Even before we owned a camper, I knew that Gamble Rogers campground was difficult to get into. Some of the campsites are right on the ocean, and lots of people want to camp on the ocean.
My son is a fire fighter and we schedule our short camping trips around his days off. When I searched for a campground in February, the spot at Gamble Rogers showed up. One opening was left and it was for mid-week. I snatched it up. We lucked out because it was a site on the outer part of the loop, and we even had a tiny view of the river.
Gamble Rogers state park campground is located in Flagler on a strip of land between the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) and the ocean. RV campsites are located on both sides of the road, and include a few “tent only” sites on the river loop. The tent campsites are nicely shaded!
All campers must check in at the Ranger station on the River side (west). There is a turnaround for RVs heading back to the ocean side.
We stayed on the river side and this campground area is newer. The Ranger at the gate confirmed that. This was the first time camping that I had my ID checked, for the senior citizen discount.
According to the park website, the Gamble Rogers campground will be closed indefinitely for road work. This begins in Summer 2024.
The Campsite
We had campsite #54 on the River side. The whole site was gravel, which was nice because in Florida it’s usually lots of sand. The entire river area, except for the tent campsites, is wide open and in the sun. This would make for hot camping in the summer.
Also, there is little privacy. We were not super close to anyone, but there are few trees at all.
The Campground at the River Loop
At Gamble, all campers have access to both the river and ocean. Just take a short hike (walk or bide ride) across the highway to access either. It’s possible to take a morning walk along the beach, and then take a kayak out on the river in the afternoon (bring your own!).
When we checked in, I asked about kayak rentals and they no longer do that! I was disappointed, and they really need to update the info. I had planned on kayaking, and the river was beautiful and calm on our only full day.
Just down the road from the riverside camping loop, we found a bunch of picnic tables and access for kayaks. There is also a boat ramp, and places to fish.
On a windy night we could hear the ocean at our site!
The wind was ridiculous on the day we arrived and set up the campsite. That night we could hear the waves crashing all night long. The second night was calm and we no longer could hear the ocean.
Oceanfront Camping
Everyone wants the beach sites and they are hard to book. About half of them, on the ocean side, backed right up to the road, BUT there is a big berm that seems to block out road traffic. The sites are very close together. The road is sand, but the summer construcion I believe will fix that.
The campers lined up along the ocean did not all have an ocean view, except for a few lucky campers. Most sites have lots of vegetation which blocks any view (see my photos below). At least this is how it looked when my son and I took a walk along the beachside sites.
I took these photos from the beach where I could see some of the tops of the RVs. They obviously could not see the ocean from their campers. There is one set of stairs that leads to the beach from the campground. There is at least one “look out” area that does not have beach access.
The ocean sites are closed in by a gate so only camping patrons can drive in. We walked the length of the sites to the dump station and bathrooms. Apparently both the ocean and river loops have their own dump stations.
I took a walk on the brown beach sand. At this time of year the beach is basically empty. A snowy egret flew down and landed right in front of me – probably looking for food because clueless people feed wildlife!
Walking, Riding, Fishing and Swimming
If you like to walk, there are plenty of places to go at this campground. I did try to navigate a trail in the woods, but it was very muddy and slippery. We’d had a bunch of rain just before this. But the campground loop, river roads and beach are there for walkers. This also applies to bikers, except the beach. This is soft sand and I’m not sure bike riding is a good idea. But the main road has a long sidewalk and my son rode about 5 miles on it.
Fishing can be done on the river or ocean – be sure to buy a license at the Florida Fish and Wildlife site. If you are over 65, fishing is free and no license is required – just a driver’s license. Year long passes or shorter 3 and 7 (I think) day passes can be purchased.
They offer kayak tours, if you happen to be camping during that time. They DO NOT RENT KAYAKS (at the time of this post Feb.2024), even though their information says so.
