first trip to Florida and have questions

[sswon1]

My husband and I have decided to take our NTU motorhome to Florida for about 6 weeks next January and part of February.  We have never done anything like this before, but really want to escape the bitter cold Illinois winter for a bit.  I have done a bit of looking at state parks and see that they are already booked for next January. 

Is it crazy to think we can just hop in our MH and go and just find places to stay?  We are looking at the southern part of Florida.  We are not picky and understand we will not be on the beach.  We do not care about most amenities and will not use them.  Electric would be nice, but that's it.  We would like to stay in one spot for a few days and move on. 

We enjoy biking, hiking, running, and resting.  I will say we may be a bit younger than some traditional snowbirds (40 years old) no offense to anyone please.  State forests and parks have been our preferred locations here at home versus traditional RV parks.  Are we out of our minds to think we can find a place to stay once we get down there?? 

Our motorhome is 30 feet long and we will have my car behind. We would like to have places to bike ride and of course sightsee.  Please let me know if our expectations are way out of line. 

My parents used to winter in Florida and my dad says we will be fine, and my mom said we need reservations.  I will say its been 10 years since they were last there.

Any info anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.  I will say we are not picky and have a go with the flow attitude. Thank you for your time to read my post.  If this is in the wrong place please let me know.  Please ask me any questions also if that you help you with answers.

 

[Prior member]

My wife and I snow bird in the Florida Keys every winter.

If you are looking for warm weather you have to go that far.

With that said, it is a hit or miss thing with the state parks in the Keys in the winter.  They normally have a walk in site or two, but they are grabbed immediately.
The private RV parks cost an arm and a leg and they are usually booked in that time of year.

If you are ok with south Florida, then you might find a spot in a private RV park, but even the state parks will be all booked.

Jack L

 

[Peteyboy]

Don't overlook the southwest.  We spent 5 weeks in the Tucson area and just loved it, and for people your age it would be heaven on earth with all the hiking and biking that is available.  As far as making reservations, we have stayed at around 200 campgrounds in 2 years and have only made reservations twice.  There are plenty of places to stay out there.

 

[Great Horned Owl]

You might try Flamingo Camp Ground in Everglades National Park or Midway Camp Ground in Big Cypress National Preserve. Both have electric hookups at many of their sites. In previous years, we have spent about two weeks at each. Generally, we made reservations about a week in advance, but that will not always work.

Joel

 

[sswon1]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies.  We are not opposed to going to a different place either, I guess I just thought of Florida, but any place that is warm will do. 

We are so desperate to get out of the cold the idea of jeans and long sleeves sounds like heaven when its 10 degrees out and the windchill is 10 below.  Please add any other parts of the country esp. if our head out and stop where we want to stop approach would work better. 

We do not need internet and we do have a large standard poodle.  We can leave the poodle at home if it would make it harder to find a place to land.  My collage kids should have time to take care of the dog, when they are not meticulously cleaning the house  (haha).

any more suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

 

[JudyJB]

There are four excellent federal campgrounds in southern Florida and all have electric, with three having electric and water.  The best part is that the window for making reservations is 6 months, so you still have time.  But I will warn you that you have to get on as soon as sites open and that means a few minutes before they open, so you can click the Submit button 3-4 seconds before the time frame!

Midway has electric only, but it has a water fill station and a dump station. Paved spots and is one of my favorites. 

The other three are Corps of Engineering (COE) Campgrounds and are located at lock and dam locations, so you can watch the boats go into the locks and out. They are on the  Okeechobee Waterway, and also have paved sites and landscaping.  The three are Ortona South, WP Franklin, and St. Lucie South. Great places!  Go on Recreation.gov for all of these. 

Highland Hammocks is a nice place and seem to have some vacancies in early January. It has a lovely area for bike riding and walking. FYI  Dogs are allowed at all state and COE campgrounds.

And if you are over 62, you are charged half-price!!  Good luck!  The competition is tough for Florida State Parks, but keep checking for cancellations as they do happen.

