Kaffy C.
Yelp
This is a really nice campground/state park. We will stay here again. That said, there are some features I am not fond of.
Lots of little information posts in the campground telling you about native vegetation & wildlife. Nice covered picnic areas at the public beach area. They rent kayaks but only for 2 hours at a time ($21) no full day price. But there are several places in Marathon that rent them for a full day. We rented a tandem one from "Wheels 2 go" for 24 hours for $49. We just threw it in the truck but they will deliver. The kayak turned out the be a life saver because the beach was gross. I know the keys beaches are not naturally sandy and they are full of seaweed but there is no way we could swim in the water off the beach without wading through at least 100 yards of muck first. We tried. So, do yourself a favor and get a kayak and paddle out to the giant sandbar that is only 1/4 mile off shore from the kayak launch. It's a smooth, calm distance. We did it with our 4 year old daughter between us easily. The sandbar is beautiful, clear, waist deep and clean. Lots of other people and boats out there too but not crowded. Pack a lunch and spend the day if you can stay in the sun that long. Campsites are great. Level gravel, grill, cement surrounded with eye hooks embedded into them could come in handy as tie downs, picnic table and two 6x6 posts with eye hooks for laundry drying line, hammock, etc. Some are more private, some closer to the water with partial views and some seem just out in the open. Small park I think there are only 28 sites. We were on site #2. I wanted one closer to the water but am very happy with where we are. It's more secluded. With our camper set up and the truck parked across the front of the site you almost have total privacy. Which came in very handy since I ended up showering behind our camper with the outdoor shower feature after the first night. This is the first campground out of probably a dozen we have been to where I have refused to use the bathroom facilities. They built the campground in 2004 so I think the idea was to be more eco friendly since they also have solar panels, which I can get behind. However, the bathrooms have composting toilets and are on the second floor so I don't know how much is accumulating down there but it's a giant black hole of stank. There are signs everywhere to keep the toilet lids closed. I can't imagine what it would be like if they were not. It smelled so bad I can't use the toilets or the showers. I used the shower the first night and between the smell and the water being so dreadfully hot that I was sweating while in the shower I refused to return. I think there was something wrong with that shower because the water was HOT even though I had it all the way to cold. I know the cold setting is going to be relative to the outside temperature but it was not. It was hot, heated water. This felt awful after being in the sun. So thankfully we had that secluded spot and I was able to take advantage of the outdoor shower without much fear of flashing the neighbors. But exclusively using the bathroom in the camper brought up another problem. There is no sewer on sites, just a dump station. We stayed here for a week and after day 5 our tanks were full. We don't have one of those rolling poop tanks to take to the dump site so I had to move the whole camper and dump it. I considered getting one but at $100 for something I probably won't use again I couldn't do it. Of more concern was where will I store it?? We don't have a lot of storage space and those things are big and gross. No thanks. We don't usually camp for more than 5 days at a time. So, this is a great campground that had some things that didn't work for us which may not be a problem for others. But overall we had a great time and it's a great place in a wonderful location.
