Miami is an exciting city to visit with many things to see and do. Tent camping has some advantages over staying in Hotels or travelling with an RV. Packing a small tent allows you to fly into Miami from anywhere in the world. It is also very economical allowing you to stay overnight relatively cheaply thus leaving you more money to spend elsewhere. You are using your own gear so you will be familiar with your living arrangements regardless of where you are. There are a number of campgrounds around the outskirts of Miami and a few that are located within Miami itself. For those who own or can charter a boat, there is tent camping on Boca Chita key and Elliott key within an approximately 45min boat ride of Miami. Since you will be tent camping in south Florida make sure you bring bug spray and that your tents mesh is very small since there is the presence of sand flies that bite.
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Lenny and Penny Thompson Memorial Park
| Distance to Zoo Miami | 11 minutes |
| Distance to South Beach | 39 minutes |
| Interesting | adjacent world famous zoo natural south Florida woodland hiking paths bridle trails bike trails beach |
Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park is a 24 minute drive from the Miami International Airport. It has some areas for tent camping. The tent sites have minimal to no tree cover and are moderately spaced for privacy. However many of the tent campsites are in plain view of each other without any foliage breaking up the view. I choose this campground because while not providing an exceptional tent camping experience it does provide an exceptional green space within an urban environment. The tent camping fee is minimal and the payback is that the campground is centrally located providing easy access to many sights within Miami. You just can’t beat the value of staying at this campground as compared to staying at a Hotel for a much greater cost. Book well in advance since this campground can get very busy during high season.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
| Deering Estate | 54 minutes |
| Coral Castle | 42 minutes |
| Interesting | canoe and kayaking fishing beach walking trails salt water aquariums snorkeling scuba diving glass bottomed boat tours |
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is its own destination. It is an underwater coral park that is great for snorkeling and scuba diving. Courses are available for learning to scuba dive. The tent camping sites provide some tree cover and the sites while close to each other do have some shrubbery between the sites providing for some privacy. This is definitely not backcountry camping, however there are many activities for families to enjoy and the campground is just over an hours drive from South beach Miami and 1 hour and 13 minutes from the Miami International Airport.
John Prince Park Campground
| Therapy IV Miami Deep Sea Fishing | 1 hour 9 minutes |
| Art Deco Historic District | 1 hour 14 minutes |
| Interesting | driving range boating bicycling fitness trail |
John Prince Park Campground is just a regular RV campground, nothing too special for tent camping. The sites have minimal privacy. The park is further away from downtown Miami than Lenny and Penny Thompson Memorial Park. However, if that park is filled up this is the next closest one to downtown that can adequately accommodate your tent and not be pitching in a concrete jungle. It is just over an hours drive from the Miami International Airport.
Johnathan Dickinson State Park
| Miami South Beach | 1 hour 46 minutes |
| John D. MacArthur Beach State Park | 26 minutes |
| Interesting | kayaking hiking historical tours and interest research center equestrian trails off road biking nature tours swimming |
At 1 hour and 53 minutes from the Miami International Airport, Johnathan Dickinson State Park is definitely the furthest away from everything Miami. However, if you are willing to do the drive this is a park that provides the most breathing room for the tent camper of all the parks on this list. Of the few campgrounds located inside the park the most private and well spaced is the River Campground. It provides minimal tree cover and an adequate amount of spacing with brush between campsites. There is also numerous hiking trails with some primitive campsites along the way for those looking for a bit more adventure. The park itself offers a more natural and wild environment to explore and get away from it all.