Anybody stay at Jetty Park, FL?

[Minnie's Mate]

My wife found Jetty Park campground on the internet and had planned for us to stay there over Memorial Day Weekend. They only take reservations 90 days max in advance so we have been waiting to make one. I was getting ready to make a reservation yesterday when I went on-line to find the phone number and came across several web sites with reviews. There were several people that have been staying there for years and like it, but it seems like the rest of the reviews were from people that had only stayed there once or twice and had negative experiences.

The negative comments ranged from no hot water in the bath houses to no ice available at the camp store to lack of facilities (campground play ground, etc.) to one reviewer said it appeared that they "doubled up" the campers on the campsites during crowded weekends. He said they had site 101 and there was a tent right next to them with a card board sign with the hand written number 101-A on it. One reviewer said that their site and the one next door had to share a single water hose-bib and fortunately the next door neighbor had a "Y" connector or one of them would have been without a water connection since the campground didn't furnish them. One repeat guest said things were getting better, though.

My concern is, are these conditions accurate and still valid or have things changed enough to enjoy the weekend? I am also concerned that if we won't enjoy the weekend is it too late to get a camp site at another location for the holiday weekend.

If we should look else where, any suggestions for any where in central Florida would be greatly appreciated.

[2Alaska]

I just came back from Fl and we looked at staying at Jetty Park but the prices were a bit high. We were just taking a short trip using tents.(The Argosy not quite done yet) They wanted to charge us 30.00 a night for a basic tent site with an additonal 10.00 charge for an extra tent! (which we had). Also they wouldn't allow campfires. It is only 5.00 a day to spend a day there though. Which we did and it was very nice. The playground was nice, beach was great, and the camp store was handy. I went there for the day just to check it out. I had also seen the good and not so good reviews. They are very nice on the phone though.
We ended up at Manatee Hammock in Bellwood and loved it there. Very nice people although I guess it's a bit more hectic in the Summer months. It's on the Indian River and close to Kennedy Space Center. It was much cheaper, and for us that was the clincher. It was only 20.00 a night for us and we spent the day at Jetty 1 day for the 5 bucks. There wasn't a beach at Mantee just a pier but I'd stay at Manatee again anytime. If you want to spend a lot of time on the beach Jetty is very nice but we were doing a lot of looking around and couldn't justify that kind of cost for sleeping in tents. Just my .02. I didn't compare the cost of bringing the camper to either one but in the end we were very glad to have not camped there. It did seem very nice but pricey. We went to Cape Canveral National Seashore for 3.00 per adult and it was a very nice beach there also. Good luck!
2Alaska
If you want to check it out here's the Manatee link
Manatee Hammock Camping Area - Titusville, Florida

[Minnie's Mate]

Thanks, do you think you would stay at Jetty Park with your Argosy? We are interested in being as close to the beach as possible and probably won't leave the campground once we are there.

[2Alaska]

If you want to be close to the beach and hang out at the campround Jetty is probably the place. I would camp there with my Argosy and spend a lot of time on the beach. The beach was very nice and the water was warm. You can see the cruise ships coming in and out which my kids loved. The playground was nice and they spent a lot of time playing on it. You can go fishing there too if you want. We also did some swimming, collecting shells, and had a picnic. We thought that the little store was very reasonably priced (Can you believe we needed sunscreen!). It was clean from what we saw and the people were very nice.
I hope you have a great trip. We'd like to head back down there soon. I'd better get my Argosy done!
2Alaska

[bobkelly]

The primary attraction of Jetty Park is its location. Right where the Cruise liners, the fishing fleet and the submarines pass within yards of you as they enter the Atlantic from port canaveral. This is a municipal park for the town of Cape Canaveral. CC is a nice town but not a tony resort. Closest place to view space launches on the coast and near great sea food in the port resturants. If you are going for these reasons, you'll have a great time.

[ZoominC6]

We stayed there during a recent launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and found it convenient to Kennedy Space Center. It was very crowded during the launch week. I would rate Jetty Park a three and a half out of five. It's a short hike to the beach which is nice and a great place from which to watch a launch. Cruise ships do arrive and depart the inlet on a regular basis and there's a submarine pier just opposite the park. Jetty Park is on the edge of Port Canaveral, a working seaport. It's not an isolated beach setting by any stretch of the imagination. If we were looking for a beach setting for our Grandchildren to enjoy I would look more towards one of the Florida State Park settings such as Henderson Beach State Park in Destin or Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. Good luck with your decision and have fun wherever you choose to camp. HAPPY TRAILS

[Minnie's Mate]

Thanks for the replies. Our Airstream is currently stored about an hour from there so the panhandle is not convenient and St. Augustine is a little far for such a short weekend after driving for 6 hours to pick up the trailer and another 6 after dropping it off.

I will probably go ahead and try to make the reservation this weekend. We may do Cape Canaveral while we are there, but for the most part we are planning a relaxing weekend with the kids.