Monument Lake Campground

Our group of four stayed at Site 1 at the Monument Lake Campground right at the beginning of the New Year to participate in a 36-mile walk over 2 days with the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes of Florida (#DefendTheSacred). We had an amazing time sleeping and waking up at Monument Lake!

The campground is relatively small and private, which we loved. Each site is very large, with enough space to fit several cars or up to 10 people. Each site also has a fire pit with grill, which would have been awesome to use if we found some firewood.

All the sites are situated in a circular fashion around the small lake. It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk around the whole thing. Bathrooms were clean and an easy walking distance from our campsite. There were two bathroom stalls and two sinks with mirrors in the women's bathroom. No showers.

There are no other activities at the campground (no trails, paddle rentals, boardwalks, etc.). Just campsites, fire pits and bathrooms.

The best part of staying here was the wildlife in the mornings. Right in front of campsite 1, two roseate spoonbills meet each other by the lake and take off flying together for the day. We saw them do this two days in a row! They congregate with ibis and other birds that fly in right at sunrise. There are also several alligators in Monument Lake, which was cool to see at night.

The view of stars was spectacular and the morning fog was magical. We were there on a cold weekend, so bugs were present but definitely manageable. I slept comfortably in my car with the windows rolled partway down and a bug screen over the window. Beware of dew!

One of the camp hosts we met, Chris, was extremely helpful and friendly. He helped me fix a booking mistake I made when I booked two campsite instead of one. If you read this, thanks Chris.

All in all, we loved our experience here and would recommend it to anyone looking for a calm, simple, beautiful place to sleep while staying in Big Cypress National Preserve.

buggy at night ; but day time wild life was great.

its still a good place to camp but it will never be as easy and reflective of the Gladesmans culture as it used to be and should be. It is more of a N{S preferred targeted visitor than those of us who lived and roamed the Big Cypress before the NPS took over and turned it into more of a Park for the snow birds

Campground itself is a good overnight stop. Bugs were awful!!

Great staff always, have camped many times over the years. ENP is an awesome place.

Seclusion was great! Wildlife great! Access to bathrooms was great! Ample space, and access to grills were superb! However, There was 2 bright lights at the main restrooms, which, in my opinion, took away from seeing the Milky Way. (This was on a new moon night)

Great experience. Everyone super friendly and well managed site.

Very well kept campground. Unfortunately we only stopped by overnight but would have enjoyed staying there a few days. Maybe next trip.

This is a great central location if you want to be close to some cool things to do within the preserve. It’s well maintained by the staff and we camp here just about every year.

I stayed in #2. It was lakefront. I had a myriad of ibis, egret and others as a continual backdrop to my view along. I saw daily the1 alligators that live there. It’s quiet, relatively small. You can walk around the lake easily and the staff is gracious and knowledgeable. The bathrooms are clean. It is more of a rustic site. If I’m in the area, I will definitely choose this place again.