Floridians who camp know that Anastasia State Park is beautiful. It can be difficult to get a campsite, due to the popularity. It is located very close to historic, and touristy St. Augustine, which is part of the draw. But, the biggest reason to camp at Anastasia is the access to the beautiful, four-mile beach and calm river / inlet. I love to camp near the water, as do many others.
All campgrounds in Florida that have beach access are tough to book. Everyone wants to camp “on the beach”. I am currently trying very hard to get a spot on the water at Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys. That’s another story, and compared to booking a state campground in the Keys, Anastasia was easy!
Florida residents are allowed to book campsites 11 months out, while everyone else has a 10 month limit. But there are loads of Florida residents vying for the best sites so don’t think it’s easy because I live here full time!
Back to my camping trip to Anastasia. I don’t remember how I got the site but I think I was viewing sites at some other campground and Anastasia popped up with available sites.
Getting There and Leaving
I just want to mention that we had about a 1.5 hour drive north and it was pretty easy to get to Anastasia State Park. After our two-day stay, and we packed up and left, turning south onto the main, 4 lane road, took quite a while – there was a lot of traffic. My son, who drives a firetruck for a living, was not concerned, but I was stressing out. It seemed like we’d be stuck there forever!
The Campsite
We stayed in the Shark Eye loop in site 38. If you look at a campground map, the site number is 37, so I don’t know what is up with that. Whatever the actual number, we were in the second site in on the loop. We had fairly close neighbors that we could see on both sides. Sitting outside meant either staring at our truck – which had to be parked diagonally right in front – or our neighbor’s camper. We did have all woods behind us that led up to the playground. Occasionally I heard kids, which is fine. It just wasn’t a very large or private site.
Also, the electric box was up near the road, which meant we had to pull the camper up closer to the road to connect. The truck had to block the road until we unhitched. The site was fairly small, but as I walked and biked around, I noticed that many sites are tight. Even if they are surrounded by trees and greenery, the site itself is rather cramped.
When booking a campsite online, read the description of each site! Many have a warning that there are trees and low branches and to take care when backing in. Some sites also only accommodate shorter campers, or tent campers only. So even though the campground contains seven loops of sites totaling 139, larger size rigs are limited. In fact the first two loops say that they cannot accommodate larger campers. (That is Sea Bean and Queen Conch.)
The information page mentions that the max RV length allowed is 38 feet. And I’m betting there are very few sites that would accommodate that size.
The Campground and Beach
The campground, with ocean beach and Salt Run river / inlet access is beautiful. It did not disappoint. The whole place was neat and clean. This beach area is really gorgeous. The wide area of protected dunes is impressive, and is home to a rare little mouse of some kind.
I visited the beach during high tide. There was still plenty of beach for sitting or walking. I would have loved to see the beach at low tide. I did not swim, but walked in the warm water. Very few people were enjoying the beach, or maybe it was just that the beach is four miles long and they were spread out. Lifeguards are present from Memorial Day until the end of summer, when this park must be packed.
Getting to the beach took some effort. It was about a mile from our campsite and then a long walk from the parking lot, through the sand dunes, and finally onto the beach. It wouldn’t have been bad if the weather wasn’t so hot!
The main beach access, which I did not take, has a Mobi Mat to make walking in the soft sand easier. There is also one leading to the water at the rental shop, which you can see below. I rode my bike here early on the day we were leaving.
Our Experience
We only had one full day to spend, and I walked the beach at high tide while my son rode his bike. There were very few people on the beach, but we were here during the middle of the week.
My son got food from the concession stand and was not impressed. It was expensive, and he had a long wait considering there were only a handful of customers. The gift shop is cute and has t-shirts, mugs and other things in case you want a souvenir. I got myself a mug – I like to support the state parks – and it will be my new camping mug.
Kayaking
If we had stayed longer, and if the weather had not been so darn hot, I would have liked to go kayaking. A one-hour rental for a kayak was $40, which is high in my opinion! There is a little spot just down the road where a kayak can be launched and I considered bringing my inflatable kayak next time. But, when I saw all the oysters at low tide, it made me reconsider. Oysters are very sharp, and I don’t have any idea where they could be hiding in that water.
The photos below were taken during low tide in the early morning right in front of the Kayak rental shop.
Additional Information
The Amphitheater is right behind the campground. If a concert takes place, apparently the sound is easily heard in the campground. No one was playing when we camped but George Thorogood was playing the night we left. Darn, I would have enjoyed that free concert!
There is a trail that leads to a gate for the Amphitheater. It is just past the Sand Dollar loop, on the left. At check-in you will get a code for the gate.
Glamping at Anastasia
On the first loop, you will find some little houses for rent. I guess they call this Glamping. However, none of these houses have running water, including a toilet or sink. Guests must use the bath houses. Each house we saw was occupied, and with more going in it appeared by the empty lots on the loop.
Wildlife
Lots of wrens visited our campsite. They would hop all around and under the bikes and camper. We could hear the chirping of their babies in two different spots out in the woods behind us. It was pretty cool, as I love birds and especially wrens. We saw squirrels and heard what was probably raccoons in the night.
Unfortunately it was HOT while we were there in the beginning of May (did I mention this?), so walking and bike riding took place early in the day. Each camping loop is perfect for walking or biking and there is a sidewalk on the main entrance road. I encountered a lot of people jogging when I was out for an early ride.
Florida is having a drought and when we camped we could not have a campfire. We had no bug problems at all during our stay.
I want to return to Anastasia and stay longer. Once we visit a campground it is easier to plan the second trip. If you are planning a visit, read more on this page about Experiences and Amenities at Anastasia.
The Dump Station
One of the most impressive things about this campground is the three-lane dump station. Most state parks have only one as I recall, except Silver Springs, which has two (I think). Long Point, in Melbourne, had two, but that is not a State Park.
We have not camped outside of Florida, but what is typical here is that campsites will have electric and water but no sewer hookups. A few campgrounds will have Full Hookups – like Salt Springs (not a state park), or a few sites that are Full Hookups – like Silver Springs. Every state park does have a dump station, but you might have to wait in a line to dump the tanks.
Have you camped at Anastasia? I’d love to hear about your experience.
