Established Camping
Midway Campground — Big Cypress National Preserve
About
National Park Service
Big Cypress National Preserve
Overview
Midway Campground is a beautiful place where visitors can enjoy the surrounding preserve while sitting at their picnic table. Visitors may enjoy nearby activities such as fishing, hiking through the preserve, and exploring the many boardwalks.
Recreation
Midway Campground is centrally located in Big Cypress National Preserve, offering a multitude of recreational activities. Ranging from hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, photography, and off-road vehicle trails.
Facilities
Midway Campground is centrally located in Big Cypress National Preserve, offering a multitude of recreational activities. Ranging from hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, photography, and off-road vehicle trails.
Natural Features
The RV campsites surround the lake offering a view from every site. Each campsite is open with limited to no shade. The outer perimeter of the campground is lined with a mixture of different trees.
Nearby Attractions
Located just off the highway, this campground is close to the Oasis Visitor Center, Miccosukee Cultural Center, Shark Valley, and Clyde Butcher's Art Gallery.
contact_info
For facility specific information, please call (239) 631-9988.
Location
Midway Campground — Big Cypress National Preserve is located in Florida
Directions
From Naples: Follow US HWY 41 east until you see signs for campground (approximately mile marker 52) From Miami: Follow US HWY 41 west until you see signs for campground (approximately mile marker 52)
Address
52105 Tamiami Trail East
Ochopee, FL 34141
Coordinates
25.8513889 N
80.9872222 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiAvailable
- VerizonAvailable
- AT&TPoor
- T-MobileAvailable
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Big Rig Friendly
Rv camp
Many sites around a body of water
All RV Sites Around a Small Lake
Midway in Big Cypress: This is our forth time here. We love this campground, though the sites are open. All trailer sites look over the lake which is in the middle of the campground. This campground seems to be very conducive to meeting people. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer. Our rating of a campground is influenced by the following: The general ambiance- sort of wilderness feel the campground gives us. A selection of campsites which offer some visual privacy and/or view from sites. Cleanliness of whatever facilities are offered is important and usually noted in my review.
Overall Rating: 4.5 for the lake view
Price 2023: $ 15 w interagency pass
Usage during visit: RV sites full every night. Tent sites accommodate vans, rooftop tents….
Site Privacy: None
Site Spacing: Fair
Site surface: Blacktop
Reservations: Required
Campground Noise: Tent area - defiantly.
Road Noise: Tent area - defiantly. From # 21, yes.
Through Traffic in campground: Folks might come in to have picnics at tables around the lake.
Electric Hookup: Yes
Sewer Hookup: No
Dump Station: Yes
Potable Water Available: Yes, at the dump station.
Generators: Allowed.
Bathroom: Flush toilet. Only one stall in the men’s. Clean.
Showers: At Monument Lake CH, 20 minutes.
Pull Throughs: None in RV Loop
Cell Service (AT&T): Site 21 usually has 1 bar. Sites at the near the end have weaker reception.
Setting: All RV sites are situated around the lake
Recent Weather: High 50s to 80s. Rain
Solar: Plenty in the tent sites
Host: Three
Rig Size: Largest bus RVs are here
Sites: 19 - 26 are best shaded sites. 13 and 14 are corner sites with less shade . 1 is near a shed, but a fine site. Picnic tables along the lake and in between these sites: 22&23, 3&4, 11&12, 16&17. (On nice weekend days you can expect small groups using these spots for day usage.)
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Quiet, peaceful, well maintained
Great camp sites, leveled with electric for the RVs and tent camping off on the side. Clean bathrooms (no showers) and dump station. Attendant was friendly. Central pond for fishing just watch for the gators.
Well kemp campground
Nice and neat campground with a pond centering the facility that can be fished (at your own risk) outer campground surrounded by forestry. Bathrooms are well taken care of and the grass is kept mowed and tidy. Overall good experience.
Nice quiet campground
Small campgrounds surrounding a lake. Campground is very neat and well kept. Electric at site, dump station and nice bathrooms (no shower).
Nice basecamp to explore the Preserve
This is a simple campground but location makes for a good base when exploring the Preserve. RV sites are decent sized and level, no privacy between sites but you don't feel like you're on top of your neighbor.
Bathrooms were clean but note there are no showers here.
Try a peaceful morning walk around the small lake and you might see a resident gator.
Cell signals were coming and going, so it would be a tough spot if you need to get work done without a cell booster.
The small pavilions around the lake offer good shade if you want to eat or work outside during a sunny, hot day.
The dark skies at night are great for stargazing!
Nice clean park ! Good tent area
Friendly hosts .. decent tent area . Only giving it 4 stars based on size and lack of activities within the park . Thought the food caches in the tent area were a super nice amenity since we’re tent campers it can be difficult keeping wildlife out of our food storage .
