• Many RV campgrounds have grills at each camp sitecampfire image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  From the shallow teal waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the cobalt depths of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida's coastal campgrounds offer RV travelers waterfront respite. While a number of privately-owned RV parks dot both the Sunshine State's east and west coasts, travelers should call ahead to determine if the parks have more full-time residents than vacationers. Often times, an RV park may be an established community rather than a camp site. Many state parks have RV campgrounds with time limits, as do many privately run RV campgrounds.
  
  Florida campgrounds have fire ants, mosquitoes, no-see-um gnats, and snakes. Fire ants, tiny red ants that live in colonies, will bite people en masse. Learn to avoid anthills. Avoid mosquitoes and no-see-ums, more prominent in summer months, by using an insect spray with DEET in it and using citronella oil around the campsite. Florida has six venomous snakes: three types of rattlesnake, the cottonmouth, the copperhead, and the coral snake.
  
  

Fort DeSoto (Central West Coast)

• Fort DeSoto caps off the southern tip of Pinellas county (the peninsula midway down Florida's west coast) with mangroves, tidal pools, soft white sand, and hiking, biking and paddling trails. The campground, located just past the boat ramp at the north end of the park, takes up only a tiny portion of the park's 1,100-plus acreage. An interconnected chain of five islands, shaped like a wide "V," affords campers the chance to explore many different types of beach communities.
  
  The camp site has waterfront sites, although none are beach front. Pets are welcome, both at the campground and in many areas of the park. They must remain on a leash every place in the park except at the dog beach. The campground offers fresh water and electric hookups at every site and it has a dump station. Park rangers run a small camp store and a small shopping plaza three miles north of the park has camping necessities as well.Fees start at just over $30 per night.
  
  The campground also has hot water showers and laundry facilities, as well as separate trailer parking for boats. The park has its own boat ramp as well as kayak, canoe, and bike rentals and a bait shop on one of the two fishing piers.
  
  3500 Pinellas Bayway South
  
  Tierra Verde, FL 33715
  
  727-893-9185
  
  pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_Desoto.htm
  
  

St. George Island (Panhandle)

• St. George Island State Park is a white ribbon of sand, nestled carefully between Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. This barrier island protects the mainland from harsh storms and offers travelers an undeveloped stretch of Florida's beach. The campground, snuggled between sand dunes and pine forest, has 60 sites that accept RVs up to 43 feet long. Each site has water and electric hookups, and the campground has a dump station. The park welcomes pets on leashes but does not allow them on the beach. The campground has hot showers as well as nature trails and a playground. Campsites cost $24 per night.
  
  St. George Island State Park
  
  1900 E. Gulf Beach Drive
  
  St. George Island, FL 32328
  
  850-927-2111
  
  floridastateparks.org/stgeorgeisland/default.cfm
  
  

Bahia Honda State Park (Florida Keys)

• With the Atlantic on the east side of the park and the Gulf on the west, RV campers get the benefits of both coasts steps away from their door. Bahia Honda State Park encompasses all of Bahia Honda Key (translated to mean "Deep Bay" in Spanish). Bahia Honda has a wide stretch of sandy beach, a rarity in the Florida Keys. It also has hiking trails, canoe and kayak rentals, and dive and snorkel trips to nearby Looe Key Marine Sanctuary.
  
  A small dive shop at the park has some necessities as well as a grill, coffee service, and ice cream, but the next key south, Big Pine, has a grocery store, as does the city of Marathon on Grassy Key, slightly north of Bahia Honda. The park has 80 camp sites, 48 of which at the Buttonwood campground can accommodate RVs up to 40 feet. Smaller RVs (up to 14 feet), such as Volkswagen Vanagons, Westfalias, and Roadtreks can take advantage of an additional 34 sites at the Sandspur campground, while the remaining eight sites at the Bayside campground allow vehicles no taller than 6 feet, 8 inches. All the camp sites in Buttonwood have water and electricity, and this campground has some waterfront sites, a dump station, hot water showers. Only some sites at the Sandspur campground have electricity, although this campground has hot water showers as well. All three campgrounds have picnic tables, grills, and restrooms. Bahia Honda welcomes leashed pets, but not on the beach.
  
  Bahia Honda State Park
  
  36850 Overseas Highway
  
  Big Pine Key, Florida 33043
  
  305-872-2353
  
  floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda