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Camping options near Daytona for Daytona 500, Bike Week, Spring Break…

The best Daytona Beach camping is found in nearby state, county and national parks, wildlife refuges and forests, and demand is high during special events at Daytona Internatinal Speedway.

Our Daytona campground guide helps meet the challenge by showing you what may be available during special events and beyond.

Special Event Pop-up Campgrounds

During special events, sites are available at the Speedway’s infield and/or outside the track on speedway grounds in combination with event tickets. As you might expect, these accommodations are expensive but attractive to die-hard race fans. For more information, visit Daytona International Speedway.

Speed Weeks, Bike Week, Coke 400 & Biketoberfest. Finish Line RV Park, 217 Fentress Blvd. Daytona Beach. (Behind Hooters) Private special event campground for RV’s (no tents!), one block from Daytona Speedway. Clean hot Showers, 25 acres with some paved and tree covered sites, water throughout the park, portable toilets serviced daily, on-site pump truck, 24 hour security. For pricing, availability and reservations, go to finishline.com.

Daytona Speedway Event Schedule

Rolex 24: January 25-28, 2024
Speed Week: February 14-18, 2024
Daytona 500: February 18, 2024
Daytona Bike Weeks: March 1-10, 2024
Jeep Beach: April 19 – 28, 2024
Wawa 250: August 23, 2024
Coke Zero 400: August 24, 2024
Biketoberfest: October 17-20, 2024

More infowww.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

Bike Week Only. Whiskey Creek Campground, 74 County Road 202 Bunnell, FL 32110. Shaded Oak covered camp sites, clean shower facilities with hot water, 4 miles from Bruce Rossmyer’s Harley Davidson. $20 per person plus a one time fee for pop-up campers/RVs/trailers of $1 for every foot. NO hookups. For reservations, call (386) 437-6580 or email [email protected]

Bike Week & Race Events. Crazyhorse Campground, 1479 Tomoka Farms Rd, Daytona Beach, FL 32174. RV and Tent camping, no hookups on the grounds of Daytona Flea and Farmers Market. RV Water fill-ups, pump service, hot showers & sinks, electric and primitive camping. Reserve by calling 1-877-272-9334. E-mail: [email protected]

Bike Week & Biketoberfest. Daytona 200 Motorcycle Club, 3602 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, Florida 32124. Spacious campground with 63 campsites. Tent rentals 10′ x 13′ (2 person) tents with clean, comfortable air mattresses. Use of Clubhouse, including a Pool Table, Dart Board. Men’s and Women’s restrooms and showers. Reservations online. For more information, email: [email protected]

Bike Week Only. Fastlane Campground at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, 3150 E New York Ave, Deland, FL 32714. Full RV hookups $55 a night, includes 2 people. Primitive tent camping $15 a night per person or $90 Weekly. 24 Hour Security. Campground features hot showers, restrooms, free Wi-Fi, food, vendors, movie nights. Burning Bike, Motorcycle Swap Meet & Bike Shows. Book online. For information, call Troy at (386) 801-1810 or email [email protected]


Florida State park campgrounds

These state park campgrounds are fabulous but are usually booked solid during event weeks.

The are worth checking for cancellations this year, but your best bet is to plan ahead for next year.

Florida residents can book a site in state park campgrounds up to 11 months in advance. The reservations window for non-residents 10 months in advance.

Tomoka River State Park
Tomoka River State Park

Tomoka River State Park

RV and Tent | 18 Miles from Daytona | MAP |

Tomoka State Park is surrounded by water and offers excellent paddling, biking, boating and fishing.

Tomoka is also the gateway to the Scenic Ormond Loop Trail, a route popular with bikers, bicyclists and Sunday drives, and it’s one of the premier stops along the Great Florida Birding Trail with more than 160 species in residence or passing through during seasonal migrations.

There are 100 well-shaded campsites. Most are deep (34′ max), spacious and private. All but a few pads are hard-pack sand and coquina shell, so they accommodate tents as well as RVs.

