Outstanding park. Some of the nicest people we have ever met. They turned out to help everyone. The employees were also great. Sites are nicely shades and about 35' wide but short. A 40' rig would be a squeeze. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We stayed here in high season without reservations and had to take the most expensive waterside site. We checked in at 2pm and had to wait until 7pm for our site because the party in it was using the beach and did not wish to leave. The management gave us a site near the dumpster "to wait in until they leave, we really can't do anything about it." The campground itself is very crowded, dense with vegetation and seems to be a community on its own. Every night there is a BYOB cocktail gathering at the nice beach. There were a lot of quite old vehicles of different types (old VW bus with tents attached, etc.) but the vegetation was good cover. Looks like a lot of people return year after year. The beach is very nice sand and water and good sized. Nice little snack bar/bar and dock. Considering how few beaches there are like this in the Keys that have a campground on them at any price, it's hard to complain. It certainly beats the KOA Fiesta Key by a mile. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Although expensive, park has to be the nicest we have stayed in to this point. We opted for the beachfront site ...right on Florida Bay. Beach was very clean as was swimming area. Sunsets were nothing short or spectacular. We had no trouble making reservations. We found sites clean and adequate for our 37 ft motorhome with slide and toad. Shopping is close to resort. Fuel prices (away from resort) were the same as mainland if not cheaper. Laundry facilities are a little expensive. Park was well maintained and security was excellent!!! The only problem was lack of access to propane as attendant had left for vacation during our stay. For our money America Outdoors Camper Resort will be the only resort we use on our next rip to the "Keys". We camped here in a Motorhome.

We arrived at night and had no hope of backing into our assigned site. Roads are ridiculously narrow and cars are parked sideways in front of each site. Sites are very short. Had to take a lousy site on a corner so we could back in. Horrible noise from highway kept entire family up all night. We left the next morning and they refused to refund balance of deposit. Many sites have permanent residents. Beach was okay, but not too impressive. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

I rate this park better than our experience here because we were there right after Christmas and the place was very crowded. All the good spots were full with seasonals and the only sites left when we checked in backed up to the highway. We should have made reservations earlier, but did not know better. If you can get a good site by or near the water, this would be a great place to stay. Some sites actually are right on the ocean with GREAT views. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Very narrow roads and cars parked on roads because sites are not big enough for both rig and cars. Sites are narrow for slides. Odor from on site sewer tratment can be very bad when wind shifts from west to east. Prices in store really out to clip you. Noise from highway is constant. Beach is good. Generally clean but staff needs a refresher course in being pleasant although they blamed everything on owner. Generally over priced for site and service. We camped here in a camper.

This is a nice park and there were no mosquitoes. Staff was very pleasant. In fact, we stayed here twice on our holiday. We would return. We camped here in a Motorhome.

These are privately owned sites that are rented. Mostly permanents. We requested oceanfront and paid $110 per night over Christmas holidays. Trust me the only sites to have are ocean front because the rest are small. We camped here in a Motorhome.

When we pulled in late morning the front doors were chained with a padlock! They were in the office. The place has been through a hurricane in the last couple of months, and has not recovered. The laundry facility was riddled with rusted old machines that were $2 per machine per load! The only redeeming quality was that they just finished re-wiring the 50 amp service so as long as we didn't leave the motorhome we were OK. Certainly not worth the fee. It appeared that there were lots of abandoned trailers in the park, which was of concern to us. We camped here in a Motorhome.

