Gamble Rogers State Park: Oceanfront campground celebrating song and sea

My first of many visits to Gamble Rogers State Park was during a Sunday drive around the 30-mile Ormond Scenic Loop, a beautiful drive through sparsely populated coastal wetlands north of Daytona Beach.

Gamble Rogers is a modest 144 acres flanking State Road A1A, wrapped in sand dunes with dense vegetation in a coastal ecosystem with a modest half-mile beach.

But looks can be deceiving, especially now that a second campground has been carved out of a coastal hammock on the west side of State Road A1A. Down the road a short piece, you can enjoy another three miles of pristine beachfront at North Peninsula State Park.

Camping at Gamble Rogers State Park

Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area has long had a nice little campground on the beach, just behind the dunes, with 34 sites for tents or RVs. The new inland campground on the Intracoastal Waterway adds another 34 sites.

The beach sites are close together with little privacy, no shade and they are laid out on a hard-pack sand surface that looks and feels like a parking lot. Fine for RV’s. Not so fine for tents.

Good weather can be a crap shoot from January through March, and when the wind blows cold across those dunes, even RVers yearn for a warmer clime.

The new Riverside campground holds a lot of promise to ease some of that pain.

The 34 new sites, including four smaller sites designed specifically for tents, are on the lee side of the park, protected from ocean-born weather. The new sites are also within easy reach of the river for fishing and boating.

Like the beachside sites, though, the riverside sites have little shade.

All 68 sites in both campgrounds have 50-amp electric, water hookups, picnic tables and a fire ring. Each campground has its own rest rooms with showers. There is a dump station near the park exit.

The four dedicated tent sites are along the wooded edge of the maritime hammock with partial shade.

Beach side, the maximum RV length is 47 feet, but it’s really tough to maneuver big rigs in and out of those sites. On the river side, the maximum RV length is a whopping 90 feet.

Editors Note: Due to significant beach erosion, the ADA accessible ramp to the beach in the park’s day use area is closed until further notice. Beach access is still available via stairs, and a ramp is available two miles south in North Peninsula State Park.

Bring your kayaks, bicycles and a guitar

There is a boat ramp on the river side of the park suitable for runabouts, fishing boats, kayaks, canoes and paddle boards, giving visitors access to a vast network of interconnected saltwater marshes and quiet inland waterways.

This park is not good for ocean access in your boat. The closest ocean inlets are Ponce Inlet (25 miles south) and St. Augustine (35 miles north).

You can rent kayaks at the ranger station, and rangers periodically offer guided kayak tours.

A paved bike path along A1A runs south to North Peninsula State Park and north to Flagler Beach, a classic Old Florida beach town with excellent restaurants, oceanfront tiki bars and shopping.

The park is a prime location for whale watching, and birders will find it to be an extraordinary observation point for migratory waterfowl during spring and fall.

For hikers, a nature trail winds through a shady coastal forest of scrub oaks and saw palmetto.  The three-quarter-mile trail has several benches and interpretive signs. It’s an easy hike, a little rugged in places.

Because it’s a coastal trail near wetlands, you should wear good shoes and a hat, bring sunscreen, bug spray and something to drink.

Gamble Rogers, folk singer

Twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturdays, musicians gather in the park’s outdoor pavilion for the Gamble Jam, a casual acoustic jam session that attracts musicians of all skill levels in honor of the park’s namesake, folk singer Gamble Rogers.

Guests are welcome. Bring a chair and your instrument. There are no electric facilities in the pavilion.

The park, formerly known as the Flagler Beach State Recreation Area, was renamed Gamble Rogers in 1992 after a heroic rescue attempt a year earlier.

Gamble Rogers and his wife were camping at the park when a young girl asked them to help her father, who was struggling in rough surf. Despite suffering from spinal arthritis, Gamble grabbed an air mattress and headed towards the ocean. Within minutes, a park ranger joined in the rescue attempt.

Gamble, clinging to the air mattress, indicated to the ranger that he was OK. The ranger pulled the drowning man’s wife from the water but was unable to locate the man. At the same time, a large wave washed over Gamble Rogeers, ripping away his air mattress. Both men drowned.

Rogers was a renowned Florida folk singer and storyteller known for the recurring theme in his songs and stories about characters and places in fictional Ocklawaha County, representative of Roger’s imagination for the good-ol’-boy culture of Central Florida.

According to Wikipedia, Rogers began performing in the 1960s, often with noted Florida singer-songwriters Paul Champion, Jim Bellew and Will McLean. By the 1970s, he was a regular fixture at the Florida Folk Festival, often as headliner.

A self-described ‘modern troubadour,’ Rogers influenced many others, including Jimmy Buffett, who dedicated his 1994 album Fruitcakes to Rogers.

Gamble Rogers State Park, 3100 S. State Road A1A, Flagler Beach, FL 32136. Phone: 386-517-2086. 68 sites with water, electric, picnic table and fire ring. Dump station. Tents or RV (up to 47 feet). Pets OK, but not on beach. Camping Fee: $28 plus $7 daily utility fee for RVs. Campground Reservations: Up to 11 months in advance for Florida residents, 10 months in advance for non-residents. Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org or call (800) 326-3521.

Florida residents age 65+, as well as residents who are certified disabled, receive 50% off the base campground fee. Reservation fee ($6.70) and utility fee ($7) are not included in the discount.

Day use: $5 per vehicle.

Related Links: 

• Gamble Rogers State Park
• North Peninsula State Park
• Friends of Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area (FROGRS)

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