Each campsite has electric and water, picnic table, lantern post and a grill. The campground has three restrooms with showers and a dump station. Pets are allowed.

The park is replete with shoreline access to saltwater marshes harboring 90 species of fish.

Tomoka River State Park, 2099 North Beach Street, Ormond Beach. $24 per night plus $7/night utility fee, state and local taxes and a one-time, non-refundable $6.70 reservation fee. Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org or call 800-326-3621.

Read More: Tomoka State Park is the gateway to the Ormond Scenic Loop

Gamble Rogers State Park, Flagler Beach

RV and Tent | 25 Miles | MAP |

Gamble Rogers is not a very big park as state parks go, but the campsites are beachfront shielded by dunes along a beautiful 1/2-mile stretch of orange sand.

There are two campgrounds, a sandy oceanfront section of 34 sites behind the dunes with beach access, and a newer riverside loop of 34 sites with pads on the west side of State Road A1A.

The riverside section of this 145-acre park has hiking trails and a boat ramp on the Intracoastal Waterway offering access to saltwater marshes on the Matanzas and Tomoka rivers.

A paved bike path parallels A1A to the adjacent North Peninsula State Park, a much larger park with two miles of beautiful pristine beaches.

Campsites have water and electric, picnic table, fire ring and access to a communal dump station. Beachside, the sites are close together without any vegetation or privacy, while the riverside campground affords more space and privacy between sites.

On the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, folk musicians gather to honor the park’s namesake, folksinger James Gamble Rogers, who drowned here trying to save a struggling swimmer.

Gamble Rogers State Park, 3100 S. State Road A1A, Flagler Beach, FL 32136. Reservations: $28 a night, plus $7/night utility fee, state and local taxes and a one-time, non-refundable $6.70 reservation fee. Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org or call 800-326-3621.

Read More: A celebration of song and sea

Blue Spring State Park, Orange City

RV, Tent and Cabins | 28 Miles | MAP |

Blue Spring State Park is on the eastern edge of a vast basin of preserved lands, wildlife refuges and state parks that protect the watershed of the oddly north-flowing St. John’s River, making this park an ideal launching pad for paddlers.

A magnet for bathers in summer and a refuge for manatees in winter, the quarter-mile-long spring run flows through an idyllic setting of dense tropical vegetation to the St. John’s River.

I found tent camping here a bit uncomfortable and would opt for the RV or one of the park’s six cabins the next time I visit.

The park’s 51 campsites all have water and electric, picnic table and grill. Restrooms with hot showers nearby, and there is a dump station on site. Pets are welcome at the campground, but not in the cabins.

Blue Spring State Park, 2100 W. French Ave., Orange City. 51 campsites (tent or RV) @ $24/night plus $7/night utility fee, state and local taxes and a one-time, non-refundable $6.70 reservation fee; 6 cabins, $95. Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org or call 800-326-3621.

Read More: Manatees in winter, swimming in summer, beauty all year

Faver Dykes State Park, St. Augustine

RV and Tent | 42 Miles | MAP |

This tranquil park borders Pellicer Creek into the open marshes that frame the Intracoastal Waterway south of St. Augustine, and it’s a quick hop off Interstate 95 at Exit 298.

Pellicer Creek is a designated state paddle trail, and kayakers have miles of waterways and coastal marshes to explore. With its proximity to the coast, the park lies in the path of the Atlantic Coastal Flyway, giving it extra panache for bird lovers.

The campground’s 30 sites are situated in a shady hardwood hammock, each buffered from neighboring sites by natural vegetation. All campsites have water, electric, fire ring/grill and a picnic table. Dump station is on site.  (Maximum RV length is 30 feet).

Faver-Dykes State Park is a part of a 16,000-acre conservation corridor that includes the Mantanzas State Forest, which features primitive camping for boondocking in addition to hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Needless to say, the kayak trails are spectacular.

Faver-Dykes State Park, 1000 Faver-Dykes Road, St. Augustine. $18/night plus $7/night utility fee, state and local taxes and a one-time, non-refundable $6.70 reservation fee. Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org or call 800-326-3621.

