tortugas National Park (Dry Tortugas National Park & Fort Jefferson), about 70 miles west of Key West by boat or seaplane. It is not a mile marker on U.S. 1. Island context is Dry Tortugas. The National Park Service camping page says campsites are on Garden Key only, tents are required, and there is no public Wi-Fi, cellular service or electric hookups: https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/camping.htm. Individual sites are first-come, first-served. The group site, for larger parties, needs advance coordination with the park. There is no road and no way to tow a rig to Fort Jefferson.

Ferry campers book limited space through the Yankee Freedom ferry (Yankee Freedom Ferry to Dry Tortugas). The seaplane concession does not transport campers. Leave the RV or trailer at a legal Keys campsite—Stock Island, a Lower Keys private park, or a reserved state-park site—then travel with gear that meets the carrier’s rules. The curated Garden Key listing, sourced to the NPS campground page, records no showers. Re-read https://www.nps.gov/drto/planyourvisit/campground.htm for current facilities, and pack food, water and a way to carry trash out. A Garden Key night is not a cheaper Bahia Honda loop.

If the trip is a Keys RV week, do not substitute Garden Key for Bahia Honda or a private park. Use this guide for the highway inventory and Bahia Honda camping: Buttonwood, Sandspur & Bayside loops when the scarce item is a Buttonwood, Sandspur or Bayside loop. Day-trip timing, baggage limits and the Key West staging night belong on Dry Tortugas day trip from Key West: ferry vs seaplane planner.

State-park booking windows and Bahia Honda rig limits

Florida State Parks states, on the Bahia Honda experiences page, that reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance. Book on the Florida State Parks reservation site at https://reserve.floridastateparks.org/Web/ or call 800-326-3521 (TDD 888-433-0287): https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/bahia-honda-state-park/experiences-amenities. The Curry Hammock experiences page uses the same 11-month line and the same phone number. The reservation-information page lists phone hours as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern: https://www.floridastateparks.org/reservation-information. Confirm the current booking URL, release timing and phone hours on those official pages before you rely on a bookmark. Do not use a third-party clone or a screenshot of last winter’s inventory. This guide does not publish nightly rates, reservation fees or utility add-ons. Read the total on the official record before you pay.

Bahia Honda’s three loops, from that same experiences page, are not interchangeable. Buttonwood Campground is sites 1–48. The park describes it for a variety of camping rigs from large RVs to small tents, with gravel sites, electricity, water, picnic tables and grills, plus a bathhouse and a dump station. Sandspur Campground is sites 49–72. Maximum camping-rig length is 23 feet, hitch to bumper, and larger rigs cannot navigate the sharp turns. Sandspur sites have electricity and water. The same page says air-conditioned temporary mobile restrooms and showers are available while the Sandspur campground’s bathhouse is being remodeled, and that the park visitor center is currently closed—re-check both before you plan around them. Bayside Campground is sites 73–80: eight non-electric sites with a picnic table, grill and water. The KeysCompass campground listing, sourced to that Florida State Parks page, also records a 6 ft 8 in overhead-clearance restriction on the Bayside approach. Measure the rig, including anything on the roof, and re-read the live page, because storms and remodels change what is posted. Site-level length, slides and tow-vehicle notes belong on the reservation record. Cabins are a separate lodging product, not a fourth loop. Day-use capacity, pet rules and Big Pine provisioning stay on Bahia Honda camping: Buttonwood, Sandspur & Bayside loops.

Private RV parks do not inherit that state-park window. Each operator named in the region sections uses its own system, and some Lower Keys parks are condo- or association-managed and may not offer transient sites at all. If the dates you want are gone, change the trip or pick another reserved camp on Campgrounds & RV Parks. Sleeping on a highway shoulder, a bridge approach or a day-use lot is a poor plan: many roads and lots prohibit it, and a closed vehicle in Keys heat is unsafe. Keep the confirmation, gate instructions and site number offline.

Mile markers, overnight parking and the trip list

Overseas Highway mile markers count down toward Key West. MM 0 is in Key West, and the numbers rise as you drive north. Mile markers takes a number, or your location on your own device, and shows which Key the directory files that stretch under, with a link to the island page. It is a lookup, not a vacancy board. Directory stretches used in this guide: Key Largo MM 97–107, Layton & Long Key MM 65–72, Duck Key-area Grassy Key near MM 59, Marathon MM 47–60, Bahia Honda MM 36–38, Big Pine Key MM 29–33, Cudjoe & Sugarloaf MM 17–23, Big Coppitt & Geiger MM 9–11, Stock Island MM 4–5, and Key West MM 0–4. Dry Tortugas is about 70 miles west by water, not a highway marker.

A mile marker is not a campsite, and ten markers can be a long two-lane drive with no useful detour. Do not build a day that needs Pennekamp, Curry Hammock and Bahia Honda. Match the overnight stop to fuel on Florida Keys gas stations and EV charging: plan Overseas Highway stops by Key: Key Largo before an Upper Keys camp, Marathon before Seven Mile Bridge, and Big Pine Key before a Bahia Honda or smaller-island night. Park campsites are not truck stops.

Key West does not absorb an unreserved RV. The City of Key West page on tour buses, RVs and campers says oversized vehicles are prohibited from municipal lots, and that the city code requires large vehicles on an overnight visit to reserve a local RV park or campground: https://cityofkeywest-fl.gov/332/Tour-Bus-Motor-Coach-Parking-Information. That page states city ordinances forbid overnight parking on city streets, parks and beaches. It quotes Code of Ordinances Section 63.191: an RV, or an RV combined with a motor vehicle, longer than 20 feet or wider than 7 feet may not park on a city street except while actually loading or unloading passengers or property. A designated lot is not an overnight substitute. Sleep at Boyd’s or Leo’s on Stock Island, or at another reserved camp up the highway, then use Key West and Key West parking and cruise day: pier, Old Town and honest timing for the walking day. Along the rest of U.S. 1, do not plan to sleep on the shoulder, a bridge approach or a day-use lot.

When the site is held, open Trip planner and save the campsite, the grocery or fuel stop on the same stretch, and a legal backup camp if the loop or the private park is closed. That list is the drive. For a split between camp nights and a Key West hotel, return to Where to stay in the Florida Keys: best base by Key for a 5–7 night trip. For MM 100 → 0 pacing around the camp, use First-time Florida Keys road trip: overnight pacing MM 100 → 0.

How to use the directory from here

Open Campgrounds & RV Parks to compare mapped public camps and private RV parks by island, then open the listing source—Florida State Parks, the National Park Service, or the private operator—the morning you go. The island pages linked in the region sections are the provisioning map, including Key Largo, Marathon, Bahia Honda, Big Pine Key, Stock Island and Key West. The Verified source label means stronger verification, not a paid rank, and organic order is unsold.

This page is original editorial. It is not live inventory, a fee table, or a promise that Sandspur, Long Key’s primitive sites, or any private park is open the week you travel. Confirm loop status, rig length, overhead clearance and the reservation total on the official source before you leave. If the camp is the Lower Keys night, continue to Bahia Honda camping: Buttonwood, Sandspur & Bayside loops. If Dry Tortugas is a separate day on an RV week, use Dry Tortugas day trip from Key West: ferry vs seaplane planner only after a Key West-side night is already on the calendar, and keep the rig at a legal campsite.

Frequently asked questions