Florida Panhandle camping! Florida Caverns State Park campground 🌞 tent + RV camping 🌞 Florida travel tips

Hi there!

So you want to go camping in Florida Caverns State Park!

This Florida campground is perfect if you are doing a road trip through the Florida Panhandle and want to see caves!

 

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Stay at the Florida Caverns State Park campground overnight, and then go for the Florida Caverns cave tour the next morning!

You can make it a part of your Florida Panhandle camping trip!

So one of the first things to know about going to Florida Caverns State Park is that the reason you go is to go underground for a walk inside the Florida Caverns. (Maybe you guessed that. But yes it’s true.)

The second thing to know is that the only way you can go inside the Florida Caverns is by doing a guided Florida Caverns cave tour.

The third thing to know is that the only way to reserve a spot on the cave tour is to show up in-person on the day of the tour.

And, if you are making it a Florida road trip camping style, then that’s where the Florida Caverns State Park campground comes in!

That’s because it’s also said that cave tours can sell out.

So what better spot to stay the night before so you can easily get to the Florida Caverns Visitor Center to buy cave tour tickets first thing in the morning?!

That was my plan, and it worked out!

Although, on the particular Sunday afternoon in March when I arrived at Florida Caverns State Park, there were still cave tours available. But I decided to wait until the next morning anyway.

On Monday morning, I arrived a little past 9am. I got the last ticket for the next cave tour that was scheduled for 9:15am. The cave tour after that was scheduled for 9:30am and there were still tickets left, along with the later tours. There seemed to be 2-3 cave tours an hour, depending on the hour.

So in March 2022, it wasn’t extremely busy to the point where you couldn’t go inside the cave.

But of course, your experience may vary!

In the summer, weekends will probably be the busiest. So if you can help it, it can be best to try to go during the week on Monday, Thursday, or Friday.

Also important to know is that there are no cave tours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

IMPORTANT!!! This all is how it was for me in March 2022. Things can change so it’s important to verify for current information about Florida Caverns State Park!

Also, Florida Caverns State Park is in central time zone.

 

 

Florida Caverns State Park campground availability

When I first searched for Florida Caverns State Park campground for availability (er… the first few times… many more times…), there was no campsite availability for my 1 night that I didn’t want to be flexible with.

This was a few weeks in advance that I searched.

But then, I did one of my searches again, and apparently someone had canceled, and I was able to book a campsite for my desired date.

If you can’t get a booking at the Florida Caverns State Park campground, there is the Falling Waters State Park campground (30 minutes away to the west) and Three Rivers State Park campground (30 minutes away to the east) that you can also try.

In my experience in searching for campsites, Falling Waters generally had low to no availability, and Three Rivers had some availability.

 

 

Florida Caverns State Park camping: Things to know about camping at Florida Caverns State Park Campground

 

I did SUV camping / car camping at Florida Caverns State Park Campground in March 2022. I was traveling alone and I slept in my car.

Your experience may vary!

Things can change!

Florida Caverns State Park was part of a multi-day drive from Pensacola to Orlando.

 

 

1. It will be less than 5 minutes to drive to the Florida Caverns Visitor Center where you will start the cave tour.

 

See more: How to do the Florida Caverns cave tour

 

From the Florida Caverns Visitor Center parking lot, you can also start the Bluff Trail to hike to the Tunnel Cave.

 

 

 

2. It will be less than 5 minutes to drive to Blue Hole Spring.

 

There are said to be over 1,000 springs in Florida!

One of them is in Florida Caverns State Park, and that’s Blue Hole Spring.

 

 

This spring is open for swimming… if you don’t think that a water temperature of mid-60s is too cold for swimming!

According to Florida State Parks, the water temperature of Blue Hole Spring is a constant 64 degrees year-round.

There is also a trail from the campground to the springs.

 

 

3. The Florida Caverns State Park campground is for tent camping and RV camping… and other types of car camping!

It is a rather small campground that’s open with minimal shade.