Related story: Camping and kayaking near historic St Augustine


County park campgrounds

Little known to all but locals and savvy snowbirds, Volusia County maintains three county park campgrounds.

Security: Parks are gated after dark. Groundskeeper may live on site but patrols are limited to local police. Have phone numbers for appropriate law enforcement agencies. Pets on leash are OK. Glass containers are not allowed. Otherwise, alcohol rules vary from park to park.


Fishing pier on the nature boardwalk at Lake Ashby Park.
Fishing pier on the nature boardwalk at Lake Ashby Park.

Lake Ashby Park, New Smyrna Beach

Tents Only | 18 Miles | MAP |

When I visited this park, I only planned to camp two nights but stayed two more. The solitude drew me in.

Relatively small at 64 acres, Lake Ashby Park is a former Boy Scout Camp with nature trails, boat ramp, a boardwalk over the lake with fishing pods, and a grassy beach for launching kayaks and canoes. The park also has a playground, volleyball court and picnic pavilions.

Primitive tent camping only, and you have to pack your gear into the woods from the parking lot. No RVs. The 10 campsites are spacious, and all sites enjoy plenty of shade. Each site has a picnic table, grill and there is a well-maintained rest room but no hot showers.

A few quirky features: Lake Ashby is used by seaplane pilots for touch-and-go landings, and you may hear gunfire from nearby hunting camps.

Lake Ashby Park, 4150 Boy Scout Camp Road, New Smyrna Beach. $15 a night. Maximum stay 7 days. Call 386-736-5953.

Lake Monroe Park, DeBary

RV and Tent | 31 Miles | MAP |

Excellent boat ramps with direct access to the St. John’s River and a decent campground, this is one of Volusia County’s oldest and most popular parks.

Recent renovations included floating docks, modern restrooms, picnic pavilions and a new trailhead to the multi-use Lake Monroe-Gemini Springs trail.

There are 44 RV sites and 26 for tent camping, all with hookups for water and electricity. Vegetation between sites is limited, but at these prices, who’s complaining.

This is the only Volusia County park with a ranger station that allows you to book on-site on arrival, although reservations are recommended on weekends.

Lake Monroe Park, 975 U.S. 17-92, DeBary. Call 386-668-3825 for reservations or book your site at the site. $40/night for RVs; $25 for tents. (2022)

Our little secret: Gemini Springs, DeBary

Tents Only | 28 Miles | MAP |

You would be hard-pressed to recognize this 212-acre park from its origins. Since the 19th Century, the property has served as a cattle ranch and farm that produced citrus, turpentine and sugar cane.

Most recently, as late as 1994, the last private owners, the Gray family, raised prize-winning Santa Gertrudis cattle. After attempts to develop the property failed, the Grays sold it to Volusia County for $5.6 million.

The park’s 10 primitive tent sites are nestled below big, arching live oak trees with decent space between sites. Like Lake Ashby, you have to walk into the wooded camping area with your gear from the parking lot.

Each campsite is equipped with a fire ring, picnic table, lantern-hook pole, grill and groomed sand.  All are in proximity of restrooms. 

Gemini Springs County Park, 37 Dirksen Drive, DeBary. Call 386-736-5953 for reservations. $15/night plus tax.

Related story: Great camping can be found in Florida’s little-known county parks


Ocala National Forest campgrounds

Although the closest of Ocala National Forest’s 18 campgrounds are almost 50 miles from Daytona, they are worth considering. Dispersed camping is allowed throughout the forest with a few exceptions.

Security: Developed recreation areas lock gates after hours, and rangers patrol. There is limited law enforcement for dispersed camping, however.

