Last updated on June 19th, 2025 at 08:29 am
A new state law allows Florida residents to book campsites up to 11 months in advance while non-residents arer restricted to a 10-month window.
The law went into effect in 2024 following a persistent outcry from residents that they were getting shut out of state-run campgrounds by snowbirds.
Florida State Parks operates 65 campgrounds within its award-winning 175-park system, and most are booked solid well in advance. The restriction does not apply to other state-managed campgrounds, such as state forests, or federal and county campgrounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I prove eligibility?
When booking a campsite through the Florida State Park campground registration system, Florida residents will be asked to register a valid Florida driver’s license number or state ID card number.
Your license or state ID will be matched against records maintained by Florida Department of Motor Vehicles. If residency is confirmed, you will be allowed to proceed with your reservation.
Verification will be required annually, and proof of eligibility is required upon arrival at the campground.
How do I register?
You can register in advance or when you book a campsite through the Florida State Parks reservation system, reserve.floridastateparks.org, or by phone, 800-326-3521.
If you already have an account, log into your account and wade through the simple verification process.
Can a resident reserve a campsite for someone else?
No. Campers must produce a state ID, such as a drivers license, upon arrival at the state park, and the ID must match the name on the reservation.
Non-compliance will result in being turned away at the gate, and violations may also lose their right to make future reservations.
Do Florida residents enjoy preference at state forests and national parks?
No. The resident-preference rule does not apply to campground reservations in state forests, national parks or national forests, nor does it apply to public campgrounds managed by city and county parks.
Most county parks have their own advanced booking rules, including county-resident preferences. Other county and municipal parks do not accept advance reservations.
Do Florida seniors still get a discount?
Yes. Florida residents 65 and over are entitled to a 50% discount on the base camping rate at Florida state parks with camping. The discount does not apply to the $7 daily utility fee charged for recreational vehicles, nor does it apply to cabin rentals.
The 50% discount is also available to Florida citizens with a Social Security disability award certificate or a 100% disability award certificate from the federal government. A 50% discount on the base camping fee is also available to families from a licensed foster home.
Why did the rules change?
Residents have long felt disadvantaged by the crush of visitors from out of state who snap up campsites for prime tourist season. Most state park campgrounds are sold out minutes after sites become available.
Visitors from out of state counter that they pay the bills through sales and tourist taxes, not to mention spending in support of local businesses and jobs. They prefer a level playing field.
The Florida state legislature, responding to pressure from voters, approved the new rules in 2023, and they went into effect in 2024.
Any other changes?
A two-night minimum is required for all cabin rentals in Florida State Parks. Until 2024, the two-night minimum applied only to weekends.
State Parks Reservation web site: reserve.floridastateparks.org
This is a good thing for Florida residents and should have been done years ago. We are full time residents and we can never get a campsite in the winter time. It is a know fact that many out of state and people from Canada double book multiple weeks at State Campgrounds and cancel if they don’t like campground or weather where they are at. We have talked with serval people that readily admitted that to us. It is why you see so many empty sites in campgrounds during the week in the winter. We are annual Park Pass holders and make a lot a day trips to State Parks wishing we could bring our camper and stay longer. Maybe now we can.
Residents will reserve all the weekends and leave weekdays vacant. Non-residents will not be able come at all if they can only book weekdays. This is entirely predicable and will hurt the tourist business that is so important to Florida. I assume that this will be our last winter to visit Florida.
@Wally Zinck,
No so, many out of state and out of country double book sites in different State campgrounds months in advance and cancel if they decide they don’t like the campground or that part of the sate. Many campers from Canada do this every year. That is why you see so many empty sites at State parks during the winter. Being a full time Florida resident we can never go camping in our state in the winter because there is never a campsite open, Because we are retired we only book from Sunday until Friday mornings so families can have the week end.
Hi John and Wally,
Out-of-state visitors do overbook until they piece together their winter itinerary, and while the reservation system is supposed to block the same party from booking the same dates at different state parks. there are workarounds (e.g. husband books one campground and the wife another). Overlaps do occur, and empty sites are a big problem not solved by the meager $17 cancellation fee, especially when you are cancelling (or not) just one or two days. No doubt out-of-state visitors are important to Florida’s economy, but residents are here year around and pay a lot of taxes, not just for two weeks or a month. Small businesses, especially restaurants, and our parks couldn’t survive without “locals.” Tourism is important, but so are the rights of Floridians who support those state parks all year.
