5 Florida Beach Camping Spots With Unmatched Ocean Views

Sunny Florida is well-known around the world for electric oceanside cities like Miami, not to mention Orlando and its ever-popular Disneyland. Florida, however, has quite a few premier nature parks as well, all of which protect the state's distinctive sub-tropical wetland habitats and gorgeous coastline. In addition to acclaimed national parks like the Everglades, Florida also boasts several underrated state parks throughout its peninsula, panhandle region, and numerous keys. While these national and state parks offer plenty of scenic Florida hiking trails for day travelers, they also often feature some of the country's best camping opportunities. One major advantage of camping in Florida is the distinct possibility of camping on the beach, with sublime views of the ocean awaiting you just beyond your tent. 

Beach camping is available in most states that border the ocean, yet Florida's abundant coastline offers far more amazing oceanside camping opportunities than your average coastal state. Mainland Florida has hundreds of miles of coastline along both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, to say nothing of the nearly 1,000 Florida Keys offering one-of-a-kind island excursions. All of these coastal regions have extraordinary national, state, or local parks with premium campgrounds within viewing distance of the ocean. And while any oceanside camping trip in Florida is going to be worth it, these five parks in particular offer Florida's best beach camping options with unparalleled ocean views. 

The exquisite Gulf Islands National Seashore showcases a side of Florida's coastline that's about as far from the vibing beaches of Miami as you can get. In contrast to South Florida's popular Atlantic shores, the Gulf Islands National Seashore sits in the Florida Panhandle's far northwestern corner, right next to the state's border with Alabama. The park's barrier islands along the Gulf of Mexico (renamed the Gulf of America in 2025 by U.S. President Donald Trump) offer clear waters and outdoor adventures in both Florida and nearby Mississippi, with superb beachside destinations extending into both states. On the Florida side, the Fort Pickens Area features exceptional waterfront views, historic sites, and (of course) beachside camping. 

A mere 35 minutes from Pensacola, the Fort Pickens Area is as historic as it is beautiful. Fort Pickens itself is a 19th-century military installation that was built in the 1820s to protect Pensacola and the Florida Gulf Coast from outside threats. Yet the national seashore's Florida portion also includes the magnificent Perdido Key. Though it's quite a ways away from Key West and the South Florida Keys you're probably more familiar with, Perdido Key is a veritable paradise of white sand beaches, coastal dunes, and island wilderness areas, all basking under the warm sun of the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Fort Pickens Campground is the premier beachside camping spot on the Florida side of the park, with 211 total campsites, including several RV-accommodating sites, and plenty of amenities like electric hookups, dump stations, and potable water. Be warned, however: the Fort Pickens Campground is one of the most popular campgrounds in the National Park Service (for good reason), so it's a good idea to reserve your campsite well in advance. If the Fort Pickens Campground is completely booked, you also have the option of backcountry camping on Perdido Key.

At first glance, Huguenot Memorial Park seems like an unlikely place to find superb beachside camping. In contrast to prestigious national or state parks, Huguenot Memorial Park is an ostensibly modest community park. Even stranger, the park sits within the borders of Jacksonville, Florida's largest city. And yet, despite officially being a mere "city park," Huguenot Memorial Park offers stupendous seaside views that rival any national or state park. Located at the base of a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, Huguenot Memorial Park is almost entirely surrounded by water.

Huguenot Memorial Park is Jacksonville's top destination for swimming, surfing, ocean kayaking, and fishing. And despite its proximity to such a large urban area, Huguenot Memorial Park is also one of Florida's best locations for birdwatching. With at least 237 species of birds recorded there, Huguenot Memorial Park is a key location along the Florida Birding Trail. The park even contains the Fort George Inlet Critical Wildlife Area, a crucial breeding ground for terns and other seabirds. 

Camping at Huguenot Memorial Park is available for both tents and RVs. While campsites are spread throughout the park's 368-acre, horseshoe-shaped sandbar, many sites sit along the family beach area, offering picture-perfect ocean views to match. In addition to convenient beach access and top ocean views, the Huguenot Memorial Park campgrounds also include well-maintained shower and restroom facilities, as well as picnic tables and fire rings that make the perfect spots for some lovely seaside gatherings. The park also has a convenient boat launch for excursions out into the Atlantic and the neighboring cities. And since Huguenot Memorial Park is surrounded by the National Park Service's Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, campers will have plenty of opportunities to explore Jacksonville's underrated natural and historical treasures!

Florida has more than 50 state parks with camping facilities, many of which sit along a beach or shoreline. So the task of picking out a select few "best" state parks for beach camping is a fairly difficult task. Still, if you have a state park with the word "hammock" right in its name, you can probably assume it deserves a spot on the list. This is definitely the case with Florida's Edenic Curry Hammock State Park. Located in the heart of Florida's acclaimed Florida Keys archipelago, Curry Hammock sits within a gorgeous tract of land between Key Largo and Big Pine Key. While most of the surrounding Keys have been heavily developed, Curry State Park and its surrounding Crawl Key remain largely pristine and unadulterated by excessive construction. While this does mean that the park has fewer amenities and limited infrastructure, it also means that Curry Hammock State Park offers the most authentic Florida Keys nature experience you can find.