With all the accolades bestowed upon this park we were set up for a disappointment, but as it turns out this was a fantastic place to stay, even on a crowded New Years holiday week. The campground itself is good, but not great. It lacks a sewer connection (there is a dump station – but they have strict blue boy rules), as well as Wi-Fi, laundry, and privacy between sites. On the positive side, it is small at under 50 sites (and getting a spot here via reservations is difficult), being a state park it is a fraction of the cost of the private camps on the Keys, it does have shower facilities, and many sites have 50 amps as well as water. Sites are along one row, each site backing into dense tropical forest (though satellite worked fine for us). One of the rows has a small murky pond beyond the trees, which I don’t consider ‘waterfront’ as one of the campground guides described. After three days here, I am still not sure if pets are allowed. I’ve seen it written as both ways, and have not seen any pets. I don’t see why they wouldn’t be allowed, however, since there is a paucity of wildlife in this park. There were plenty of Ibis birds, who come begging for food, and are beautiful to watch, but that’s about it. This park is the main attraction on Key Largo, so staying here gives one an advantage because the park is so overrun with day use visitors from Miami that there are typically long lines to get in via the single entrance kiosk, and after lots fill, they close it off. If you are camping here you have to wait in the same long lines, so we only returned to the park in the late afternoons to avoid the lines. The coral reef that is the park’s main purpose is located about 7 miles offshore in open ocean, and without your own boat (there is a boat launch, $10) you must take either a snorkeling tour or a glass bottom boat tour to get there, each lasting about 2.5 hours and costing around $25. Private tour boats leave from other areas of Key Largo. We took the park’s glass bottom boat option, and thoroughly enjoyed the fully narrated tour. The boat meanders slowly through the shallow mangrove channels adjacent to the main park area, then zips across the open ocean to the same reef site where snorkelers and divers head to. The docent describes the abundant sea life display seen through the glass bottom for a good half hour, which is long enough that those with sensitive constitutions should take Dramamine before leaving. It is sold on board. Our boat was full and we had to squeeze in to see anything, although we were impressed with the show that included barracuda. Advance reservations are recommended. There are also canoe trails through the mangroves next to the main part of the park, and you can rent a kayak or canoe for $12/hour (plenty of time to do the whole trail). It was fun to canoe the winding trails, avoiding being entangled by mangroves in some areas, but we did not see any wildlife except for a few fish. The mangroves are not even preferred by alligators since there is no muddy bank; the highly protected mangroves have a unique above ground root system in the salt water environment. The only place to snorkel in the park without taking a boat is a small sandy beach near the visitors center, where there are smaller fish darting through the sea grass and a re-created shipwreck to gawk at 100 feet out. The beach (good for children/novice snorkelers) was completely packed when we were there, although the swimming area was more sparsely used, perhaps indicating chilly water. The small food concession had surprisingly good and reasonably priced breakfast and lunch items. There is a bike trail adjacent to Hwy 1, so you can ride to shopping centers and some restaurants within 1-2 miles. I would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Camped in the middle of July and it was extremely hot with no breezes because of all the trees. The mosquitoes were really really bad even with bug spray. The park was nice for a state park. We camped here in a Motorhome.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida $26 plus taxes The last time we camped here was close to 18 years ago and it was raining, cold and windy. We stopped for an overnighter in May this time and there was a nice breeze, sun and clear skies. The camp sites are ok not as nice as some of the other ones in the keys and none on the ocean but the rest of the park is great. Mangrove trails, boating, scuba tours and snorkeling tours. A visitor center with all types of fish, information and movie. Three beaches and at Cannon Beach a Spanish ship was sunk for a coral reef. You can see tons of fish and old cannons there – we had a great day snorkeling. The last time we were there my oldest daughter about 10 at the time and I went out on the snorkeling tour and there was a storm – it was tough snorkeling and the boat swung around and almost hit us on the head so this time my husband and I stayed closer to shore and it was great. Beautiful weather and a great place to camp. What was interesting though we just spent a week in the Keys camping – Bahia Honda, Curry Hammock, Long Key and John Pennicamp is the only one that had a campground full sign out and it was full yet if you make reservations it is easier to get into this campground than the other three. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Location and price combine to make this an excellent choice for the Florida Keys. The sites we chose had enough room for 2 35ft motorhomes with slides on both sides to open and put out the awnings. We chose the campground because it is at the base of the Keys, and to enjoy the coral reef. It was incredibly convenient to walk to the snorkel tour and glass bottom boat tour. The coral reef tour is a must see. Since this is one of the few places to visit a Coral Reef in the continental US, please take advantage of it. The showers were clean and washers and dryers were located at the bath house. There were two young men using their computers while doing laundry. Besides the snorkel tours, you can boat,kayak, dive or swim at the park. So if you like watersports this is a great spot. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Pennekamp is a fantastic park if you enjoy water sports are aren't looking for a RV resort type place. This is a State Park not an resort. With that being said..what a great place with so many activities to keep you busy. We camped here for 4 days and are looking forward to returning. Sites are deep and not all that wide but still plenty of room. The park is close to all your needs. Pubs,places to eat and shopping/supplies. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

