Markham Park Campground

We booked nine days at Markham Park after reading blog posts and reviews. We were very happy with our choice. The office staff was very helpful and friendly. We had a large space, E-6, with a paved pad that backed up to the canal. Note: most of the sites are not paved, but are either gravel or grass. The size and quality vary somewhat, but there are large shade trees throughout and sites are level. RV sites have full hookups with a fire ring and picnic table and there is a primitive camping/tenting area.

Markham offers an amazing array of activities: Mountain bike trails, paved multi-use path, boat ramps, disc golf course, model airplane field, radio controlled 4-wheeler course, observatory, playgrounds, picnic shelters, sports courts, archery and target ranges, and Barkham at Markham - one of the nicest dog parks I’ve ever seen! Whew! The only downside to all the great activities is the attendant noise – nothing lasts late into the night, but be aware you’ll hear activity on the gun range and during the day the personal watercraft buzz up and down the canal.

Markham also makes a great base to explore the area. It’s about an hour to Shark Valley Visitor Center in Everglades National Park (great 15-mile paved bike trail through the Everglades – we counted 89 alligators on our ride!); about an hour and a half to the Biscayne National Park (we enjoyed the boat ride to Boca Chita Key); and about 2 hours to Big Cypress National Preserve (lots of excellent kayaking, we did about 4 hours on the Turner River Canoe Trail).

We had 3 bars of Verizon 4G unboosted. The park also has free WiFi which worked intermittently.

We like this park because it it's the closest to our family, and home base. We decided that being full time RVers this will be the best place for or winter stop. The park is a county park with trails, Mountain Bike trails, water sports, boat ramp, Large Dog Park, planetarium, and a shooting range. There are over 10 loops of camping sites, back in and pull-throughs, with water, electric, and sewer. The WiFi is the best we had yet in any campground we have been.
If you like birds, this place is for you! This park is very close to the Everglades, Big Cypress, and other nature places if that is what you like. Plenty of hiking, and biking! Shopping is plentiful, with Sawgrass Mall only 5 miles away, restaurants, and nightlife.
The only one downside is the noise, we found the jet skies driving up and down the canal was a little annoying. Also the campsites in the back of the park from the letter "F" up have to deal with the sounds of gunfire from the shooting range from early to late hours. Our first year we made the mistake to stay in Letter K, this year in D2 was a lot better. Some issues with getting reception on SirusXM radio, DISH satellite was okay. Bathrooms are clean, and showers are good. We will be back in November.

Reviews are subjective, so I want to preface this by acknowledging that everyone has different camping styles. We chose this campground ONLY for its location as we traveled back north on our Florida journey over Christmas.

I made reservations over the phone, and I wasn't given a choice of sites, but it looked like the farther back, the better. We were in the first section (A-C). Our site was gravel/grass and not entirely level. It had just enough room for our 22' motorhome and Jeep. We did have to use some leveling blocks. I believe every site has full hook-ups. There was also a picnic table and fire ring (which was full of broken glass).

As soon as we drove up to our site, a man came out and told us that he "has friends down here." I'm not sure what that meant, but it immediately put me on guard. Thankfully, that was the only strange interaction with him, and everyone seemed to respect boundaries after that. I was surprised how quiet the campground actually was given that we were super close to each other. Then again, we were there on Christmas Eve, so I'm not sure how it would be otherwise. I think this was the closest we had ever been to camping neighbors. It appeared that many of the campers were there for a long stay. Our site also backed up to a parking lot on the canal which is probably pretty busy on the weekends. It looked to be a ramp for loading watercraft.

The description of the park online sounded nice, and we were excited about the lovely dog park we saw on the drive in. However, when we tried to get in the dog park, there was a code required. I went to the office, and I was informed that even though we just paid $40 for a terrible campsite, we would also have to pay the regular dog park fee and show our vaccination records. I was surprised that this wasn't included in our camping fee, so be aware.

There are mountain bike trails which were not accessible unless you paid an extra fee and passed some kind of certification by watching a video. I got the feeling this park was very regulated. My husband and I went for a jog on Christmas morning and got chased down twice by security to make sure we were camping. So, I guess this park is safe.

The bathrooms were surprisingly dirty. I assumed with all the regulations and staff on duty that they would have been sparkling clean.

I can feel the negativity in my review. I know that the location of this park is ideal for a lot of reasons, and the other two reviews on this campground are very positive, so keep that in mind. The park does offer a lot of different activities, and I was impressed by that. I think it just wasn't our style, and it seemed expensive for what we got.

This park has a ton to offer unfortunately the campground is in need of lawn maintenance. There are a lot of people that live there full time.

Currently closed due to COVID-19

Markham park has always been a favorite for us to visit when our children were younger and at other times. It has a great trail and is in a very natural setting to include the Everglades. However, camping here was a different experience. We were here 8 days. The lawn should be kept short for campers especially those with pets. We stayed in the H section and were surprised that the restrooms and showers were poorly maintained and are outdated. Our father in law needs a wide open area to feel safe to shower and the safety handle was missing from the wall and his shower had poor drainage. My husband visited the other restrooms closer to the A - G sections and noticed that they were more up to date. However when the office was informed, they said that a second person had also made the same complaint on a Sunday (5 days prior to my going to the office). Knowing the liability of the up keep of public places, how can their Maintenance dept not be aware. It is in part because theshowers & restrooms are not cleaned daily as it should. Even after we reported on a Wednesday, that the bathrooms needed attention, When I went to see them on a Friday, the bathrooms were still in a poor state. The internet was very poor, even after we purchased a hot spot; which the office agreed that it was since it was a public site. For anyone staying in the K area and beyond, you will hear the shooting range after 7pm. The supervisor was nice but didn't apologize or seem to see an Urgency in taking care of this. Linda was great in assisting us with our reservation. And we were ready to reserve 3 weeks; for different dates but will not be staying. We stayed at CB Smith prior and had good reception, clean restrooms, daily maintenance, and constant security driving by at night. Security in the camp areas was another thing we didn't notice for such a large camp / park area. They were seen mainly near the entrance. Hoping that there will be changes so that we may visit this beautiful place again.