SP Campground Review – Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Jupiter, FL

December 17, 2017 by libertatemamo 21 Comments

A huge and naturally diverse State Park just a few miles north of Jupiter on the East Coast of Florida.

Link to campground here: Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Jupiter, FL
Link to map location here: Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Jupiter, FL

1. Site Quality = 3.5/5
   There are two main RV camping areas in this park (located ~4 miles apart!) with very different site quality and feel:
   • Pine Grove Campground (FHU, Big Rig Friendly, rate 4/5) – This is the newest camping loop located right near the entrance of the park and it’s definitely the place to stay if you have a big rig! It has 90 total sites arranged in two large loops. Sites are all FHU (50A/water/sewer) back-in and absolutely lovely with and large, flat gravel pads, excellent separation and pleasant large “sitting areas” containing picnic table, fire pit and grill. Only real dings? The campground was re-built not that long ago so it is very open (almost zero shade), but there is good ground vegetation and a few palm trees around camp. Also, you are fairly close to Hwy 1 here so you DO get some road-noise in camp. It’s more annoying in sites nearest the highway (especially sites #65 through #71, you can even see cars from some of these!), and less prevalent in the sites nearest the entrance of the two loops, but you do get *some* noise throughout camp. Nicest sites are the ones on the outer edges of the two loops since they have lovely green views behind them, in particular outside-facing (even-numbered) sites #6-14 in first loop and outside-facing (even-numbered) sites #76-88 in second loop. Note that sites #2 & 4 are literally right next to the kids playground, so they’re great for those with kiddies, but perhaps not so great for those without. Sites in this campground rate 4/5 in my opinion. Cost $26/night.
     NOTE1 -> Site Orientation: Since Pine Grove Campground doesn’t have any tree shade and FL can get HOT, you’ll want to consider your orientation when booking a site here. All sites are arranged N-S alignment so if you’re a Class A and chose a site where your front window faces South you will get sun in your windshield all day, whereas sites where your window faces North will give you shade in the windshield all day. It makes a huge difference in heat generation! We had site #50 which gave us shade in the front all day, plus we got shade in our “sitting area” all afternoon. 
   • River Campground (water/electric, Smaller Rigs Only, rate 2.5/5) – This is a smaller campground near the riverfront ~4 miles from the main entrance. It’s wonderfully QUIET here (= the main bonus compared to Pine Grove Campground) plus you have direct access the the riverfront and all the activities around it (kayaking etc.), but sites themselves are only so-so. All are 50A/water only (no sewer) and very close together in a small loop. Lots of tall mature trees and vegetation here so generally good shade throughout, but apart from a few, select sites (e.g. #115, #119) separation from your neighbor is poor with some sites only separated by a log on the ground. Ground is a mix of bare and grass with sites of varying size, mostly flat but some are quite unlevel. Also most sites are perpendicular to the main road making access difficult for anything of size. There are three large, very-new-looking concrete pull-throughs (#101, #105, #109) which can potentially take larger rigs, plus there are four disabled-access sites that are also paved (#96, #106, #124, #136) and somewhat larger, but all others are best suited to smaller rigs (I’d say up to 30 ft max with some sites only 20 ft max). Sites in this campground rate 2.5/5 in my opinion. Cost $26/night.
     NOTE2 -> Reservations: Sites are reservable 11-mo in advance and reservations are strongly recommended in winter season (high season). 2-4 sites in each campground are first-come-first-serve (non-reservable) so there is a chance to get a site if you don’t have a reservation, but you’ll need to get here early and hope for an open spot. Stay limit is 14-days.
     NOTE3 -> Cell Signal: For those that care about cell signal it was very strong at Pine Grove (all carriers), but very weak in River Campground.
     NOTE4 -> Other Camping: There is also a primitive camping area, 12 rentable cabins and even an equestrian area here. All look quite nice, although I did not get a look inside the cabins.
     
