Ok well, maybe more accurately four days at the beach.
We’ve crossed paths with the oceanfront campground at Gamble Rogers State Recreation area many times. We actually have stayed at other parks in the area, Tomoka and Faver Dykes, and very much enjoyed them.
As we would pass by via A1A, I wasn’t quite sure if beachfront camping would be worth being right along a major highway.
But it was high time we found out. Especially since beachside living hasn’t been as regular a part of my life since hitting the road.
Gamble Rogers
At first, I made a reservation in the river campground of Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area (our review), as that’s all that was available. I figured walking across the street to visit the beach would be just swell.
I just happened to check Reserve America the day before we left Melbourne and spotted a cancellation in the oceanfront campground. It didn’t take me but a click to switch our reservation over.
While the river campground across the street is a very nice camping loop with all newer spots and great site separation, nothing quite compares to having the roar of the ocean right out our windows.
It was worth putting up with the closer sites, and tighter campground to maneuver.
And did I mention an all day long ocean view?
We stayed on the beach for four wonderful glorious days, only leaving for a grocery run. We enjoyed breaks from our work day with long leisurely strolls and playing in the waves.
Having lived beachside for 10+ years in Melbourne, it’s a part of my life I miss at times – that easy access to such a luxury. Life on the road is awesome of course, with always changing views and experiences.
But I had forgotten how calming the ocean is to my soul.
I’m so glad we made the stop, despite the climbing temperatures we so desperately wanted to escape. And we hardly even noticed A1A was behind us.
$28/night is such a bargain for living with such a view!
Tips for Staying at Gamble Rogers:
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It can’t be all perfect, we have to be crabby about something, right? Not all of the oceanfront sites have an ocean view. The groves at some sites are quite overgrown. From about site 13 to the middle bathhouse are the best (we lucked out with Site #15!)
- If you’re in a motorhome and using the dump station, do not, and I repeat do NOT hook up your toad. The turn around at the end of the beach row is not wide enough to make the turn if you’re over about 30′. We had to unhitch to get turned around. In fact, if you can – hitch after leaving the park. Even the turn out of the camping gate to A1A is very tight, we almost had to unhitch again.
- Be sure to follow the directions that come in your Reserve America confirmation. Absolutely use exit 284 off I-95. Do not follow your GPS if it recommends the exit to the south. The only way from there to reach the park is via a road with a 8’6″ low clearance warning (that did not come up on any of our routing tools, including our Garmin RV 660LMT.). We made the mistake, and had to do a last minute scramble.
What’s Up Next?
We’re continuing our northward trek to New England for the rest of the summer. We were able to keep ahead of Tropical Storm Colin earlier this week as we passed through.
Our plans are still mostly unplanned, and we’re playing it by ear a stop at a time. Following our hearts and our desires.
In that spirit, we have cancelled our reservation at Escapade. As much as we love the organization, we’re just not rally sort of folks – it’s so far outside our comfort zone. Having something that big on our calendar was becoming draining and the cancellation date was fast approaching. Who knows, the reduced stress of no plans may just give us the energy to drop in anyway.
Hey Cherie and Chris. Site 15 is a good one at GRSP. I camp-hosted there last year. the ones on past the comfort station are shorter, with a couple very short. The Ranger station is (386) 517-2086 and I would call in case there is a road closure, since they are still recovering from Matthew. If they haven’t changed, there used to be 2 on demand sites (walk up) if they aren’t being used. You can’t reserve them and only renew a day at a time at the Ranger Station (on the Intercoastal side). There is no guarantee for these sites, but while I was there several people stayed for over a week; all they wanted to. Good tip on using Exit 284. Yep the gate is tight and stronger than the side of an RV.
I am enjoying watching your videos and blog. Learning all I can with a yearning to RV full-time. Thanks for sharing! We have a mobile business also so I am especially interested in using WiFi and cell service on the road.
Hi Sherry… be sure to check out our site dedicated to mobile internet. You can get started at http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/overview
It is always Great to read about your adventures…. Thank you!!
Loved the photos…born and raised in Miami makes me miss the beach a lot…will have to add this park to our list for when we next come east… Assateague is also on our list…we have friends who swear by that place…
Love the beach pic!
I am not sure which route you’re taking or where you’re ultimately trying to get to North. If you have a chance I would recommend stopping at Assateague. This could be either the Virginia side or the Maryland side but there is a state/national park there. There are no amenities. But you will have a glorious view of the ocean and have an opportunity to Run with the wild horses/ponies. It’s not an opportunity to miss.
Thanks so much.. that actually is kinda the route we’re thinking of taking. We shall see if we can make it happen.
Looks like a perfect spot to spend a few days – love the flat sand beaches. Good info on the hitching timing – we nearly had to unhitch pulling out of our last park, it was soooo tight at the end corner 🙁 Safe and fun travels – enjoy the unplanned-ness of your plans!
That’s a really nice picture of the beach. Beaches have a wonderful way of slowing us down and being in the moment. Safe travels as you make your way northward.
Living beachside is why we’ve decided to stay at Lucky C. for an extended time,probably until next year. Just so nice to be so close to the ocean! Too bad we didn’t get to meet you while you were in the area 🙁
That is one of our favorite RV parks for longer term stays in the area.. enjoy the fabulous beach access. When I lived there, I lived literally a quarter mile from that park.
Do you worry about salt air and water damage on your RV? Friends of ours had to replace the rails on his RV and blamed it on the former owners staying near the ocean. Just curious.
Salt air is corrosive for sure. A good washing afterwards is always a good idea. (We happened to follow up our style with a couple days of rain.)
Very interested to see where in NE you go. We are in Maine, lived in NH. NE isn’t the most rv friendly area of the country!
This will be our first time in our 10 years of RVing to RV in New England. We know it will be challenging, but still feels like something we should do.. it is such a lovely area of the country.
We are brand new RVers and we are actually heading up to New England on our maiden voyage this summer. I’ve heard it’s pretty difficult, but we have family up there (in CT and Mass), so we want to go visit. Then we’re planning on heading up to Acadia toward the end of September. I’ll be following you guys closely to see where you go. I am somewhat terrified of our GPS routing us toward some low clearance bridge or something….. We will be double and triple checking the routing beforehand, but as novice RVers constantly hearing from experienced RVers that New England is difficult, we’re a bit nervous.
We’re a bit nervous ourselves exploring New England .. especially without reservations. But it will be what it will be 🙂
2nd paragraph should say Faver Dykes, not Fayer Dyke. 🙂
Thanks.. obviously been a few years since we’ve been there 🙂
What a beautiful campground!
Nina
You guys would love it… except the beach in front in the State Park area doesn’t allow dogs 🙁 The areas on either side do however.
What a gorgeous campground! We’re definitely adding that to our “list” for the winter.
Nina
Be sure to watch availability closely… this campground does book far in advance.
The Outer Banks of NC and Assateague Island National Seashore are both totally worth a stop if you get over that way. Have a nice trip north, we just came south along the coast this fall.
We strongly considered going coastal the entire way up… but the balance between miles & getting to cooler temps doesn’t quite mesh out for us this time around.
Glad to hear about your love for the sand and surf. We live near Los Angeles and head to the Rincon Parkway, about 6 miles north of Ventura, on Hwy 1 as often as possible. All RVs park parallel to the coastline with ~15′-20′ from the RV to the rocky shore or seawall. There are 127 sites. Each site is ~45′ long. First come, first serve basis.
We’ve heard wonderful things about Rincon! We’ve stayed at another CA coastal site a few years back, and have very fond memories of it (Thornton Broome, or something like that if I recall.)