 

[sswon1]

Thanks for the over 62 tip, but we are 40.  Is this going to be an issue??  I've been reading other posts and did not realize there are campgrounds and have an age requirement. We are not loud, nor do we party.  After a day on the trails I just like to read a book and my husband watches movies. Also our MH does not have slides if that helps.  Thanks!!

 

[ArdraF]

I admit to not having been to Florida recently in the winter, but we've been RVing for 40 years and seldom make reservations.  We usually do that when we want to be at a specific place at a specific time such as when visiting family or just before a rally when we want to go in with clean clothes, fresh water full and gray/black tanks empty.  I suspect that people who want to go to a place and stay for a month might have more difficulty finding a place than people like us who only want to stay for a couple of nights.  Holiday weekends are one time to make reservations.  But we seldom have problems finding a place to stay so I'm with your dad on this one!    In any case, have fun out of the ice and snow.

ArdraF

 

[Curiosity]

Don't forget County Parks down here in Florida.  One example is Markham Park in Broward County (Fort Lauderdale). It does have FHU sites. I did see vacancies during the winter. This park has Paved and Unpaved bike patchs, a dog park, water rec facilities, gun range. If your into dirt baike they have that and I understand you can ride on the levee along the everglades.  There are others.  Markham Park cross strees is I595 and I75  www.markhampark.com

 

[Stephen S.]

I know a lot of people with experience camping in Florida are saying "South, south!" but really... you are from Illinois... any part of Florida and a good chunk of Georgia will seem nice to you in January and February.

I moved down here to Atlanta from Kansas four years ago. In the north half of Georgia I haven't had to use my winter coat very much each year.

This year I did Thanksgiving in Panama City Beach, FL and spent the Christmas through New Year holiday on Tybee Island, GA. I have a motorcycle "toad", and had no problems with temperatures when I went sightseeing, or shopping.

The state parks in Central Florida should work for you. Many have kayak water trails too.

 

[sswon1]

If we stick to more northern areas of Florida will we have any issues just floating around without reservations???  I agree, anything is better then here, and 60 degree highs would be fabulous in the winter compared to what we have here.  We just want to go where we want and have a safe place to sleep, hopefully with electric.

 

[Stephen S.]

Looking at all of Florida in Google Maps and searching for "rv campgrounds" the map looks like it has measles. Zooming in just adds more and more red dots. Unless you have a specific popular destination in mind, you should have no problem finding a good campsite with vacancies.

 

[Wasoki]

I agree with the other responses.  We have only been snow birds for a couple of years  We're from Michigan, so I really appreciate the warmth.  As a rule of thumb, south of Tampa is warm enough for us to kayak and be comfortable.  COE, national parks, and municipal facilities are sometimes more readily available.  Pinellas County has Fort Desoto in Tampa Bay, Brevard County has Long Point just down the road from Sebastian Inlet State park. They often have different reservation time lines, so you still may have time to get reservations.  Other counties have parks, but we haven't tried them yet.

State parks sometimes have cancellations, so keep checking.  I wouldn't want to go without some reservations in place.  Inland state parks, especially in the north are often available, but have fewer attractions, warmth, etc.. 

Having said that, one noteworthy park in the panhandle is Topsail Preserve.  It is set up as an RV resort, with concrete pads, water, electric and sewer at each site.  We stop there on the way to and from Florida.  We wash and wax the unit and winterize there before heading north.

Keep planning - it is worth it!

Jim

 

[Arch Hoagland]

"Is it crazy to think we can just hop in our MH and go and just find places to stay?"

If it is then we are crazier than a Hoot Owl.  We went from California to Florida and back last November/December with no reservations.  Spent two weeks in Ft Lauderdale. 

We almost never make reservations as it puts you on a time schedule and creates problems if you don't show up.

You didn't say what time of the year you were headed to Florida and in December through April you may want to call ahead and see what's available. 

I don't think age is a problem, we've covered all the lower 48 states and never once were asked for our age, nor, for that matter, the age of our motorhome.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Obviously winter is a busy season here in Florida, but there are plenty of parks and always some openings somewhere. The Lake Okeechobee area (away from the two coasts) is one likely bet, and so is much of central Florida (except Disney area). We live around Ocala (north-central) and snow birds love it here too, even though we get the occasional night in the low 30's. The days are still sunny and warm (probably downright hot compared to Illinois). Both coastal regions stay warmer at night (the warming effect of the ocean), but the interior is still pleasant.