@Wally Zinck, you are wrong on that point. I tried getting several state park cabins in the panhandle – to no avail and I’m a resident…
Well from years of travelling to the state parks i am really dissapointed. I find that the problem is that there is no one following up on the empty sites and penalizing the people that leave the site empty. No one drives around to check the sites and the system is never correct.
5 sites had 4 vehicles in 1 spot for 2 days. Wheres the rule enforcement?
Many people i have talked to will no longer be coming to your parks and you will loose alot of money from travellers. Sure your weekends will be filled by florida residents which is at a diacounted price but it doesn’t compare to what you will loose on a weeks income from out of states travellers.
All you are doing ia penalizing people who are not actually part of the problem.
@Colleen Richardson, a lot of generalizations there. Not sure specifically which park you’re referring to, but it’s nothing new to see an occasional rude or non-compliant camper as far as parking and I highly – highly – highly doubt that it’s making Florida parks at all less desirable to non-residents of our state. If it affects you or a few of your friends, fine, but there are hundreds if not thousands of people vying for the spot you don’t reserve.
As far as vacant sites, I agree as a camper struggling to find a good site only to see a great one sitting vacant is frustrating, but the camper paid for it and has a right to be there at any point during the reservation. There is a rule that you have to be onsite the first night of the reservation but being realistic, a lot of things happen that could prevent that, and when it happens to us, I call the ranger station and let them know. I agree it could be a good idea to, for example, have to forfeit a site if you do not occupy the site by the 2nd day of the reservation.
I am happy to pay the increased fees (long overdue) and will gladly do whatever it takes to help keep our beautiful state parks clean and open and operating safely. All of my camping friends feel the same way. Those who don’t can and should camp elsewhere :)
As an out of state person, I understand the issue and see reservations as an issue everywhere I have looked. I’m from Alabama and have been coming to the Destin area for 15 years are better in late Spring/early Summer and play strictly by the rules with reservations, well within all the rules. We enjoy it, so we will continue to try for a site. They are already hard to get and usually require multiple attempts. I see where third parties snapping up the reservations are an issue, much like they do with concert tickets. What a shame.
@Gary, Let the tourist stay at the over priced private campgrounds and let the taxpayers in Florida have access to their Parks.
I am a Florida Disabled Veteran and a senior citizen and since the reservation system took affect many disabled individuals my self included do to ongoing medical conditions and appointments are now denied the use of State Campgrounds especially during prime season. Disabled individuals do not have to ability to make reservations months in advance they need to have access on a daily basis or with a minimal time frame for reservations. Whatever happened to FF sites? It seems the entire system is in violation of the American with Disability Act and needs to be changed. At least this is the start in the right direction. Let the tourist stay at the over priced private campgrounds and let the taxpayers in Florida have access to their Parks.
Alabama is looking better by the minute. I was on the fence about DeSantis. Who in the world discourages tourism in a tourism state? What next, Disney?
Bye, Felicia!
I am a Florida resident, teacher, and volunteer firefighter, and it ticks me off that I cannot camp in my home state in winter, due to all the snowbirds.
These are not “tourists”. These are low-budget retirees living cheap off the state park camping system, instead of renting a spot in a RV park.
They will still be here, they will find another place to stay, maybe some of the under-utilized state forests and such
@SteveG, I completely agree with everything you said here. Not only have they devised their system to pounce on the reservations within seconds after they are posted, they are rude to the locals who support Florida all year long. They should go ahead to Alabama and hope for good luck treating the people in that state the way they behave toward Floridians. They are so entitled. Bye bye now. Thanks for freeing up the extra campsite.
@Lorrie, its really sad how you group everyone else as the villan when we are just trying to enjoy Florida.
We have the same option as you when it comes to reserving a site. Go online at 8 am and click reserve and book it. No way of booking before anyone else .
Why such hate to people who have the exact same choice as you?
Talking to the Top Sail park Manager, he said that part of the issue is that the reservation system allows multiple concurrent reservations by a single email address and permits robot programs to scan for open campgrounds and a cancellation is filled with in a minute after the reservation was cancelled.
When we were there even though the reservation system showed no open sites, there were a number of sites that stayed unoccupied for days. This was in April 2023.
That’s something I’ll have to check out. Under the old reservation system (ReserveAmerica), you were blocked from making multiple reservations at another Florida State Park for the same or overlapping dates. I tested it many times (albeit accidentally), but have not tried since the new reservations system was put in place last year. The problem, under your scenario, is winter campers who book as much as they can on the first day sites are available, then go back and cancel the days they no longer want as their itinerary takes shape. Unfortunately, higher cancellation fees and low daily camping rates make it easier for them to eat the loss without bothering to cancel sites they reserved.