Hi there!
So you’re planning a camping trip in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park!
This is one of the state park campgrounds in the Florida Keys.
And the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park campground is one of Florida state park campgrounds near snorkeling!
So, you can make it a snorkeling + camping kind of trip!
No matter your campsite within John Pennekamp Campground, you are just a short drive away from being able to go shipwreck snorkeling at the beach or catching a boat to go coral reef snorkeling!
Tips for camping at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park campground
I did SUV camping / car camping at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Campground in April and May 2022. I was traveling alone and I slept in my car. Your experience may vary!
1. It will be a drive of a few minutes to drive to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park visitor center / aquarium where you can learn about the coral reef of the Florida Keys and the fish you have a chance at seeing.
There is an aquarium that you should go see since you are here!
It’s a small aquarium but it is worth checking out since it’s easy to see!
It’s free.
You can see a lion fish, among other things.
You can follow signs to the main beach parking lot, which will be the Cannon Beach parking lot.
If you’re bringing bikes along for your camping trip, then it’s reasonable to bike there too.
2. It will be a drive of a few minutes to drive to the spot where you can sign up for a tour to go to the coral reef of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a marine state park. The state park extends far out into the water!
There is no coral reef to be seen along the shores of the state park. You need to take a boat to get there.
You can either go snorkeling at the John Pennekamp coral reef or you can see the John Pennekamp coral reef through a glass bottom boat.
Either way, you’ll need a tour.
You’ll sign up for the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park tours at the gift shop next to the visitor center and aquarium.
See more about John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park snorkeling.
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Side note!
Amazing Key Largo snorkeling tour you need to consider:
This website is a Viator partner.
3. It will be a drive of a few minutes to drive to the John Pennekamp State Park beach where you can do shallow shipwreck snorkeling.
While the best snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is at the coral reef that’s a part of its name, you can also go snorkeling in the state park from the shore where there is no reef.
One of the John Pennekamp beaches is the main beach of Cannon Beach.
And it’s at Cannon Beach where you can do shipwreck snorkeling!
The shipwreck is shallow enough that you can see it by snorkeling at the surface. No diving necessary!
See more about Cannon Beach snorkeling.
4. Are there crocodiles at John Pennekamp State Park campground?!
Well, this is the first campground I’ve been to that I saw a warning for… CROCODILES!
As I started driving through the campground for the first time looking for my campsite, I saw a crocodile warning sign!
According to Florida state parks:
Crocodiles are present along the trails and waterways of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
They usually eat fish, turtles, and other small animals, but may attack larger animals such as deer.
Crocodiles have been known to attack humans.
Crocodiles are dangerous.
Do not swim with crocodiles.
Do not approach, frighten, or feed.
Seeing a crocodile was exciting in Everglades National Park (1.5 hours from John Pennekamp State Park), but… CAMPING with crocodiles?!?! 😱
And then, I get to my campsite and I see that the backside is a swampy area that seems like it could be a perfect crocodile hangout spot?! 😱😱😱
👆 When I was at campsite #13 the swampy area was directly behind my campsite. If you want no risks, choose a campsite on the other side of the road!
Well, it seems like the crocodile sign was just a very precautionary sign and crocodiles in the campground aren’t a normal occurrence.
I even asked a state park staffer or volunteer at the John Pennekamp State Park entry station if there’s a spot within the state park that crocodiles can be seen, and she said no.
So this would seem to indicate that crocodiles don’t generally hang out in the park in general, at least in the areas that the people are.
See more about crocodiles in Everglades National Park.
5. You may see other (safer!) wildlife when camping, though!
There are little geckos roaming around the campground, along with birds and iguanas.
👆 Spot the bird walking through the campground!
👆 Spot the bird walking through the campground!
👆 Spot the iguana walking through the campground!
👆 Spot the iguana walking through the campground!
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6. The John Pennekamp campground is for tent camping and RV camping… and other types of car camping!
7. The John Pennekamp State Park campground is a pretty open campground with campsites close together.
It’s one road through the campground.
The campsites are pretty close together.
So this is not a campground to come to if you’re looking for privacy.
John Pennekamp State Park Campground pictures
👆 Middle: campsite #32.
👆👆 Campsite #32.
👆 Campsite #14.
👆 Small RV: Campsite #11. Left: Campsite #12.
👆 Middle: Campsite #13.
👆 Campsite #13.
👆 Campsite #14.
👆 Campsite #14.
👆👆 Campsite #19.
8. There is electricity at each campsite.
9. There is water at each campsite.
10. There are regular bathrooms at the campground.
There are 2 modern bathroom buildings at the John Pennekamp State Park campground.
One is in the middle of the campground.
The other is at the far end of the campground.
11. There are hot water showers at the John Pennekamp campground.
The shower stalls are located in the bathroom at both buildings.
👇 There are showers at the main bathroom building.
👇 There are showers at the second bathroom too.
👇 There is a shower in the single-room bathroom too. This is the bathroom building that’s at the end of the road.
12. There’s a dish washing sink for campers.
You can wash dishes at the main bathroom building.
There’s an outdoor area with a dishwashing sink.
13. You can do laundry at the John Pennekamp State Park campground.
There are laundry machines at the John Pennekamp State Park campground.
This is also located at the main bathroom building.
There are washers and dryers.
This is the most expensive laundry I’ve seen in Florida state parks.
In 2022, it was $3.50 per load for the washer and $2.50 per load for the dryer.
