We took our third camping trip to Long Point in Melbourne in July. Why would we camp in Florida in July? I kept wondering that. The answer is because the actual camping part is fine. It’s the packing to leave, unpacking at the site, packing up at the site and unpacking at home, in the miserable heat, which is not fun. We pulled into our site on a Monday afternoon, and left Wednesday morning.
The Campsite
I was excited to stay in my chosen campsite. However, I was a bit disappointed at the trash, and lack of care given to get our site ready. A plastic water bottle was floating in the water, along with a can top, paper towels (?) were crumpled in the woods, and a soda can was in the little fishing access area.
This is not at all like what we see at the Florida State Park campgrounds. (Long Point is a Brevard County campground.) It is normal when camping to see a team of cleaners come into an empty site and rake, clean out the fire pit, and fix things before the next campers arrive. I’m pretty sure no one did a thing between the previous tenants here and us.
Our campsite faced west and had a southerly breeze most of the time. Being outside was manageable until the bugs became overwhelming. Evenings couldn’t be spent outdoors because of the no-see-ums (I have a photo down this page of one biting me). They swarm, and bite and can be seen, but they are very tiny.
A beautiful patch of Bay hops, or beach morning glory, was growing near the woods and beach. Butterflies visited all the time.
We also saw a super fabulous sunset the night we were packing up. We fought the bugs while we filled the truck and took photos. See more sunset photos here.
Our History
My son and I have camped at Long Point campground twice before. Our first trip opened our eyes to the possibilities of having a really beautiful campsite. On our first trip, we had one of the worst, smallest, sites in the place, in my opinion. It was very small and uneven, and even though we had a water view and access, the beach was shared with people in the campsite next to us.
This was the trip when a better – really the best – campsite caught my eye. At the time, I’d already booked another site. On the second trip, I took my chances and stayed further south on the island, and it turned out to be a beautiful view, but with horrible with loud and obnoxious campers right next to us. It is nearly impossible to find privacy on this island.
I knew that I still needed to camp in the “best spot”. When I found an opening for July, I grabbed it.
Third time’s the charm they say. Finally, this July I stayed in the site I’d had my eye on after our first trip. And I must say, I was correct. It is one of the best sites on the island as far as privacy.
Which site is this? I’m sure you are waiting for the number and sadly I will not give it out. When the best, rare sights are advertised, guess what? Everyone wants that site. It means that whenever I try to get this site again, it will be booked.
It’s not to say there aren’t many lovely sites at Long Point, but many sites are pretty well crammed in, and there is little to no vegetation between them.
I expected sand, but there is pretty much nothing but sand at this site. It was all inside our camper no matter how hard we tried to keep it out.
The Site Next Door
Wow, they had a grassy site and nice big, calm beach. This is a nice spot, but is small.
Oh, the Water
Having a beach in your front yard, and water access to fish, kayak and take a dip is pretty sweet. Or, could be.
The water was stagnant and very mucky. The bottom is not nice and sandy, it is muck and filled with sharp shells. Water shoes are a must! I went in about as far as my knees and dunked to try and cool off. This is part of the saltwater Indian River.
Then, I saw a Mantis shrimp skimming along the shoreline. Yikes… I didn’t want to get punched by that thing!
If the water had been nice and clear, and the beach had nice soft sand, this place would be perfect for me. As it was, I could just imagine a gator lurking in the bushes. Alligators don’t generally like salt water but they can be in it.
Kayaking
I went kayaking, and there was a lot of brown gunk floating in the water. In other words, the water was not inviting. I did take a few quick dips from our beach- just because it was so incredibly hot. The water had to be 90 degrees, so it didn’t help much as far as cooling.
Due to currents and wind, kayaking was a struggle, and not very relaxing. I got very few photos because as soon as I stopped paddling, I began to turn and go the wrong way.
As I headed up along the island, I saw a lot of boats tied off at campsites. This is ideal. Bring a boat and then have it right in your front yard to hop on and take a ride. (This campground has a boat ramp, and a place to park a trailer.)
I went all the way around Scout Island and managed to get a quick picture of our site on the way back.
I loved visiting Scout Island the last two times we camped here, but it was simply too hot to make the trek this time. I also kayaked either very early, or later in the day.
The Critters
We saw loads of birds and one flew right overhead with a fish in its claws. At one point I could see dolphins jumping way out. A manatee was seen very close to our beach. A yellow rat snake (harmless) slithered across the front of the outdoor carpet one afternoon.
A raccoon walked across the beach while my son was sitting out in the chair. Later it climbed up into a very tall palm tree – See the tree in my kayaking photo above – yes, that tall one! He was sitting up there in the morning too. I watched him (and he watched me) while I had my coffee.
Please don’t feed the wildlife. I’m sure it’s why this little guy came so close.
There were many no-see-ums biting especially in the evening. (You will have them any time you camp near the coast.) They are so bad that you can’t stay outside. We did not set up our screen house, but that may help. Our visit was for only one full day, so it wasn’t worth the effort in the heat. Plus the screen house is hot inside… we didn’t need that.
Sebastian Inlet
We took the truck down to Sebastian Inlet, which is only a few miles south. I had planned to maybe get into the water, but it was very crowded with loads of kids, and the tide was out. The swimming area was just a big cove along the river.
There is a state park campground – Sebastian Inlet Beach Campground – which seems pretty nice. It has a row of sites that have water views. Also the ocean beach is very close, within walking distance.
However, I checked for available sites when I got home, and there is literally nothing until next May – 2025. Northerners snatch up these sites for their winter stays.
Pros and Cons of Long Point Campground
Pros
This is pretty much a repeat of what I’ve said before. For $50 a night, having water access in your front yard, is pretty cool. For me, the water is the only reason to stay here.
Views are awesome, if you have a site with a view, and many campsites have spectacular views, and they don’t have to be right on the water.
Fishing and boating – If you can bring a boat, this is a fabulous campground to use. I would definitely like that. We can’t pull our boat when we have the camper, but many campsites did have boats anchored. We did not fish, but there are lots of places to fish.
Lots of places to walk the dog (Scout Island too), and there is a playground for the kids, I think. Ride bikes along the big island loop.
When using the dump station, there are two, which means less chance you will be waiting in a line. We’ve never had to wait.
Swimming is not recommended (unless you use the Scout Island beach), but Sebastian beach is just down the road. We paid $7 to get in, and it covered the entire day, even if you left and returned. Swim in the cove on one side, or the ocean beach on the other (the fee covers both). Red flags were out – dangerous currents – and no one was on the beach when we visited.
Cons
What I didn’t like was the lack of cleanliness at the site. Check out time is 11:00AM and check in time is 2:00PM. I assume there is a three hour difference for cleaning up the site. It didn’t affect our stay, but left a bad impression.
We also drove down to the fresh water and ice machine, to get ice in our cooler and the machine was out of order. I never used the bath house, so have no opinion there.
Campsites can be very close, and you have to hope and pray that you have good neighbors, with quiet dogs (and people).
Long Point is worth visiting, for many reasons.