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Nice facilities here. Pine Grove has 4 facility buildings, while River View has two. Flush toilets plus there are large (spacious) individual walk-in showers with nice shower heads & temp control. All were clean and nicely kept while we were here. Only slight ding? Water pressure was low and hot temps take a while to kick in. Each facility also has laundry machines (one washer, one dryer, $2.50 each) as well as a small book-swap (certain facilities only). On site dump station (Pine Grove Campground only).
3. Location = 5/5
   This is a great location to explore the State Park and nearby Jupiter. The State Park itself is HUGE covering 10,500 acres of incredible natural beauty with 13 natural communities, including sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, mangroves, river swamps, and the Loxahatchee River (Florida’s first federally designated Wild and Scenic River) which runs through the park. On top of this there are lots of trails in the park from regular hiking/biking trails to 10 miles of designated off-road Mountain Biking trails covering all levels from easy through expert. There’s even kayak & bike rentals, river tours and horse-back riding on-site! There is SO much to do just at the park itself! Nearby Jupiter is also a lovely town with a wonderful lighthouse, lots of waterfront dining & plenty of shopping & other sightseeing.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Wonderful place for doggie! There is lots of space in camp, plus miles of hiking trails around the park. In addition there are several on-site dog runs (one near each campground) plus a wonderful (fabulous) off-leash dog beach just 10 mins away (Jupiter Dog Beach). The beach a must-do for every RV dog! Poo bags provided on-site in several locations.

Overall Rating = 4.4
BONUS ALERT = Camp in a huge and naturally diverse State Park!

Summary: We chose this as a stop to see Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, enjoy nearby Jupiter dog beach and explore the surrounding area. It turned out to be a great stop! This is a HUGE State Park (the largest in Florida) covering over 10,500 acres of natural beauty including the Wild & Scenic Loxahatchee River. There are TONS of activities in the park itself from water stuff (boat tours, kayaking) to hiking/biking, mountain biking (there over 10 miles of dedicated off-road Mountain Bike trails here), picnicking, and horseback riding (you can do it on-site). It really is a natural wonder! For RV’s there are 2 main camping areas located ~4 miles apart with very different look and feel. The Pine Grove Campground is the closest campground to the entrance and has the newest and largest sites. This is definitely the spot for big rigs! Sites are large, flat, spacious FHU with great separation and lovely “sitting areas” containing picnic table, fire pit and grill. The only dings here are no shade (for heat purposes chose your site based on the orientation you want to the sun) and the proximity to Hwy 1 means you do get *some* road noise throughout camp. We had a site nearest the entrance of the loop (site #50) which had minimal road-noise and faced north so we had shade on our front windshield all day. We liked it! The River Campground is (as you expect) near the river ~4 miles from the entrance to the state park. For this reason it’s wonderfully QUIET plus it’s got lots of mature trees & vegetation so it’s generally well-shaded throughout. Main dings are that sites are older and smaller (30 ft max) with bare ground or grass and generally very poor separation (although there are a few exceptions). We wouldn’t be able to fit “the beast” here. Nearby Jupiter is a lovely town with a beautiful lighthouse, a FABULOUS dog beach (Jupiter Dog Beach) and lots of great water-front dining. We loved our stay here and made full use of the extensive on-site hiking/biking trails as well as the Dog Beach just down the road. Our site was fabulous (so spacious and FHU) and our only wish was that the Pine Grove Campground had been completely quiet from road-noise. We’d definitely return.

Extra Info: Strong cell signal at Pine Grove Campground (Verizon 2 bars bars LTE, ATT 4 bars LTE, T-Mobile binge-on worked), but WEAK cell signal at River Campground (my ATT phone varied from 2 bars 4G to nothing). ~130 total sites, all reservable online except for 2-4 sites which are first-come-first-serve in each campground. All sites cost $26/night. On-site dump station (Pine Grove Campground only).

NOTE5/ You can see a photo of each and every site at Jonathan Dickinson SP on campsitephotos.com. Just beware that these photos look a few years old -> there’s more vegetation in Pine Grove Campground now, plus the 3 newer paved pull-through sites in River Campground (#101, #105, #109) are not on there.