Alexander Springs Campground, Ocala National Forest
Alexander Springs Campground

Alexander Springs Recreation Area

RV or Tent, No hookups | 56 miles | MAP |

Lying in the southern tier of Ocala National Forest, Alexander Springs is about 45 miles from Daytona but worth the drive. One of only 27 first-magnitude springs in Florida, this is one of the best swimming holes in the state. If you are lucky enough to get a campsite here, you will find one of the most pristine sub-tropical environments you may ever experience. Trailhead for the Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail, a 22-mile off-road loop through the forest. The campground has 67 sites for tent or RV with no hookups.

Alexander Springs Recreation Area, 49525 County Rd 445, Altoona, FL  (352) 669-3522. Reservations: $31 per night. Call 877-444-6777 or book online up to 12 months in advance.

Juniper Springs Recreation Area

RV and Tent, No hookups | 50 miles | MAP |

Juniper Springs is exceptionally beautiful and accessible. Visitors can kayak or canoe the spring run, swim in the spring, bike and hike nearby trails while enjoying dense, tropical foliage rarely seen in this area of Florida.  The shady campground has 79 sites, including 19 for tents only. While the campsites have no hookups, they are heavily shaded and heavily booked. Reserve your site well in advance, and stay on top of cancellations.

Juniper Springs Recreation Area, 26701 FL-40, Silver Springs, FL (352) 625-3147 Reservations: $31 per night. Call 1-877-444-6777 or book online up to 6 months in advance.  

Salt Springs Recreation Area

RV and Tent WITH Hookups | 62 Miles | MAP |

Salt Springs is the largest, most developed campground in Ocala National Forest and the only campground with full hookups for recreational vehicles. The spring has a slight salinity, evident in the large swimming area at the spring head, which flows into a broad spring run that offers a scenic paddle to Lake George. There are 106 tent or RV sites with full hookups and 54 tent-only sites.

Salt Springs Campground, 13851 FL-19, Fort McCoy, FL. (352) 685-2048. Reservations: $34/night with full hookups; $23/night for tents, no hookups. Discounts for seniors and pass holders. Call 1-877-444-6777 or book online up to 6 months in advance.  

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Related Story: More than a dozen campgrounds in Ocala National Forest


State forest campgrounds

Florida’s state forests are wilderness areas designated for “agricultural” purposes, specifically logging, and wildlife preservation, which means they are open to hunters in season. The general gun season for the forests listed here is Nov. 7 through Jan. 24.

Security: Non-hunters may want to avoid gun season. Patrols are sparse. Campsites are isolated, so camping in groups is advisable. When you obtain your camping permit, ask for local law enforcement phone numbers.

Tent campsite at Tiger Bay State Forest
Campsite at Tiger Bay State Forest.

Tiger Bay State Forest

RV and Tent | 8 miles | MAP |

This huge (23,425 acres) wetland forest is a recreational paradise with 50 miles of unimproved park roads for off-road cyclists, hikers and equestrians to enjoy — and it’s just 7 miles from Daytona International Speedway.

Spidering off the park roads you’ll find miles and miles and miles of logging trails that lead hikers into the deep woods, a wildlife corridor with black bears, deer, fox, wild turkeys, wild hogs and hundreds of species of birds, including nesting bald eagles.

What you might not know is that there are two small campgrounds in this forest, both primitive, one of which is designated for equestrians and equipped with corrals. Both campgrounds are in the Rima Ridge Tract on the east side of the forest, accessible from Indian Lake Road off U.S. 92.

The main campground at Bennet Field Road has another six sites, spacious and well-shaded in a grove of live oak, far enough apart that you’d have to shout to rile your neighbor. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, but there is no water, no electric and no dump station. Forget hot showers. No rest rooms, just an outhouse. All of the sites are excellent for tents and boon-docking RVs (all but site no. 6).

Tiger Bay State Forest, 4316 W International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32124. (386) 226-0250. $10 per night, first-come, first-served. Purchase your permit in person at park headquarters on U.S. 92 or by phone at 386-266-0250, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Related Story: Tiger Bay State Forest (and an old brick road near Daytona Speedway)


Lake George State Forest

Tent Only | 29 Miles | MAP |

There are no amenities at this primitive campground, but the dense 21,000-acre forest around the campground and it’s proximity to the St. John’s River make this an attractive overnight stay for small groups of nature lovers and anglers, whether you’re here for one night or a few.