 

[Dog Folks]

You won't need to go all the way to the Keys to get nice weather. (Although everyone should go there once for the experience.) It is such a unique area.

From the northern side of Lake Okeechobee  south, you will have decent warmth.    We stay near the lake and the average high, according to my personal weather records was 77.4 degrees between November and March.

If you are flexible and plan to move every few days, then reservations are not mandatory.  Long term spots,(monthly and more) are harder to find without reservations.  Our park is sold out, for winter visitors, already. Last winter was one of the busiest seasons Florida has had in a number of years.

But what do I know?  I only lived in South Florida for 34 years. 

 

[Rene T]

We are snowbirds from NH and stay at Sanlan RV Resort in Lakeland and there are always openings. Lakeland is between Tampa and Orlando right off I-4.

 

[Gordon Groff]

Happy to hear of your plans!  We did much as you are planning for the first time the winter before last.  I am somewhat anal about planning, so we had reservations for our entire winter by researching on the 'net and picking spots ahead of time.  As you have found, most southern FL state parks book up early.  Northern FL state parks are much more easily had.  We stayed in private campgrounds for the southern region and had a blast!  As also noted, to have reliably warm weather, you need to be at or below the Ft. Lauderdale/Ft. Myers latitude in January and February, but we really enjoyed our trip.  Hannah state park in Jacksonville was beautiful and almost empty in early January.  The "polar vortex" caught us and we had some below freezing nights, but lovely days there.  Full hookups.  From there, we stayed a week each in private parks in Ft. Lauderdale, 2 weeks in Key Largo (expensive!!), Homestead, then 2 weeks just south of Ft. Myers (Woodsmoke!!).  In late Feb. -March, we followed spring and hop-scotched north along the west coast, Tampa, Crystal River, Pensacola (state park), Panama City (state park), New Orleans,  Galveston, TX (state park), Mustang Island TX (state park) before heading home.  We found things to LOVE at every stop.  If you get to Crystal River, make sure you take the family to the Wiki-Watchee mermaid show, and especially take a kayak and snorkel into the Three Sisters spring here.  That was probably the signature experience of our trip.

Being somewhat burned out from all that driving last year, this year we turned into more "traditional" snowbirds and spent the entire winter at Woodsmoke in Ft. Myers.  That was our favorite place of all the places we hit the previous year.  We've made so many friends there and are involved in so many activities, we'll be there all winter again this coming winter.  If you can score a week or 2 there, be sure to look us up!  Also, Ernie 'n Tara from this forum.  They are the ones who recommended it to us last year and are long-term Woodsmokians.

The location is ideal, with easy access to numerous gulf beaches, kayaking everywhere, and weather that keeps you outdoors all winter.

Have fun with your adventure!!!

Gordon

PS - your dog should not be an issue.  Some campgrounds have size/breed limits, but I don't think your standard poodle would be a problem. We had our dog with us, as do many, many campers. 

 

[Rstrahan]

Plenty of parks down here in SW Florida.  Recommend you come down and get a space in the Fort Myers general area.  Plenty of great beaches, etc.  low temps were in the 40's last winter.  If you have a toad (believe you said you have a MH), use this as a base.  Parking a MH can be a beast down here. 

Orlando is 2 1/2 hours north, Tampa an hour and a half north.  Daytona beach is about 31/2 hours away, Miami about 2 - 2 1/2 hous east.  And you can catch the ferry down to Key West.

 

[JudyJB]

Age should not be a problem as there are only a few over 55 parks.  There certainly are no age restrictions with state and federal campgrounds.

January and February are the prime months in Florida, however.  It is much easier in November and December or even March and April, based on my experience.  Just recognize that you want to go to a high volume place at the time of year everyone else wants to go there.

However, don't give up hope.  Just keep checking for cancellations and try the COE and county campgrounds.