Clue's in the title. Midway
Have waited six months into our RV life to start reviews for fair comparisons. Stayed 5 nights in 35 foot RV+tow car in 3 different sites. This was one of our least favorite stops so far. Essentially a circle of closely parked RV’s just off busy highway around a lake with gators(never saw any, but signs to NOT walk your dog on the lake side). So to walk your dog you have to let them wee all over your neighbors“land” which is mortifying. Limited to no cell signal. When we went to leave we were told we couldn’t use the dump station because it was full. And we couldn’t use the restrooms because they had a power outage that morning. Not sure what the connection is there, but that’s what we were told. Lots of generators running that morning. And yet it was fairly full, as the beauty is it is a great stopping point to head to southern FL and the Keys. And I suppose the clue is in the title, midway between the east and west coast of Florida. The camp hosts and people we met there were very friendly. The night star skies when not cloudy were incredible. I suppose this is one of those“It is what it is” places. Some campgrounds we love just because we love being there in the actual campground. This is not one of those, but it is a means to an end. We enjoyed the nearby Loop Road in Big Cypress.
Good for families/groups; lots of road noise
This site was beautiful and well kept. The gentleman (park ranger?) who greeted everyone and made sure the rules were followed was very nice and answered all of our questions. I appreciated that he was around as it make me feel safer if I were to travel alone. This is a great site for families or groups as the sites are close together so one could reserve 2 and have a lot of room for multiple tents/cars. On the other hand, if you are looking to get away from people, this is not it. The sites are close to each other with little to no barriers/designation lines between them. This is a great site for those testing camping with their dogs or small children. Not too far of a trip, great walking space, and the ranger is great about making sure all dogs are kept on leash. It is near to the Oasis Ranger Station and the Florida Trail, as well as loop road and Shark Valley. The stars were absolutely incredible being so far from major cities. Other than how close the tent sites were, my one big negative is the amount of road noise. The closest campsites are maybe 100 meters from the Tamiami Trail so if you're a light sleeper, it is less than ideal.
Basic but Great Experience
Camp at Mile Marker 52, basic campground but great experience. This place was great to spend a night. The further you are into the campground, less road noise. The host was very friendly and helpful, checked in frequently. Make sure to book in advance for a spot. It has electric hookup only but it does provide access to potable water as well as a dump station. The site has a fire pit, picnic table and good sized spaced out sites as well as a common area has a picnic table and fire pit. There are no on-site showers but the bathrooms are provided and they were clean with no issues. Bring bug spray if you intend to sit outside at night.
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Great Campground---Great Location
Midway Campground- Ochopee, FL: We were here a few years ago and had to come back. This is a great campground in Big Cypress Wilderness Reserve at mile marker 52 on route 41 Tamiami trail. No water or sewer hookups, but there is electric at the site, fire pit, picnic table and good sized spaced out sites. Dump station and potable water available. Host was very friendly and checked on campers regularly. The 26 mile loop road is very close and a great way to experience Florida & Big Cypress backcountry and wildlife from your car or bike. Plenty of hiking trails in the area as well.
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Deserted:)
Arrived at this campground with 2 other RVs already camping. One we never saw the people at all, the other one drove by but really never saw them either! Another arrived later on in the evening and a photographer came to shoot some night bugs and left before we woke up. Nice, quiet place to stay the night. It is close to the road but that was not bothersome at all. Electric hook ups only with water, garbage and dump on site. Sign said pick a spot and pay at the kiosk. $30/night cash only. One loop with pond in the middle with signs to beware of alligators though we never saw one. Bathrooms also available and both RV and tent sites and day use.
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Decent Florida camping
It’s a nice campground that is accessible from the city of Miami. It’s a quick way to escape the city and all the people. It’s a nice campground in the Everglades, with decent bathrooms. Have stayed here a few times and probably a few more. Watch out for mosquitos!
Year Round Camping with Alligators
Midway Campground is half way between Naples and Miami and a great central point if you're planning to explore both Everglades National Park and Big Cypress Preserve.
The campground is both RV and Tent friendly, and unlike the other nearby campgrounds, this one is open all year round -- although you're likely to have it mostly to yourself in the summer.
The campground is set up wide open as a big loop around a lake. There isn't any privacy between sites which isn't a problem in the winter. In the summer, be prepared to get to know your neighbors.
The site is close to the Big Cypress Nature Trail as well as the Everglades Bird Trail.
There isn't anything available at the campground- so be sure to pack everything in with you-- especially you're mosquito repellant.
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Good location and well kept!
We stayed here on our way to Key West and we were pleasantly surprised by how well kept the campground was. The bathrooms were closed but it didnt say why. The sites are electric which is nice in the heat. From what the ranger said this park is the only one open this time of year.
Great stopover on the way to the Keys or a day at Shark Valley
Paved road and pad with 50A. Potable water at the dump station if needed. We started with a full tank so we did just fine. We were on site 14 which is as far from Hwy 41 as possible. No one else was here when we first parked and then, we only had one or two other campers join us for the week end. Great stopover on the way to the Keys or a day at Shark Valley. Had to swing out onto the grass to back in since the road and sites are narrow. Volunteers work here for about three months starting in December. All sites face a pond which does have a resident alligator.
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