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Established Camping

DuPuis Campground at Gate 3

14 Reviews

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About

Utility

A free camping reservation is required and must be displayed.

The DuPuis Equestrian Campground has been separated into two campgrounds; equestrian and non-equestrian. Anyone wishing to camp in the equestrian portion of the campground must have a minimum of one horse per Special Use License. All other campers may camp in the non-equestrian camping area. Similar to other District campgrounds, the main gate at the DuPuis Equestrian Campground will be locked at all times and require a Special Use License for day use, equestrian camping, and non-equestrian camping. Up to two dogs (pets) are permitted per Special Use License within the campground, otherwise pet rules remain the same within the rest of the area.

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Location

DuPuis Campground at Gate 3 is located in Florida

Directions

Four gates provide access on the south side of Highway 76: Gate 1, main entrance and vehicle access, fishing, picnicking, boardwalk and family and group campgrounds; Gate 2, hiking and bicycling trail; Gate 3, camping, equestrian access, paddocks and barns; Gate 5, nature center and office. From southeast Florida: Take I-95 north to PGA Boulevard (S.R. 786). Go west on PGA Boulevard to S.R. 710. Go north for about 15 miles to Kanner Highway, S.R. 76. Take S.R. 76 seven miles west to DuPuis. From Okeechobee, Pahokee and Belle Glade: Take U.S. 441 to Port Mayaca. (Good view of Lake Okeechobee from bridge.) Exit onto S.R. 76 and go three miles east to DuPuis.

Coordinates

27.0049 N
80.5595 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site

Stay Connected

WiFi
Good
Verizon
Good
AT&T
Available
T-Mobile
Good

Site Types

RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)

Features

For Campers

Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Phone Service
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Toilets
Fires

For Vehicles

30 Amp Hookups

Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.

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For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Reservations

Rachel S.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 26, 2024

Buggy but quiet

Follow the steps described on the website to register for a free camping permit. You’re supposed to write your name and permit number on a paper to display on your dash and check in with the camp host, but we never saw them and no one came by.

We’re probably spoiled coming from non buggy places, but there were a lot of gnats and bugs. We basically stayed in the camper the entire time. The family campground has composting toilets (they do smell bad, but better than nothing at a free site). There’s an equestrian campground down the road that has showers and running water toilets but we didn’t check those out. Some people had several barking dogs but that didn’t bother us overnight. Plenty of empty spaces on a Thursday night.

Site3

Month of VisitMay

Jacques O.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 1, 2024

Great place to stay for free

Nice place and quiet. Warm reception at arrival.

Site17

Month of VisitMarch

Carlos R.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 14, 2024

Beautiful, clean, great camp host but, outhouse for a toilet?????

Great trip with lots of Rural Florida to see and understand the other Florida… wonderful Everglades set up with small pond and small gators residents.Perfect place to spend a night unless you have to poop… outhouse is the way and you can smell it . Showers will be a mile down the road but if you can go past that then you are good to go.

Site14

Month of VisitJanuary

Brian

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 4, 2023

Can’t believe this is free

This place has pretty much everything a normal campground would have at no cost. Grass is well kept, bathrooms and showers are clean, hot water, fire rings, picnic tables, and really nice host. There is some noise from the nearby road, but not too bad. Verizon service was good enough to stream Netflix. The registration process was quick and pretty easy. I registered on a Thursday for a stay Friday-Sunday and was able to get a spot.

Month of VisitDecember

Damon O.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 21, 2023

Quiet, private, FREE campground

I love a free campground with all the necessities. The spots aren't paved but they're level, some have tables and fire pits. There's bathrooms and showers on-site. Water is also available in some of the center areas for filling up containers.

You will need to register on their website for free access and the gate code, and while it is first come first served, I'd say only 10% of the spots has campers. (But it's June in FL so it's HOT)

There's also an equestrian campground for folks with horses. I didn't go see that but wonder how the horses fit in the tents? ;-)

Site6

Month of VisitJuly

Lonnie B.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 30, 2023

Great place with warm showers!

Nice camping area with a couple private sites, but mostly you'll be up next to someone.

During the week there were very few campers. Once Friday rolled around it picked up a good bit with campers and their horses. It's Sunday evening, and we're almost back to how it looked last Tuesday, when we arrived.

You're about 30-35 minutes from Hobe Sound Beach. It's a very nice small beach with only one life guard.

I will definitely be back again!

Month of VisitMay

(5) View All

kamon W.

Scout

Reviewed Nov. 24, 2022

It's good for the price.

