Long Pine Key Campground

This campground is in the Everglades National Park but is managed by a third-party. That was good for us because we were able to stay here during the government shutdown. We stayed for 8 nights at the beginning of January 2019.

First, the website shows that sites are first-come, first-serve except for a limited number of sites that can be reserved. I called and was told reservations were not accepted so we took our chances on getting a spot. When we arrived, the agent stated that there were only 3 spots available for the 3 nights we were going to originally stay (we weren’t sure about connectivity). Needless to say, that was incorrect, there were tons of spots available for the timeframe we were there. Anyway, we also found out that they do take reservations somewhere on-line, but I couldn’t find the website for it. We stayed three nights in spot #5. It was a good spot, but our solar was struggling because it was in shade most of the afternoon. We decided to stay a few extra days to explore more. Connectivity was not an issue – Verizon has 3-4 bars without booster. AT&T has no service though. With our booster, we were able to get about 1-2 bars of AT&T and thankfully one of our phones as Wi-Fi call capability, so we were able to make and receive calls. Keep that in mind if you are AT&T only. The campground Flamingo about 40 miles from this campground does have AT&T connectivity, but we didn’t explore the campground to see how it compared.

When we decided to stay longer, we were told we had to move because someone reserved spot #5. That was fine because we wanted to move spots for better solar anyway. The agent said she couldn’t look up which spots were available for the timeframe we wanted, but we could drive around and find a few spots we wanted and then she could look it up. That seemed weird, but we did that. We found that spot #66 had great access to solar in the mid-late afternoon so chose it. Thankfully that spot was available. There was some confusion about whether we could reserve it or not. Each person we spoke to said something different, but after many tries, it ended up working out and we were able to stay longer.

We stayed another 5 nights at our new spot #66. Solar was much better there, and we had a nice view of the lake. Both spots we were on were level and it seemed most in the park were level. The road coming in is paved so no issues with accessibility. Since the campground is in the park, you do have to pay the entrance fee, but we have the national park pass. Of course, because of the shutdown there was no one at the gate anyway.

We didn’t inspect the bathrooms or shower houses, but the park was clean and well-maintained. They have a camp host on-site and we did not see any issues that were seen in other parks because of the shutdown. For some reason, the dumpsters were not emptied until our last day there so some people had put their trash next to the dumpsters, but it was otherwise clean. Very quiet and peaceful as well.

The campground has a lot of slash pine trees which give some shade, but still allows some solar. There were not a ton of good spots for solar IMO (at least in the winter), but anything by the lake would be good. There are no hookups at this site, but they do have potable water and a dump station near the entrance to the campground.

Tons of things to do near this campground. There are trails and of course exploring the Everglades. Homestead/Florida City is about a 20 min drive and you can get groceries, gas and whatever you need there. Robert is Here is a nice fruit stand in Florida City you may want to check out. Worth a trip to the Flamingo visitor center to see crocodiles and manatees. I would also recommend the Royal Palm visitor center and the anhinga trail.

Overall, despite the confusion and frustration over the reservations, it was a nice place and we would stay again. It is closed in the summer months which makes sense, it would be way too hot, and mosquito infested for the summer. Mosquitos were tolerable when we were there, but you need bug spray.

We based at Long Pine Key while exploring Southern Florida for nearly two weeks. The rate, amenities and quality is best you can do for this area. Very reasonable to do day trips to Biscayne and the Keys from here. Nice quiet atmosphere and clean showers/bathrooms. Experienced full gamut of weather during our stay; from high 80's, humid and buggy to low 60's, dry and pleasant. Out booster allowed from basic use of ATT service, but don't come out here if you need internet. That said, we got full ATT service once back out on the park road.

The website says the they don’t take reservations but they do now if you call. I’m glad we called because they were full when we got there! We were very pleasantly surprised by this campground. We stayed four days between Christmas and New Years in the middle of the government shutdown. The campsites at Long Pine are all dry camping, no hook ups. There is a dump station near the entrance which we didn’t use. There are convenient bathrooms and showers with limited hot water. It was always out by the time we got there but it was 86 degrees so we didn’t mind. There was a boil water order in effect so plan ahead just in case. The campground is very beautiful. Lots of trees, a small lake, lots of hiking trails nearby. We were surprised at how quiet it was a night, we could even hear an owl in the campground. Some people ran generators but they are not allowed after 8pm. The staff is very friendly, the campground very clean and beautiful, lots of trees, great sunsets. There were some bugs but not too bad. We would definitely stay here again. Our only problem was due to the government shutdown there was no place to dispose of garbage. We ended up taking it all with us to our next stop.

I was originally bummed that flamingo was full and we had to stay at Long Pine. But turns out I liked it much better! The spots are level and private with vegetation all around. Compared to flamingo which has hookups but is basically just an open field. Clean bathrooms. Showers only had cool water but with the humidity was perfect. There’s easy access to several walking/running/biking trails. And a great little walk around the lake. I did see one huge diamondback snake so keep your pets close! Bring the bug spray and enjoy the night sky.

We spent two nights in Flamingo and one night here. We preferred Lone Pine Key mostly because it was less buggy.

You get less space here, but we were close to the pond. The campground hosts were lovely and the showers and bathrooms were very clean.

There was a group drinking and blasting Christmas carols but they stopped around 10pm. It was nice to be closer to the entrance and have a shower on a hot and sticky day. However, if you want to truly experience nature, the Everglades campgrounds are not the place to do it. There are too many people who come out there to party.

We are new to RV’ing and wanted to go somewhere nearby for our first trip (we live in the keys) we couldn’t get into any of the state parks in the keys and decided to enter the Everglades. Upon arriving everything was closed but after reading we figured it would be ok to just find a spot and settle up in the morning which worked out perfect. The next day we drove from Long Pine down to Flamingo while making stops along the way. The bathrooms were ok and my wife can be picky but she had no problem, we didn’t use the showers but they looked fine also. The place was beautiful and we had a great time. It was a perfect first trip close to home, we have decided to do it more often for long weekends or times we just want to use our RV so it’s not just sitting at home.

We really wanted to explore the Everglades, but online it said this camp was closed. We tried it anyway, because recent reviews said it was open. We have an annual National Parks Pass, and when we got there it said the price was $10, with a pass so I pushed a little for $10, and they gave it to me. The pass is $80, and having it saved me $50, so it's definitely been nice to have.

The people at this place were soooo nice. It felt like we were the only ones there. We normally don't use showers at campsites, but these were very clean. It was nice to not have to dump until we left. They also had a place for us to do our dishes. Very user friendly park.

We went to the Anihinga Trail twice, down to Flamingo once. We were glad we chose long pine key over Flamingo, because otherwise we wouldn't have had service. Plus there were tornado warnings down there, while we had a little rain up at our camp. Other than the giant horse flies, we had nothing to complain about. Lots of wide open space, we let our cats out all day, and there was so much sun our solar panels kept our batteries full.

Would definitely go back.

Wow it’s hot down here! :)

The campground is really nice. Quiet, only three other people here. Spacious spots. Shower houses are pretty basic. And the bathrooms are kind of gross. For how slow it is here you would think the employees would have time to clean the restrooms???

The park is not owned by the National Park service anymore, this is the first year like this. The ranger told us that it is a private company that own both this campground and Flamingo.

Overall a pretty campground. Nothing to do here and it is a long drive to get anywhere else for hiking, sightseeing, water, etc.