Sunday Favorites: Camping at Turtle Beach

Camping was a big part of my life growing up. I’ve been camping since I could walk. It’s a great way to teach children a lifelong appreciation of nature and wildlife, as well as nurture mental health while spending quality family time together without distractions like TV or electronics.

I pulled out my 20-year-old ”camping box“ of equipment that can ensure survival without power, should we decide to brave the real outdoors. But since we do have two small children, with one still in diapers, we opted for a closer, less exotic adventure.

We booked a spot at Turtle Beach Campground on Siesta Key. The small campground is located on the southern end of the island and is one of few Florida campgrounds left with direct beach access. Located on the Gulf side of Midnight Pass Road, you can almost miss the modest campground if you’re not looking for it. My husband did many times while running to 7-11 for the odds and ends we forgto.

The campground consists of a 14-acre parcel that accommodates 39 small, crushed shell sites. Each site has a futuristic ”power pedestal“ with multiple outlets and cable. The campground also has wifi, washers and dryers and bathrooms with hot-water showers.

Most of the campers were in RVs. We were sandwiched in between two camping trailers at site 10, which was a perfect distance from the bathrooms.

I personally considered this experience more like glamping, but it was perfect for our first family camping trip. Turtle Beach Campground is located right next to Turtle Beach Park, which has public amenities like a playground, kayak launch and parking for guests (the campground only allows for one car per site). We were a little ambitious and brought a paddle board and kayak, but didn’t use it during our three-night stay.

The weather was a bit dreary and cold the first couple days. After setting up camp, we headed straight the beach donning swim clothes and snorkeling equipment but the weather and cloudier-than-usual water made actual swimming less than desirable. Still, the boys had fun playing in the sand and the break. After that, we headed to the playground for more fun.

One great thing about the campground is that has a private, shady picnic area for use by its residents between the camp sites and the beach. Here you can chill, grill and enjoy the shade of sea grapes and Australian Pines. After all that activity, we opted to walk across the street to the Turtle Beach Grill rather than bother with cooking on our first night. The fish and chips were excellent!

The next morning, we made pancakes and went on a walk along a trail at the beach. The weather was cloudy and chilly, making it a perfect walking day. Afterward, we decided to take the trolley to Siesta Village and take advantage of the oyster happy hour at Siesta Key Oyster Bar. The kids absolutely loved riding the trolley to and from the village. By the time we returned, it was dark but the kids loved seeing the Christmas lights.

There was one thing missing at the campground, you aren’t allowed to have a campfire there. So we were left wanting that night, which would have been the perfect night for a campfire, but we improvised by making s’mores on a charcoal grill. Afterward, we headed out to the beach at the request of my 4-year-old son. He really wanted to play ”finding bigfoot“ with flashlights in the dark. It turned out to be really fun! I was lucky enough to capture some of it on video.

The following day was beautiful, sunny and perfect. We had a great time at the beach and playground. The highlight of the day was when a tourist mistook a gopher tortoise for a sea turtle laying eggs. We ended the night watching fireworks from the beach, which was magical for the kids and headed to bed early.

It was a lovely first camping experience. The cool beach breezes, great water pressure and lack of bugs made tent camping totally enjoyable. The only con I can think of is that spots at Turtle Beach Campground are booked up about a year in advance so you definitely have to plan ahead! Now we’ll have to work on our camping efficiency so we don’t have to make two trips to bring all our stuff!