Want to experience the natural wonders of Florida while staying at the best RV parks Florida has to offer? Check out this post where we recommend a trip (or trips) that will take you beyond the beaches on a journey around the state of Florida. Starting with the rugged, beautiful, and sometimes wild beaches of Florida’s east coast, heading down south to the Florida Keys, leaving the keys to make a turn west through the Florida Everglades National park, heading North up the West Coast, and ending at the white sands of the panhandle.
Before making your visit, check out the Florida RV parks that put your near top attractions.
East Coast
St. Augustine
St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. While not natural, Castillo de San Marcos is a wonder of architecture, which makes it the perfect place to start your tour of Florida. Today, the fort is managed by the National Park Service and was designed and built by the Spanish. Castillo de San Marcos has been protecting this Florida coastal city since the 17th century!
Sunrise over St. Augustine. Photo. NPS
The St. Augustine area offers some amazing Florida RV Parks and the city boasts a great old town for shopping and nightlife. To get your feet wet in the area, try staying just south of St. Augustine at Beverly Beach Camptown RV Resort and Campers Village. Make sure to book in advance and get an oceanfront site for the authentic Florida RV Park beach experience.
The Treasure Coast
The treasure coast of Florida starts about 150 miles south of St. Augustine and spans Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin Counties. The area gets its name from a Spanish Treasure Fleet that was lost in a 1715 hurricane. To this day, treasure hunters still occasionally pull gold from the sea bottom and you can see some of the treasure first hand at Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum.
Smack in the middle of the treasure coast sits the small beach town of Vero Beach. With a population of less than seventeen thousand and strict beachside building codes, most of the beaches are still in their natural state. This makes for the perfect place to experience Florida’s beaches in all their natural beauty and is our number one place we recommend to people who want to visit the east coast of Florida.
When Florida RV camping on The Treasure Coast, we head to Vero Beach Kamp to get close access to the beaches and Vero Beach.
Very Beach. Photo: Alaina Elliott
South Florida
It is easy to think only of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale when someone mentions South Florida but for us, South Florida is The Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. There are plenty of natural wonders to be found in these areas and excellent Florida RV Parks to make your base camp in while you explore.
Florida Keys
While the Florida Keys may be synonymous with Key West, they actually consist of over 1700 islands, spanning over 198 miles closest to the Florida mainland and extending all the way to the boat or plane accessible only, Dry Tortugas. A natural wonder indeed! 43 of these islands are connected by bridges starting with Marathon Key and terminating after the seven-mile bridge in Key West. There are great places to camp with your RV up and down the Florida Keys. We like to be well into the keys but not as far south as Key West so Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina on Big Pine Key is our go-to.
Fun in Key West. Photo Alaina Elliott
When you make your way out to the Keys, focus on experiencing as much as possible on the water by boat, with a mask and snorkel, or with scuba diving gear. You won’t find a ton of beaches to laze around on given the nature of this archipelago. For those of you that are ready to get wet, try out the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. This is the first underwater park in the United States!
The Everglades National Park
The Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. It offers the opportunity to experience Florida’s wetlands and to see amazing wildlife like Manatees, American Crocodiles, and maybe even a Florida Panther! The best time to visit this National Park is in the Dry Season November through April. In addition to fewer rainy days, there will be far fewer mosquitos to deal with and the sun and humidity won’t be doing their absolute best to keep you in your RV. There are multiple entrances and visitor centers in the park. If you are planning your trip after visiting the Florida Keys and on your way to the west coast, we recommend entering the park at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center .
A gator in Everglades National Park. Photo: NPS
West Coast
The West Coast of Florida is our favorite area to spend time in. It offers so much to do and see from the Tampa Bay area to Sarasota, and south to Naples. You can also find amazing yearound camping at some of the best RV Parks the U.S. has to offer that exemplify the easy-going west coast Florida lifestyle. If you want a west coast central home base, we recommend Holiday Cove RV Resort which is located just minutes from Anna Maria Island and all the beaches that the area has to offer. It also puts Sarasota and the white sand beaches of Siesta Key just 30 minutes to your south as well as the Tampa Bay area beaches of St. Petersburg and Clearwater just 30 minutes to your north.
Anna Marie Island. Photo: Alaina Elliott
Deep Hole
If you want to add a dose of adrenaline to your lazy west coast of Florida RV camping, then look no further than Deep Hole at Myakka State Park. Deep Hole is one of West Florida’s best-kept secrets and possibly the best place to see American Alligators in their natural habitat. This part is important, as if you go, you will be in the gator’s world. This isn’t a zoo or managed environment. These are real gators, in their real territory!
Deep Hole is 4.4-mile round trip easy hike into the backcountry at Myakka State Park’s Lower Lake and can boast hundreds of alligators all gathered in a 200-foot wide sinkhole. While the danger is easily managed by not getting too close we can’t stress enough to be smart if you go! If you do go, make sure you get to the ranger station early. The hike is by permit only with only 30 permits given out every day.
Florida has Caves?
All that Florida spring water has to come from somewhere right? Florida actually has an amazing system of caves and some of the best examples are also on the West coast just a short drive inland from the beaches. For the best example of Florida caves, check out Florida Caverns State Park. Where you can visit and spelunk in natural caves like Dames Cave and Citrus Cave.
Florida Caverns State Park. Photo: Josh Roberson
Speaking of Springs
Aside from its beaches, Florida’s other natural wonder(s) may be its springs. Florida has thirty-three first magnitude springs, some of the most well-known being Weeki Wachee, Rainbow and Wakulla Springs. Florida also has somewhere between 100 and 200 second-magnitude springs that discharge 6.5 million to 64 million gallons of water every day all at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit
Fern Hammock Spring. Photo: Josh Roberson
For planning your visits to both Florida’s caves and springs we recommend hitting the Withlacoochee area after your stay on the beaches of the west coast. You can find great Florida RV Parks like Nature’s Resort.
Florida Panhandle
It is very easy to start your visit to Florida in the Florida panhandle, which is why we recommend not to do that! The beaches are so beautiful and the towns along the famous 30A highway are so quaint, one can be tempted to start and finish exploring Florida there. Assuming you have already explored the East coast all the way down to The Keys, and have taken in the beautiful beaches of Sarasota and Clearwater and the springs of Withlacoochee, make sure to take in the white sand wonders that the North Florida Panhandle has to offer. We love everywhere from Destin to St. George Island.
Treat yourself to one of the best Florida RV Parks in the state and park your RV right on the white sands of Destin Florida at Camp Gulf.
Egret on a beach on the Florida Panhandle. Photo: Seth Peters
Florida, a natural wonder
Florida is truly a spectacular state full of natural wonders. Sure it has some of the best beaches in the world but also has amazing wildlife, crystal clear springs, deep caves, and islands that you can drive to. To ensure you have all the comforts of home while you explore, Florida also offers some of the best RV Parks in the country. We look forward to hearing about your own adventures when you come south to the sunshine state!
Check out the Florida RV Parks that