Category 5 Hurricane Michael of 2018 seemed to have something to do with the minimal shade at the campground, as well as the lack of trees that provide shade in general throughout Florida Caverns State Park.

 

According to Florida State Parks:

Florida Caverns State Park lost more than 90% of its thick canopied forest.

 

There are parts of Florida Caverns State Park where this destruction can still be seen.

When I went in March 2022, the cave tour guide noted that after you exit the cave at the end of the tour, you can still see the downed trees there.

 

 

And in fact, it wasn’t until late 2021 that the Florida Caverns State Park campground opened after its closure due to the hurricane.

 

👆 The resilience and recovery of Florida Caverns State Park.

 

 

 

According to Florida State Parks, there are several Florida state park campgrounds that have been damaged by a hurricane in the past:

• Florida Caverns State Park campground
• St Andrews State Park campground
• St. Joseph Peninsula State Park campground
• Long Key State Park campground
• Sandspur Campground at Bahia Honda State Park

 

 

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Florida Caverns State Park campsite pictures

👆 Campsite #1

 

👆 Campsite #5

 

👆 Campsite #10

 

👆 Campsite #11

 

👆 Campsite #12

 

 

 

4. There is electricity at your campsite when camping at the Florida Caverns State Park campground.

 

 

5. There is drinking water at your campsite when camping at the Florida Caverns State Park campground.

 

 

6. There are regular bathrooms at the campground.

 

 

7. There are hot water showers at the Florida Caverns State Park campground.

 

The regular bathroom serves as a “bathhouse” of sorts at the Florida Caverns State Park campground.

There are shower stalls in the bathroom.

 

 

 

8. There is a dishwashing sink at the campground.

 

This is also located in the same building as the bathroom.

 

 

9. You can do laundry at the Florida Caverns State Park campground.

 

There is a washing machine and dryer at Florida Caverns State Park.

Bring quarters if you want to do laundry!

 

 

 

10. There is a trash dumpster for campers at the campground.

 

 

11. There is a dump station for RV campers.

 

You’ll see a sign for the dump station on your way to the campground.

 

 

 

12. You can buy firewood at the campground office.

 

Because of invasive species that could come with wood brought from elsewhere, it’s always best to buy your firewood locally.

The “campground office” is the Florida Caverns State Park entry station you will see when you driving into the park.

 

 

13. After you check-in, you’ll get a gate code so you can get back into Florida Caverns State Park after hours.

 

Florida Caverns State Park closes to day use in the evening, and there are gates to prevent entry.

Upon check-in, you’ll receive a gate code so you can get into Florida Caverns State Park after hours.

If you’re trying to get out after hours, you need to wait for the gate to open before driving forward.

You want to drive slow and be patient at the gate.

At check-in, the park ranger said that there had recently been 2 cars that got “totaled” after the gate crashed into their cars!

 

 

 

14. Apparently the Florida Caverns State Park campground is prone to flooding.

 

 

15. You might see wildlife in Florida Caverns State Park!

 

 

Read the reviews of the Florida Caverns State Park campground. (Filter for the word “campground”)

 

 

How to make camping reservations at Florida Caverns State Park Campground

The official website for making a Florida Caverns State Park camping reservation is through the official Florida state park camping reservation website.

You can type in Florida Caverns State Park for the search, and then go from there.

If you’re looking for a campsite in the near future during busy season, then 1 night as a length of stay will generally be easier to find.

You can also see the individual campsites that are available.

If you click on an individual campsite, it will also give you the basics of the campsite.

If you have flexible dates, you can also look at the calendar availability.

This can also help you determine if you should book soon or not, based on the availability of the campsites.

 

 

Florida Caverns State Park campground map

 

 

Cost of camping at Florida Caverns State Park campground

The cost of camping at Florida Caverns State Park campground is a base fee of $20 a night. There is also a reservation fee of around $7 that will apply. This will be $7 whether you stay for 1 night or 2 weeks. And then there are taxes.

