Boca Chita Campground
3Heads uppark alerts, one naming this campground
- Right now
- Camping and Docking at Boca Chita and Elliott KeysInformation naming this campground · taking bookings
- A night
- $35–$60Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 453 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Boca Chita Key is only accessible by boat. No services are available on the island. Boca Chita Key is the park's most popular island. It features beautiful waterfront views, a grassy camping area, picnic tables and grills. Toilets are available, but there are no showers, sinks or drinking water. The harbor entrance at low tide is approximately four feet. This location is available on a first-come, first-served basis only. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site. Once on-site, you can pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app. There is limited cellular connectivity at this location. Please download the free Recreation.gov mobile app and create an account prior to arrival. Keep reading
Recreation
Boca Chita Key features daytime use and overnight camping. Grills and picnic tables are in designated camping areas. A half mile hiking trail starts just east of the restrooms. The trail continues to the south end of the island and emerges near the pavilion.
Facilities
Picnic Tables and grills are available at the designated campsites Flushable toilets are available at Boca Chita Key. There is no drinking water or electricity, sales facilities, sinks or showers. Camping and marina use fees are due daily upon arrival or no later than official sunset. No reservations may be made in advance for these campgrounds; they are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tents – Permitted in designated areas only. There is no backcountry camping in the park. Camping is limited to fourteen consecutive days or no more than thirty days within a calendar year. Trash – There is no trash collection. Pack out all trash. Quiet Hours - 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. During quiet hours all noise must be kept to a minimum. Insects – May be prevalent year round. Expect heavy populations of insects during the warmer months. Pets, with the exception of service animals, are not allowed on Boca Chita Key including vessels docked at Boca Chita Key. Fires - Ground fires are not permitted except at the group campsite on Elliott Key. Dead and downed wood may be collected only within the vicinity of the campgrounds. Wildlife – Do not feed wildlife. Food and garbage should be stored in a boat or animal-proof cooler. Swimming – Swimming is not permitted in boat harbors.
Natural Features
The iconic and historic lighthouse, built by Mark Honeywell in the 1930s, guides boats to the beauty and wonders of the park. Boca Chita is the most visited island in the park. The observation deck of the 65 foot tall lighthouse provides a fantastic view of islands, bay, ocean and Miami skyline. If park employees are around they may be able to open the observation deck for viewing. A half mile hiking trail starts just east of the restrooms. The trail continues to the south end of the island and emerges near the pavilion.
Nearby Attractions
Boca Chita Key is located just north of Elliott Key.
Charges & Cancellations
Ensure one of the designated 21 campsites is available prior to paying. Once payment is made on-site, we do not offer refunds or modifications.
What the agency tells you
- Boca Chita Key is only accessible by boat. - No services are available on the island. - This location is available on a first-come, first-served basis only. Once all 21 designated campsites are filled, there will be no additional space allowed for overnight camping. Visitors are required to physically arrive at the campground to purchase and claim a site. Prior to paying, ensure one of the 21 designated campsites is available. Once payment is made on-site, we do not offer refunds or modifications. Once on-site, you can pay for your campsite(s) by scanning a QR code using the Recreation.gov mobile app. Download the free Recreation.gov mobile app on Android or iOS prior to your arrival as some remote areas have limited or no cellular service. You can also pay using Recreation.gov and searching for Biscayne National Park.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 45 · 21 tent-only, 23 boat-in
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed at 21 of 45 sites
- Campfires
- Not allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - year round
- Showers
- None at this campground
- “Toilets are available, but there are no showers, sinks or drinking water.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Coast
- Picnicking
Fully booked this Friday and Saturday, all 2 site-nights takenread 16:43 UTC
recreation.gov lists 3 of the 45 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
OpenBookedNot reservable
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday, and on the one midweek night after it that the agency has released as well. read 16:43 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
These counts cover the 44 reservable sites only. This campground also has first-come sites, and recreation.gov publishes no availability for a site you can’t reserve.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 17
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $35–$60 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Ensure one of the designated 21 campsites is available prior to paying. Once payment is made on-site, we do not offer refunds or modifications.” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:43 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
45 sites
All 45 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 24 of the 45 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 1 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 10 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 11 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 12 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 13 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 14 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 15 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 16 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 17 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 18 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 19 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 2 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 20 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 21 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 3 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 4 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 5 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 6 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 7 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 8 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Campsite 9 | tent only nonelectric | |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 1 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 10 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 11 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 12 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 13 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 14 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 15 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 16 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 17 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 18 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 19 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 2 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 20 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 21 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 3 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 4 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 5 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 6 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 7 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 8 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Docking and Campsite 9 | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Campground | Overnight (Tue-Thu) | boat in | $35–$60 |
| Boca Chita Key | Day Use (Fri-Mon) | mooring | $25 |
| Boca Chita Key and Campground | Overnight (Fri-Mon) | boat in | $35–$60 |
25 of 45 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Elliot Key CampgroundBiscayne National Park · 5.0 mi
Long Pine Key CampgroundEverglades National Park · 31 mi
Pinecrest Group CampgroundBig Cypress National Preserve · 49 mi
Mitchell Landing CampgroundBig Cypress National Preserve · 50 mi
Flamingo CampgroundEverglades National Park · 55 mi
Midway Campground (FL)Big Cypress National Preserve · 56 miBoca Chita Key is only accessible by boat. Use of a nautical chart and/or GPS is recommended for safe navigation.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Coral Gables, FL
Typical weather
Typical October night 76°F, day 87°F.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Boca Chita Campground is in Florida’s 28th congressional district. Its representative, Carlos Gimenez (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
How we know
every fact on this page, and where it came from
“…code using the Recreation.gov mobile app. There is limited cellular connectivity at this location. Please download the free Recreation.gov…”