John Pennekamp State Park is the only state park campground in the Florida Keys that has on-site laundry.
14. There is a trash dumpster for campers.
The trash dumpster is located near the gated entry of the campground.
15. There is a dump station for RV campers.
The dump station is also near the gated entry of the campground.
16. You’ll likely get cell service and data at the campground.
John Pennekamp State Park campground isn’t really in a remote area.
Read the reviews of the John Pennekamp campground. (Filter for the word “campground”)
What to pack for your John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park camping trip to go swimming or snorkeling
There are beaches in John Pennekamp Stat Park
Snorkeling in John Pennekamp State Park can be a pretty minimalist activity!
Wear your swimsuit and a pair of regular swimming goggles and you can be off swimming!
But it can also be a good idea to bring swimming goggles or snorkeling gear so you can see underwater at John Pennekamp State Park!
Among other things, you might want to bring a waterproof phone case to John Pennekamp State Park so you can take pictures underwater!
See more about planning your camping trip to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park:
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park campground map
Cost of camping at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park campground
In 2023, the cost of camping at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park campground is a base fee of $36 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.
If you are RV camping, there is another additional fee of $7 per night utility fee.
And then there are taxes.
For 1 night of non-RV camping in John Pennekamp State Park, I paid $50 in 2022. The base price was also $36 at that time.
Included in your John Pennekamp camping fee is the day use fee for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
This means you won’t need to pay extra for regular entry into John Pennekamp State Park.
John Pennekamp State Park campground availability
In short… good luck! 😜
Finding open campsite availability at state park campgrounds in John Pennekamp State Park and the rest of the Florida Keys is known to be (very) difficult.
But don’t worry, not all hope is lost.
If your hopeful John Pennekamp State Park camping trip is just a few months, weeks, or even days away, cancellations do happen.
You just have to get lucky and search for campgrounds immediately after someone cancels.
Your “luck” will increase the more you search, and the closer you are to your travel date.
Searching over and over (and over 😜) does really work.
I spent 2 weeks camping in the Florida Keys in Florida state parks!
My Florida Keys camping trip was in April and May 2022. I made camping reservations in April and May.
I camped twice at John Pennekamp State Park. At the start of my Florida Keys trip and at the end of my Florida Keys trip.
Since John Pennekamp State Park is at the northern end of the Florida Keys, this worked out to be perfect!
But in case you are not able to find availability and/or you just want to get something booked, a good back-up campground near the John Pennekamp State Park campground can be Long Pine Key campground in Everglades National Park. This is just outside Homestead FL.
I also camped there for one night and the campground was practically empty when campgrounds in the Florida Keys were full.
I have found camping availability open up weeks away, days away, and even the day before.
There was one day that I was looking for a campsite for the next night and ALL state park campgrounds in the Florida Keys had availability!!! (Decisions! Which to stay at?! I ended up choosing the John Pennekamp since it was furthest north and I was on my way out of the Florida Keys!)
So, while next night availability is not something to depend on, it’s something you can look for.
1 night stays will generally be easier to find than multi-night stays.
You will find the greatest difficulty in finding open campgrounds for Saturday nights.
How to make camping reservations at John Pennekamp Campground
You make John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park camping reservations at the official Florida state parks camping reservations website.
You can type in John Pennekamp Coral Reef 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.
Checking in to your campsite
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is on google maps.
You will see a sign for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park along the main road.
Driving from Miami to Key Largo, the state park will be on the left side of the road.
Then, once you make the turn, you will drive on the road until you get to 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!
They will likely have you park and go into the office.
While there, check out the bulletin board to see if there’s anything of interest!
You might also get a handout with more campground information.
You’ll also get a tag to put on your car.
This will allow you to get in the park with ease in the future during your stay. It will serve as your John Pennekamp State Park pass.
Then after you’ve checked in, off you go to the campground!
You’ll follow the sign to the camping area.
On your way to the campground, you’ll pass the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park dive shop, as well as the boat parking lot.
You will arrive at the campground entry which is a gated entry. You’ll receive the code to get in at check-in.
After the state park closes, there is also a gate. You will receive the gate code for the state park entry gate too at check-in. This means that you will be able to go in and out of the state park at any time, even past closing time.
If you think you will not arrive for check-in at John Pennekamp State Park campground before closing time, you should call the state park on the day of. They will probably give you the gate code at that time along with any other further instructions.
The listed phone number for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is 305-676-3777.
Then, once you have made it through the gated entry of the campground, off you go to find your campsite!
More about John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park camping
See more about camping in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park from Florida State Parks:
The campground has 42 reservable campsites, each with 30-amp, 50-amp and 110 electrical outlets.
Each site also has water and sewer hookup, a picnic table and a grill.
Please put your trash in the dumpsters located near the entrance to the campgrounds.
Pets are permitted in accordance with our pet policy.
Most sites can accommodate an RV length of 40 feet; a few sites can accommodate a few feet longer.
Last checked: Florida State Parks, January 2023
And that’s a bit about camping at the Johh Pennekamp State Park campground!
More camping in Florida… and then some!
- Florida Keys state park camping
- Bahia Honda State Park camping (Florida Keys)
- Oleta River State Park camping cabins (North Miami)
- Southwest Florida state park camping
- Florida Panhandle state park camping
- Things to do in the Florida Keys
- Florida Keys map
HAPPY CAMPING IN JOHN PENNEKAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK!
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