For 1 night of camping in Florida Caverns State Park, I paid $29.

Included in your Florida Caverns camping fee is the day use fee for Florida Caverns State Park.

This means you won’t need to pay extra for regular entry into Florida Caverns State Park.

 

 

Checking in to your campsite

The entry for Florida Caverns State Park is located right off the main road.

 

 

Once you make that turn to drive in, you will see the state park entry station.

You can tell the park ranger or volunteer that you meet there that you are there for camping and they will tell you what to do next!

 

 

Then after you’ve checked in, off you go to find your campsite!

You will follow the signs to the Blue Hole Campground!

 

 

 

More about Florida Caverns State Park camping

See more about camping in Florida Caverns State Park from Florida State Parks:

Florida Caverns State Park has 38 campsites, for both RVs and tents.

All sites are within a short walk or bike ride to the Blue Hole day-use area.

32 campsites in the Blue Hole camping area are equipped with 30/50-amp electricity, water, sewer hookups, a picnic table, an in-ground grill and a fire ring.

3 RV/trailer campsites in the equestrian camping area have all amenities mentioned above but do not have sewer hookups.

Use of a communal dump station located at the entrance to the youth camp is free for park campers.

Stables are available for visitors who bring their horses if camping in the equestrian camping facility.

3 primitive tent campsites in the equestrian camping area have all amenities mentioned above but do not have electricity or sewer hookups.

Restrooms with showers are available in both camping areas.

Pets are permitted in accordance with our Pet Policy.

Maximum RV length for the Blue Hole Campground = 32 feet.

Last checked: Florida State Parks, July 2022

 

 

Camping in Florida (and Florida Caverns State Park) in March

I did a 2 week (mostly) car camping trip in Florida in March 2022.

This was a trip from Orlando to the Florida Panhandle… and back, from Florida Panhandle to Orlando.

As far as Florida weather in March, you want to be ready for anything, literally!

At its best, overnight temperatures were in the 50s F (maybe even 60s?), daytime temperatures were comfortable, and basically it was perfect Florida camping weather in March!

BUT…

There were also thunderstorms.

And then… 2 nights it was in the 30s.

And specifically, the overnight temperature got down to 34 degrees when I was camping in Florida Caverns State Park! (…at least! As far as I saw!)

 

👆 I slept in my car. Indoor temp was 34 degrees in the morning.

 

👆 Outdoor temp according to the car was also 34 degrees in the morning!

 

After I got over the initial shock of seeing 30 degree overnight temperature in the weather forecast (which I didn’t see until just a few days prior and was not expecting at all!), I was actually excited to sleep in this cold weather because I felt like I was prepared!

I was lugging around quite a bit of cold weather stuff that is just always in my car (although I never expected to use it on this trip), and it was like I was finally able to make use of it!

I had a warm night sleeping in Florida Caverns State Park at 34 degrees! I had a 30 degree Ozark Trail sleeping bag from Walmart (recommend!) and blankets.

And the night before also went well when it got down to 31 degrees at the Big Lagoon State Park campground in Pensacola!! 😆

 

 

And that’s a bit about camping at the Florida Caverns State Park campground!

 

More for your trip to Florida Caverns State Park and beyond:

• Driving from the Florida Panhandle to Orlando
• Best campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle
• Best state parks in the Florida Panhandle
• Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle

 

More Florida state parks for camping:

• Falling Waters State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
• St Andrews State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
• Grayton Beach State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
• Henderson Beach State Park (Florida Panhandle)
• Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park campground (camping between Florida Panhandle and Orlando)
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Florida Keys)
• Sandspur Campground in Bahia Honda State Park (Florida Keys)
• Oleta River State Park camping cabins (North Miami)

 

HAPPY CAMPING IN FLORIDA CAVERNS STATE PARK!