CampFinder
Blog
Bear Island Campground is usually sold out. Get a free email when a cancellation opens: pick your dates and we check Recreation.gov every 30 minutes.
★ 4.2 (114 ratings) · 40 sites · $10/night · Tent · RV · Caravan/Camper Van · Pickup Camper · Fifth Wheel · Pop up
Watch Bear Island Campground for free Book on Recreation.gov · Google Maps




Bear Island Campground is a primitive campground located in Big Cypress National Preserve. Access to the campground is at the end of a 20-mile secondary gravel road. Located nearby are Gator Head and Pink Jeep campgrounds. Cell phone service is limited and it is highly encouraged that reservations be made in advance. Bear Island campground has 40 campsites. Campsites 1-12 are open year round. Campsites 13-40 are open August 15- April 15. The campground offers tent and RV camping. Amenities include vault toilets, fire rings, shared food storage, and picnic tables. Visitors may enjoy nearby activities such as off-road vehicle trail access, hiking, and hunting. Bear Island Campground is the perfect location to enjoy much of what Big Cypress National Preserve has to offer. Visitors can enjoy nearby hiking, hunting, fishing, and off-road vehicle (ORV) trails with a permitted off-road vehicle. For information on ORV use please call 239-631-9988.Hunting and fishing regulations can be found at myfwc.com. For facility specific information, please call (239) 631-9988.Bear Island Campground is a primitive campground only accessible down a 20-mile secondary gravel road. Campsites have gravel or grass pads. It offers vault toilets, picnic tables, shared food storage, and fire rings. There is no water available. The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp, essential to the health of the neighboring Everglades, support the rich marine estuaries along Florida’s southwest coast. Protecting over 720,000 acres of this vast swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve contains a mixture of tropical and temperate plant communities that are home to a diversity of wildlife, including the elusive Florida Panther. The Bear Island Unit offers 20 plus miles of backcountry trails. Everglades City is located 30 miles south and provides dining, sight-seeing, and historical sites. Everglades National Park can also be accessed via Everglades City. Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center is also located 30 miles to the south.
CampFinder checks Recreation.gov every 30 minutes, around the clock, and emails you when a booked-up night opens back up. That catches most cancellations, which sit open for hours; at the few campgrounds that refill in seconds it can miss the race. Set up a free availability alert for Bear Island Campground.