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Florida’s rural heartlands stretch north and west of Lake Okeechobee, the state’s largest freshwater lake. This is the spot to escape the crowds, whether parking your RV on a farmland Hipcamp, hiking and paddling the wetlands of Lake Kissimmee State Park, or fishing for bass on Lake Placid.
Just a 40-minute drive from Orlando, the Canaveral National Seashore has some of the best backcountry camping along the Atlantic Coast, where you can boat or kayak to remote islands and pitch your tent right on the beach. Further north, there are plenty of RV parks and campgrounds between New Smyrna Beach, Daytona Beach, and Palm Coast, with easy access to the beaches, dunes, and lagoons.
Urban campers have plenty of options around Tampa, the gateway to Central Florida’s Gulf Coast. Pitch your tent by white-sand beaches at Fort de Soto Park or Cayo Costa State Park, go fishing and hiking at Little Manatee River State Park, or enjoy some of Florida’s only whitewater rafting at Hillsborough River State Park.