ok, we have been camping with a 24'TT ever since we married almost 13 years ago,(on our fourth one now) and this may be the most ridiculous question ever posted here...The family we are going to be visiting who live in Bonita Springs, made noises about "critters" in the park that might decide to either hitch a ride on our trailer or just come on in and make themselves at home even if not invited. We are talking everything from raccoons to anacondas and the stray alligator. Do not know if this is a thing in south Florida, but can someone calm my wife down so she can enjoy the trip (and not have me outside every 2 hours if she hears something she thinks is out there? Sure would appreciate some common sense! Thanks!
camping in Koreshan state park in FL
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In general, most animals prefer to keep their distance from civilization. Raccoons, ya, if they think they can find food nearby, they will look. I would not even worry about snakes or gators. Maybe to put your wife at ease, select a site in the center of the campground, rather than the perimeter. Think about it, a State Park... Civilization would pester the heck out of gators and snakes, if deep in the woods, so be it. Go read the reviews on their website, never a mention of troublesome animals.
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We have stayed there many times.
You won't see any snakes. There are no Anacondas in South Florida. there are Burmese Pythons ,but no where near
Koreshan SP.
Racoons are in and around every wooded SP in the US. Don't leave any food out of your RV, and they will head on through and check out each site until they find some
Jack L
You won't see any snakes. There are no Anacondas in South Florida. there are Burmese Pythons ,but no where near
Koreshan SP.
Racoons are in and around every wooded SP in the US. Don't leave any food out of your RV, and they will head on through and check out each site until they find some
Jack L
NY_Dutch
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Over many years, we've had both raccoons and bears check out our campsite looking for stray bits of food, but in Florida the only critter that seemed to take a liking to our site was an 8" turtle at Midway Campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve. He/she alternated between the pond across the road and the shade under our picnic table for the entire week we were there. There's a resident alligator in the Midway pond, but she never strayed more than a few feet from the pond while we were there.
JudyJB
Well-known member
Only danger from raccoons is leaving food out in a cooler overnight. If you have a cooler, make sure it has a strong latch and maybe even a padlock, as raccoons are very good at undoing things. Or maybe just tie it shut with some rope??? A neighbor lost a couple of pounds of hamburger because the cooler had no latch on it and the raccoon just helped itself. Also closed the cooler when it was done, but did leave muddy paw prints on the outside.
Also, keep your outside storage compartments latched. I am lazy and often just leave the compartment with my hookups open with my electric cord hanging out. I once had an early-morning (like before sunrise) raccoon set up housekeeping in one of my storage areas. She climbed in through my open hookup area and found an entrance to the rear pass-through. By the time i completely woke up, and got out of bed and dressed, she had torn up half a roll of paper towel into little squares. I went back, opened the door of the compartment and saw the bandit-face. Yelled at her, and she took off, but it took me half an hour to clean up the mess she had made.
I have spent a lot of time in Florida and have never even seen a snake. And alligators do not go wandering around where people are unless you are close to a pond and have a very small dog that you have left alone.
Also, keep your outside storage compartments latched. I am lazy and often just leave the compartment with my hookups open with my electric cord hanging out. I once had an early-morning (like before sunrise) raccoon set up housekeeping in one of my storage areas. She climbed in through my open hookup area and found an entrance to the rear pass-through. By the time i completely woke up, and got out of bed and dressed, she had torn up half a roll of paper towel into little squares. I went back, opened the door of the compartment and saw the bandit-face. Yelled at her, and she took off, but it took me half an hour to clean up the mess she had made.
I have spent a lot of time in Florida and have never even seen a snake. And alligators do not go wandering around where people are unless you are close to a pond and have a very small dog that you have left alone.
Domo
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We lived in Florida for eight years in a house, and now we full time with Florida for the winters - currently staying in Fort Myers (just North of Bonita Springs).
We don't worry about critters; squirrels, racoons, skunks, snakes, turtles, tortoise --->> the gators eat them all!
Sorry - I'm joking about that - we've had no invasion of anything - sometimes a mosquito or no-seeum but that's about it.
We don't worry about critters; squirrels, racoons, skunks, snakes, turtles, tortoise --->> the gators eat them all!
Sorry - I'm joking about that - we've had no invasion of anything - sometimes a mosquito or no-seeum but that's about it.
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Domo said:We lived in Florida for eight years in a house, and now we full time with Florida for the winters - currently staying in Fort Myers (just North of Bonita Springs).
We don't worry about critters; squirrels, racoons, skunks, snakes, turtles, tortoise --->> the gators eat them all!
Sorry - I'm joking about that - we've had no invasion of anything - sometimes a mosquito or no-seeum but that's about it.
Here at our place in Key largo we have a sign on the beach that says " Caution Crocodiles in the area" ..
It works wonders for renters who have dogs -keeping them off the beach!
Jack L
Sincere thanks to all of you. She was a little skittish, but now looking forward to the trip. We will be coming down the gulf side stopping at Manatee springs, then crossing over to head up the Atlantic side, with a stop at Sebastian inlet and Crooked River on the way to SC. Hope the campgrounds at state parks are all open by the end of May. Stay well and take care
NY_Dutch
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Crooked River SP near St Mary's, GA is open now. They never closed...
JudyJB
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Actually, one of the best things about Florida, in my opinion, are the birds and other animals. I even like alligators because they are such impressive survivors for millions of years. But even they really prefer to be left alone. When you see them outside of a pond, they are mostly just sunning themselves to get their body temperature up, so really would prefer not to be bothered. So, just walk past and leave them alone, and you will all be fine.
Hfx_Cdn
Well-known member
If you are coming down the gulf side then crossing to the Atlantic, I would highly recommend that you take the Tamiami Trail (US 41) and not Aligator Alley (I75). There is a visitor center about half way through that is a must stop. They have a viewing area overlooking a pond of alligators.
Ed
Ed
JudyJB
Well-known member
Ditto on taking the Tamiami Trail from Napes across to Homestead. The visitor center with the alligator pond is called the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center. Guaranteed to see 10-15 BIG alligators in that pond, but you stay on a boardwalk, so you will be really safe. Another good stop along the trail is the Clyde Butcher Art Gallery. Yes, an art gallery selling his famous black and white photos of the Everglades in the middle of nowhere. And a great place to stay just east of there is Midway Campground. Electric hookups on paved sites but water fill and dump station available. No showers, however, but a federal campground so your senior pass is good there. This is a very dark sky area, so don't turn on any porch lights or string any lights out at night. Fantastic view of the Milky Way and billions and billions of stars. It is one of my favorite places in Florida.
And another 13 miles east is Shark Valley, where you can take a 16 mile tram ride along a paved road into the sea of grass and see dozens and dozens of birds and more alligators!! You can also rent bikes along the trail or ride your own to the viewing tower at the very end. Great place!
And another 13 miles east is Shark Valley, where you can take a 16 mile tram ride along a paved road into the sea of grass and see dozens and dozens of birds and more alligators!! You can also rent bikes along the trail or ride your own to the viewing tower at the very end. Great place!
