Directions to Camp Everglades

Take US 1 or the turnpike south (last exit) to SW 344^th St./State Road 9336. Make a right following the sign for the Everglades National Park (ENP) and continue through Florida City ~ 1.3 miles until the first stop sign (SW 192^nd Ave, "Robert is Here Fruit Stand" is on the SW corner). Following the sign for ENP make a left and continue for ~ 2.4 miles to the next stop sign (county prison on the SE corner). Following the sign for ENP make a right and continue ~ 6.0 miles to the ENP Entrance Station. At the entrance station tell them you are going to the Boy Scout Camp and you will not be charged the entrance fee if you have a valid tour permit. Continue for ~ 1.7 miles to the first intersection. Following the sign for the Royal Palm Visitor Center make a left and continue for ~ 0.8 miles to the first intersection. Following the sign for the Research Center make a right and go ~ 0.5 miles to the next intersection. Make a right and continue for ~ 1.8 miles and look for the camp entrance on your left. If you reach the research center you have gone too far.

Map from Everglades National Park entrance to Camp Everglades

Camp Everglades is a great, natural property owned by the South Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America. The 253-acre campground is located WITHIN the Everglades National Park. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets are common in this campground with clear views of the horizon in the east and the west. The campground is primarily pine rockland forest with eight primitive campsites, a main campfire arena, a main covered shelter, and pitcher pump wells. Running water, hot showers, sinks, and electricity are located near the main shelter and are available for all to use. A cooking facility, suitable for cooking for large groups, is located in the main shelter. It includes stoves, refrigerators, grills, griddles, pots, pans, serving utensils, coffee pots, and a heated serving bench. Some of the appliances are electric, some are gas. Groups need to bring their own 20 lb propane cylinders to use the gas appliances. A combination of composting toilets and portable toilets are located permanently at the camp. Two unique, environmentally friendly, composting toilet buildings are now at the camp. Each of these buildings has two toilets. The composting toilets are much more pleasant (translation less smelly) to use than portable toilets. One set of composting toilets serves the Main Shelter, Dove and Sparrow sites, the other serves the Owl, Egret, and Heron sites. Click here for instructions on how to properly use the composting toilets. If you are holding a large event you may want to rent additional portable toilets. Garbage disposal facilities are NOT available and all garbage must be taken with you when you leave camp.

Left: Pine Rockland Forest; Right: Beautiful sunset at camp

Left: Main Shelter; Right: Main Shelter Kitchen area

Left: Typical Campsite with Shelter and Fire Ring; Right: Shower house near the main shelter

Most campsites have their own open shelter with patrol tables and a fire area. Water pipes (1 1/4" diameter) are close to each campsite. Some pitcher pumps are available in the main shelter.  It is recommended that you bring your own pitcher pump if you have one. A large area has also been cleared for activities. Camp Everglades also has a hiking trail that circles the area. The pine rockland forest also provides an excellent wildlife area for nature programs. Flowers, animals, insects, reptiles and water fowl are abundant in their seasons.

The South Florida Council actively cooperates with the National Park Service in maintaining the Pine Rockland Habitat at Camp Everglades. Pine Rockland is a fire adapted community and we regularly have prescribe burns conducted by park personnel. Click here for a video describing the role of fire in Pine Rocklands that was partially flimed at Camp Everglades. We also actively manage and eliminate exotic invasive plants, such a Brazilian Pepper from small plots within the camp, and are a participant the Everglades National Park’s Hole-in-the-Donut restoration project.

There are many activities that can be done in the Everglades National Park during your stay at Camp Everglades. Very near the camp are a series of hiking trails. Click here for a map of the Long Pine Key hiking trails. A great place to get a view of the Everglades landscape is the “Everglades Mountain” on the old Ingraham Highway about ½ mile past gate 15. There is a small parking area in front of gate 15. A 10 minute hike to this 30 foot tall spoil mound, created as part of the Hole-in-the-Donut restoration, allows one to see for miles over the flat Everglades terrain. The Anhinga Trail is a great wildlife viewing spot during the winter and early spring months. There are a series of good trails on the drive down to Flamingo. There are several canoe trails located near Flamingo. Please visit the Everglades National Park webpage for more information. If your group decides to explore the Everglades, the National Park requires that you pay the necessary fees at the front gate. National Parks count on entrance fees to help keep them operating. Please do not put in jeopardy the unique relationship Camp Everglades has with Everglades National Park by not paying the fees.

The recommended camping season is from November to May. Beyond these months, the area returns to its natural state as a "river of grass". Depending on the water levels and your group’s tolerance to biting insects it may be possible to camp June through October. Please contact the camp caretaker, Jim Happell (jhappell@sfcbsa.org or 786-473-0700), to check on camp conditions before making a reservation for June through October. On a Saturday during November, usually the Saturday before Thanksgiving there is a council wide “Camp Everglades Mowing and Work Day”. Click here for the work day flyer. Please contact Jim Happell for more information on the work day and how you can help. Reservations are made through the South Florida Council Office. Click here for a promotional flyer that can be used to get others in your group excited about camping at Camp Everglades.