We stayed at North Beach Camp Resort from Dec. 5th thru 12th. (I'm much behind in posting 😕) . We thoroughly enjoyed the remoteness and easy, peaceful feeling of this campground. While we used it as a base to explore St. Augustine, which was 10 min away, it was an oasis of calm we were very happy to return to after the crowds and bustle in town. North Beach Camp is actually across the road from Villano Beach.
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| Villano Beach |
The weather was only in the 60's during our stay, so while we enjoyed walking the beach, we didn't actually hang out on or swim in the water. There is a parking area beachside for campground guests, so you can either walk or drive to the beach (in mere moments). There is a nice restaurant, The Reef, on the beach, just across the street from the campground which is a nice location for an oceanfront meal or cocktail. We enjoyed a beachfront drink there during our visit.
The campground extends from beachside to inner coastal. This map gives a clear picture of the "front" and "rear" of the property. We stayed on site 101 during our visit, which was ideal as it was close to the front of the property, the showers, the store, the laundry, the dumpsters, etc.
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| North Beach Camp Resort map |
We walked back and explored the inner coastal side. There is another casual dining restaurant on the canal side, Aunt Kate's. We didn't eat here, so I can't say too much other than it looked like a great spot to hang out.
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| Aunt Kate's Restaurant |
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| Aunt Kate's Restaurant |
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| View from pier facing canal |
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| View from pier facing campground |
There was plenty of vegetation separating sites and creating a nice feeling of privacy and opportunity to enjoy the natural surroundings.
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| This shot shows a single site. You can get a sense of the natural privacy the vegetation creates. |
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| This is a view of the center road looking towards the ocean. |
The property was very well maintained and maintenance staff were readily available if needed. We had a little "situation" while we were there that they handled very promptly. We woke at 4:30 am to discover our strand of Christmas lights outside the camper was flashing on and off. Thinking they were shorting out or something, I simply unplugged them. When I came back inside the camper the microwave clock was flashing. At this point I realized we had a power problem 😳. . I walk I walked around the camper to the electric pedestal and I hear a snap crackly popping sound. $#!T Panicking, I flipped the breaker and unplugged from the pedestal. In the morning I go to the office to report the problem and a maintenance guy comes along quickly to check it out. I’m imagining all the horror stories that could possibly be the end of this story, berating myself for not having a surge protector, wondering how far we will have to travel to have the entire electrical system replaced... it turns out there was a tiny salamander that had gotten into the box and sizzled up. It was arcing creating our flashing power. Problem solved, power restored. RIP Kamikaze Salamander 🦎
We took advantage of the laundry and washroom facilities. There are 3 washers ($2 a load) and 3 dryers ($2 a load), which we found very reasonable and well functioning. We used the showers daily also, and while I would have liked them to be cleaner, the water was hot and plentiful. There was a beautiful swimming pool and lounge area, as well as play ground area and shuffleboard courts. We didn't use these, but they looked to be in wonderful condition. There is a good size camp store, with both food and drink items (including a small selection of beer and wine) as well as many gifts also. There is a living room/den area off the office with TV, wifi, book and video library and local area information, maps, etc.
This campground is more expensive than what we would normally spend. I hesitated initially at the ~$70/nite fee. There is a "stay 6 days, get the 7th free" offer, so it made it more like ~$60/nite. It was a splurge, but I don't regret it. Had the weather been better and we'd been able to take more advantage of the beach, I would have been delighted. Regardless, we loved the campground and would happily return.
