Anastasia State Park, FL

On the Beach! 

We were SO excited for our trip to Anastasia State Park in St Augustine, FL for two reasons – we were camping next to the beach and we were meeting up with my in-laws who rented a Class A RV! We decided to leave a night earlier than we anticipated because I was able to get off earlier that day to pack up the camper. If you follow us on Instagram (@ happyhobbycampers) you see I take pride in being able to hook up our camper by myself. Then my husband always comes home and double checks everything (thankfully).

We have been very fortunate that we have not crossed scary weather driving with the camper, but our luck ran out this trip. We were on the front edge of a scary line of storms for most of the ride down to St. Augustine and it was SCARY. The wind was really kicking up and there were a few white knuckle moments for my husband. He was really cautious and drove well under the speed limit keeping us safe. In the future, I’ll pass on that whole “windy stormy kind of raining” Florida weather while driving!

Anastasia State Park has to be one of THE darkest campgrounds we have been too. It is very narrow driving through the loops and it is DARK. We had to back in in the dark and it was tricky because we were on the bend of the loop. After a few attempts we maneuvered the camper into our tight spot and although it was crooked (which we laughed about in the morning) we happy with our in-the-middle-of-the-night park job. Although our site was snug, it was actually really nice because it was very private. There was an extra long picnic table and a fire ring. We could hear the music from the Amphitheater too! We did experience one of first camping crisises on this trip. Looks like the thermistor blew in our fridge after multiple different trouble shooting techniques. I’m glad it’s a quick Amazon order and it will be fixed, but only after reading the owners manual top to bottom and YouTubing it for a few hours did I figure it out.

Site #81

In the morning, we realized how BEAUTIFUL this park is. You are close to the beach, the sites are so private with an abundance of trees between sites and the bath houses were immaculate. We were excited because my in-laws were on there way and arrived later that morning. They were on a separate loop, but we didn’t mind the walking distance because it was just so beautiful here! They had a big Class A and a downfall of Anastasia State Park is that there are not many 50 amp sites. So it was a little warm for them with two ACs and only being able to run one. We spend our first night hanging at their campsite and played a vicious game of UNO. It was fun! Between the two of us we had 4 dogs, ranging from a Shitzu to a Labordane puppy to Lucy. We had every size dog at our site!

The next day, our in-laws took their grand puppy Lucy for a few hours and let Rick and I go to the beach for a morning date. Now, what was NOT on the website was the LONG WALK to the Beach. I mean its probably a good ten minute walk down the board walk and then down the beach. Once you make the walk though, the beach is incredible. It was very quiet, not too many people and the weather was perfect. Unfortunately, Rick’s sunglasses were taken by the ocean before we ended our beach day, but the day was ended quickly after that because I was mad but boys with be boys 🙂  sometimes you have to realize there are more important things to stress about and a pair of sunglasses isn’t one of them 🙂

Beach days with friends!

We were SO HAPPY when Rick’s best friend and his wife decided they wanted to come for Saturday night. Being the party planner I am, I of course had to do some kind of themed party – so luau night it was! Last plug for the Instant Pot, but if you don’t have one in your camper you are missing out! I made Hawaiian Pulled Pork and start to finish it was done in under 2 hours. Our Luau spread was amazinggggggggg. We had Hawaiian Pulled Pork, grilled pineapples, Hawaiian Fried Rice, Potato Salad, Tapa Beef Skewers and corn on the cob. The decorations added to the theme and thankfully the rain held off all night. We even snuck in a few games of Beersbie.

The Luau meal spread!

The proximity to the beach is awesome at Anastasia State Park. Its a two minute drive (and a ten minute walk lol) to get there but it is so nice you don’t have to deal with the crowds. We finished up our last full day with our family and friends on the beach. It was so perfect – minus the wicked sunburn on my forehead. The only complaint I have about this park is that animals are not allowed on the beach. I am guessing because of the long board walk and animal waste, but who knows. The campground host mentioned a few dog friendly beaches with in ten minutes, but having a fluffy golden retriever, she HATES the beach. We finished our quiet Sunday night with my mother in law cooking some awesome ribs and playing some Spite and Malice.

Rick teaching his parents the ways Spite and Malice

We loved this campground, too, but we just didn’t have enough time here to enjoy as much as we would have liked. There is SO much to see and we didn’t even venture into down town St. Augustine. If you are planning on doing this park, make sure to spend enough time to see Anastasia State Park and downtown St. Augustine! There is SO much to see – especially all the historical Forts and such. This park is also strict on their dog policy of leaving dogs in campers – so please don’t leave your furry friends alone in the camper for long durations of time. Final note, the Park Rangers at Anastasia State Park were the friendliest and most helpful I’ve ever met. They even lent Lucy their hat for a cute photo op!! We will definitely be back here and for a longer stay next time! The best part about this trip was to share our love for camping with family and friends!! Happy Trails!

Lucy – Florida State Park Ranger