On this app the first picture that pops up is a red headed agama lizard. I personally saw a brown basilisk next to the pond. It was definitely an adult lizard almost 2 feet. Both lizard species I've mentioned are invasive. Please be aware of the coyotes at night. Overall a good experience.

Site7

Month of VisitDecember

Cringeiscontent

Scout

Reviewed Nov. 10, 2021

Not bad.

Warm showers. Spots are small. They don't weed eat around tables or pits. No wood to gather near by.

SiteNon-equestrian

Month of VisitDecember

Kurt D.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 20, 2021

Great spot during the week

Super buggy bring Deet. We had this spot almost entirely to ourselves. Came on a Thursday afternoon. Left just as other ppl were filling in on Saturday morning.

Sitenear entrance

Month of VisitAugust

Austin K.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 25, 2021

Great!

This Campground was great! It had metal fire pits with grates for cooking, plenty of sites to choose from! You have to go online and get a special use license and then it will give you a code to the lock on the front gate. Had a building for showering and bathroom. However there were lots of spiders. And I believe we left with mite’s so just be careful not to climb into bed fully clothed. Overall it was a great experience!

Mary H.

Ranger

Reviewed Feb. 10, 2021

Clean and quiet

You just can’t beat a free camping with shower and access to water. There were no equestrians here as of review time, so I’m sure it might change the quiet atmosphere a little. Our site #27 is backed up to the equestrian area, and I love horses so I’m fine with it. Plenty of room to park any size RV, but it is soft sand so be warned. Everyone gets a fire ring with grid and a picnic table. As long as you can generate power as needed, it’s a sweet spot. I agree with others that the nearby highway is noisier than I prefer. But at night it is quiet for sleeping. 8 day limit on stay, but you can leave for one day and come back if there is space.

(7) View All

B H.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 17, 2021

Lovely Site and Extensive Trails

This is a great place to visit. They have primitive, RV, and equestrian camping. They have horse stalls and turnout that are all in good repair for equestrian campers. The bathrooms are very clean and well kept. The trails are extensive and well-maintained.

Johnny A.

Traveler

Reviewed Dec. 5, 2020

1st Stop

This was better then i expected! Clean bathrooms and showers were all i could ask for.. I definitely recommend if your in tbe area

Meandering Life

Guide

Reviewed Jan. 18, 2019

Free Florida Camping

This campground is a large field where you can pick any spot and is managed by the SW Florida Water Mgmt District. We were able to get a nice spot near the camp host that was perfect for solar. This is an equestrian campground, but there is a section for non-equestrian campers. You do have to get a permit (called a Special Use License) ahead of time to stay. It is a very easy process on the website https://www.sfwmd.gov/community-residents/recreation/sul. The approval will come within minutes. You don’t have to have the permit printed, but make sure you have electronic access to it to show it to the camp hosts. I also wrote the pertinent information on a sheet of paper to leave in the truck, but we never had it out and nobody asked about it. I believe the max stay is 8 days. Make sure you check the website for closures due to hunting and other reasons before you book. We stayed 5 nights in early January 2019.

There are no hook-ups at this camping area, but there is a dump station near the entrance and there are potable water spigots placed around the camping area. Upon arrival, the camp host informed us not to drink the water. I found that advice ironic since this is managed by the water district. There was a sign near the front of the campground that said the water was fine to drink and did not need to be boiled, but we heeded his advice and only used the water for showers and used bottled water to drink. It did have a sulfur smell and a tint to it.

The campground is at Gate 3. There is a gate with a chain at the entrance, but there is no lock. You just move the gate and close it behind you. Most of the area is level and like I said, you can pick anywhere to camp. There are several trees that provide good shade if you want that. We have solar so needed fully sun and were able to find a great spot for that. We didn’t check them out, but they do have restrooms and possible showers. Overall the campground was well maintained and there was no trash. It did get busy for the weekend with locals and got a bit louder, but overall it was nice and quiet. You are close to a highway that large dump trucks drive down so there is some road noise, but nothing too bad. It quiets down at night. There are several walking trails next to the campground and there is a driving nature trail at Gate 1 and more walking trails at Gate 2. The campground is also close to Lake Okeechobee.

We had no trouble with connectivity as we had 3-4 bars on Verizon and AT&T hotspots without booster. The camp host said there was a small town nearby, Indiantown, where you can get a few essentials and bottled water. We ended up going to Walmart because we needed specific items. There are several about 40 minutes away.

Overall it was a nice place to stay for a few days. Great service that the FL Water Mgmt District provides, and we are thankful for it. If ever in the area, we would stay here again.

Month of VisitFebruary