Despite its rustic nature, Curry Hammock State Park's camping experiences are surprisingly cozy. The park currently includes 28 full-size camping sites, complete with gravel tent pads, picnic tables, charcoal grills, electric hookups, and (of course) hammocks. One campsite is even ADA-accessible. And, most importantly, all of the park's campsite come with unblemished ocean views, often framed by the lush mangrove trees dotting the island's inland areas. With the Atlantic right there, campers can enjoy some of Florida's best swimming, snorkeling, or ocean kayaking, all while exploring Curry Hammock's gorgeous mangrove swamps and rare thatch palm forests. The park also includes parts of the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, with hiking access to the neighboring Long Point and Fat Deer Keys. 

Staying in the beach-heavy Florida Keys, the ecologically rich Long Key State Park is one of Florida's premier destinations for camping in the heart of a thriving and diverse marine ecosystem. However, in contrast to the always-undeveloped Curry Hammock State Park, Long Key was once among the most luxurious resort destinations in the Florida Keys. In the early 20th century, Long Key was home to the opulent Long Key Fishing Camp, which welcomed wealthy and famous guests from all around the world. That all changed in 1935, when a hurricane devastated the once-opulent resort. Still, the destruction of the Long Key Fishing Camp opened the door to the establishment of Long Key State Park, which has helped reclaim the island's natural beauty and diverse ecosystem from its once gaudy past. 

Today, Long Key State Park is a picturesque preserve of the unrivaled subtropical beauty of the Florida Keys. Visitors will find a treasure trove of rare and biodiverse habitats spread out across blissful sandy beaches, mangrove-lined lagoons, and vibrant undersea communities. Long Key also includes several miles of scenic hiking trails and boardwalks offering photo-worthy views of the island. 

The park's campground is likewise rich, with hike-in tent campsites situated in the heart of Long Key's abundant beauty. Though the campsites are somewhat primitive (lacking electricity and water hookups as of 2025), they do come with picnic tables, grills, and hammock stands — not to mention intimate ocean views. Campers can also enjoy Long Key's terrific opportunities for kayaking, snorkeling, and wildlife viewing, with plenty of eye-catching shorebirds like spoonbills, egrets, and herons to observe. And though the Long Key Fishing Camp is long gone, its state park successor remains one of the best spots in the Florida Keys for sports fishing. 

Florida's under-the-radar Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area is arguably the perfect combination of beachside recreation, unforgettable camping, and convenient access to modern luxuries. Located near the wonderful seaside city of Flagler Beach, Gamble Rogers offers a much-needed laid-back atmosphere and uncrowded shores within driving distance of cities like St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. And though the name "Gamble Rodgers Memorial State Recreation Area" is a bit of a mouthful, it actually points to a unique slice of Florida culture. The namesake Gamble Rogers was a beloved Florida folk singer and storyteller who performed regularly around the state for decades. Tragically, Rogers drowned off the coast of Flagler Beach in 1991 while trying to rescue a swimmer in distress. In honor of his heroism, the Florida State Legislature renamed the then-Flagler Beach State Recreation Area to the Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area.

True to its status as a "recreation area," Gamble Rogers is a superb destination along Florida's Atlantic coast for swimming, fishing, and boating. Further inland, the park also offers scenic nature trails winding through gorgeous seaside forests and groves of sawgrass. As the park sits on a barrier island, visitors can also explore rich coastal ecosystems teeming with observable wildlife (including plenty of avian species for birdwatchers to enjoy). And yet, Gamble Rogers' top recreation activity may be found in its exceptional beachside campsites. The park currently has 34 individual campsites perched atop a billowing dune directly overlooking the ocean, and an additional 34 sites along the park's intercoastal waterway. The park's campsites offer electric hookups, potable water, and ADA accessibility, plus convenient access to boat ramps, trails, and picnic areas. Despite measuring only 145 acres, Gamble Rogers offers seaside camping memories that surpass much larger parks!

With an estimated 8,436 miles of coastline along both its Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Florida has more than a few seaside camping options. As such, narrowing this list down to a mere five was no easy task. To arrive at a fair ranking of Florida's best beach camping parks, we took into account a few different factors, particularly a park's camping options, amenities, and how well campers can see the ocean from their tents. Many coastal parks in Florida have excellent campgrounds, but don't quite offer the immediate ocean views as these five do. For example, Florida's Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park is universally acclaimed for its exceptional beaches, with many outlets ranking it as the best beach in the entire country. However, while this particular park does offer wonderful camping options, these campsites don't quite have the direct views of the ocean that beach campers may prefer. Thus, despite its numerous superlatives, the Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park was left off our list. 

Amenities like electrical hookups and potable water are always nice. However, they're not always feasible, especially in parks that are famous for their pristine character (like Curry Hammock State Park). Still, in compiling this list, we made sure to include parks with a bit more in camping amenities than mere primitive backcountry camping. All of these parks have, at the very least, paved tent pads, fire grills, and picnic tables. Finally, we also made sure to include parks that represent different parts of Florida's coastline, particularly the Atlantic coast (Huguenot Memorial and Gamble Rogers), the Florida Keys (Curry Hammock and Long Key), and the Gulf Coast (Gulf Islands National Seashore).