There are only four campsites, each in the shade of a live oak, with a picnic table and fire ring. No hookups.

The biggest obstacle is obtaining a camping permit ($10/night) in person at the DeLeon Forestry Station, about 20 miles away. The biggest plus is that you can almost always get a campsite.

Lake George State Forest, 5458 N. Hwy. 17, DeLeon Springs, FL 32130-4229 (386) 985-7815. $10/night. Permits issued first come, first served at the forestry station, about 20 miles from the campground.

Related Story: Escape to lonely Lake George State Forest


Off-the-grid camping hideaways

heart island camping near Daytona Beach
Campsites at Heart Island. (Photo courtesy of St. John’s River Water Management District).

Heart Island Conservation Area

Tent Only | 22 miles | MAP |

This 12,082 acre conservation area is managed by the St. John’s River Water Management District and offers hiking, horseback riding, seasonal hunting, bicycling, picnicking, wildlife viewing and primitive camping. Tent camping only, no RVs, and you have to hike, bike or boat to one of four designated sites, each of which has a fire ring. There are no facilities, no potable water and no restrooms. You must carry out your garbage. Camping is prohibited during hunting season.

Heart Island Conservation Area, 6777 Lk. Winona Rd., DeLeon Springs. Access to the gate is located approximately 1 mile south on Lake Winona Rd from Hwy 40. Phone: (386) 329-4404. Camping is free and sites are available first come, first served.


Palm Bluff Conservation Area

Tent Only | 22 Miles from Daytona | MAP |

Located in a mesic hammock near state road 415, this single campsite is equipped with a fire ring with grill attachment surrounded by 4 benches, 1 picnic table, and potable water pitcher pump. Plenty of space underneath the tall pines for multiple tents. This is a wilderness area with few amenities, so bring plenty of drinking water, trash bags, bug spray & fire wood, and clean up after yourself. There is no staff to maintain the sites.

Palm Bluff Conservation Area, FL 32764. The parking area is down a dirt drive on the east side of CR 415, 8 miles south of SR 44 (or 4 miles N of Osteen). For more information, e-mail [email protected]


Private Campgrounds near Daytona Beach

Daytona Speedway RV Park, 3003 West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114. Located next to Daytona Flea and Farmers Market and 1.5 miles from Daytona International Speedway. Easy access from I-95. Clean restrooms, WI-FI and cable TV.Check availability and book your site online.

Coral Sands RV Park, 1009 Ocean Shore Boulevard, Ormond Beach, FL 32174. The Park has 33 sites with full hookups (20,30 and 50 amp electric, water and sewer) at each site. Full use of hotel amenities next door. Phone 800-441-1831 or e-mail [email protected]

International RV Park & Campground, 3175 West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114. Electric hook-up, LP gas, pets permitted, picnic facilities, pool, restrooms with showers. Sewage disposal, water hook-up, 30/50 AMP, paved sites. For reservations, call (386) 239-0249 or email [email protected]

Daytona RV Park, 2430 South Nova Road, South Daytona, FL 32119. Modern and spacious RV park.  Big sites, 31×70, Cable TV, WiFi, Laundry facilities, restrooms with showers, Tiki Bar and storage.  

Sunshine Holiday RV Park Daytona North,1701 North US Highway 1, Ormond Beach, FL 32174. Recreation center, heated swimming pool, tennis, horseshoes, billiards and volleyball court. General store and gift shop. Cabin rentals. Pets permitted – some restrictions apply. An Encore/Thousand Trails RV resort. Check availability and book online.

Cacklebery Campground at the Cabbage Patch, 560 Tomoka Farms Rd, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32128. Especially popular with bikers during Bike Week and Biketoberfest. Family owned and operated. Vendors on site during biker events. RV and Tent / Primitive Camping. Camper rental also available. Daily pumping service. Reservations by phone at 386 428 5459, by email at [email protected] or online.

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