Beautiful park and facilities except for the camping area. The campsites are on dirty dusty roads, everytime a vehicle goes by your in a cloud of dust. I was on the main road in the camping area. For such a nice park they should have planned the camping area better. I was booked for 5 nights and left after 1. Went next door to Key Largo Kampground and Marina which is my usual place to stay in Key Largo. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We like to camp at state parks and at up-scale RV resorts. And this state park is now one of our favorites. We have already made reservations for April of 08. The sites are not wide but some are very deep, and we had no problem backing our 30-foot Class A in and leaving my motorcycle trailer attached. For the price, this is the one of the best deals in a camp site the Florida Keys’ has to offer. Amenities include: Very clean bathrooms and shows, 50 amp hookups, good water pressure, space to leave a boat in the water, two nice beaches, bike paths, tour boats leaving the park for the reef. The only set back is there is no sewage hookup. And bring a couple DVD with ya… Not much TV reception. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We were very disappointed in this park. The sites were very close together and very short; there was no room for the table beside our trailer and barely room in the rear. It is a good location for visiting the Everglades, and if you are into boating and scuba diving you would probably be happy here. We would not come back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

Stayed here 3 times, 1 week each, over the past several years. Clean, quite, secure (there's a gate that is closed after hours, they give you the combo to get in). Nice visitor center with large aquarium containing various fish and sharks. Pet's were allowed in the park this year, which must be a new policy. Snorkeling and scuba diving tours are available right from the park, at a slightly lower rate than the private operators on Key Largo. However, I'm sure the boats are packed during peak periods. I dove 3 days with the on site scuba shop this past trip. Nice sized catamaran with head. Each trip was about half full, which was nice, would have been a nightmare if full. I recommend Quiesence if you want small boat diving with personal attention. Cons: bugs bugs bugs. Mosquito's and noseeums are so bad, you can't be outside, especially at dusk. I had ant infestations in the RV each time I've been there. Good luck getting in without a reservation during the busy seasons. Some sites can be pretty tight for big rigs. All that said, it's a great value in the keys. I'll be back for 3 weeks next year. We camped here in a Motorhome.

While this park is widely known for the coral reef, it could (with a bit of work) also be known for being a nice place to stay. At the present time, however, this is not the case. The sites are VERY small, the shore power is volatile (it dropped to almost 107v and we had to fire up the generator), the water pressure is low (gauged it at 37) and the "famous coral reef" was a disappointment (at $30 per person, a snorkeling excursion to the "famous reef" yielded little more than a view of brown rocks amid grass and sand). All in all, it's not a very good place to camp. Try Bahia Honda State Park or Curry Hammock State Park instead - both are nearby and a LOT less crowded (and you'll also save $30 on a lame snorkeling tour). We camped here in a Motorhome.

The park has a lot to offer with nature trails, snorkeling, visitor center to name a few. Our site was located next to a stream and we enjoyed watching the snowy eggrets. We camped here in a Tent.

Great location but extremely tight quarters for big rigs. We were there in a 40' motorhome and could maneuver our way into only one site (#75). All other sites were impossible to get into because full-time residents have built their awnings and parking areas so close to the road, there is not enough room to turn. The sites (once in them) are spacious and as others have said, very tropical and comfortable. Wi-Fi was available only in the office building. Site #75 is located right on the water and at the bottom of a one-way, U-shaped access road. Everyone we saw went in AND out what is supposedly the "in-side" of the U. The reason? The "out-side" of the U is extremely narrow (crowded by stored boats, telephone poles, and assorted buildings) and overgrown by palm trees. Basically, a place I would NOT recommend for big rigs (40' or more). Otherwise, an okay place for a short visit and a nice stop-over on the way to Key West. The Fish House (out the main gate and to the right about 1/2 mile on US1) is terrific. The conch chowder is incredible as is the Key Lime Pie. We camped here in a Motorhome.

Stopped here on our way to Bluewater Key RV Resort. Would have stayed at Pennecamp, but they were doing renovations. Glad we stayed here, though. The folks were very nice. We got site 48, close to the water. Grocery store close by. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

The extra money for a canal-side site is well worth it. With our own dock, finished patio, and "chickee hut" (thatched cover over picnic table and patio) right on the canal, we were in a tropical paradise! The campground is full of well-thought-out and designed activities: a playground, sand volleyball court, shuffleboard court, horseshoes, basketball court, covered picnic area with TV, and large BBQ grill for tenters. Great area for kayaking and boating. Add the typical clean laundry room and showers, and we couldn't ask for anything more than a spa! This is a terrific campground. Sites are spacious, staff helpful, and we wish we were here longer! We camped here in a Motorhome.