Florida first snow bird attempt

[Ditter]

Well i planed for months but made a big mistake booked 2 months in a campground near Punta Gorda fl.
Problem literally 21 miles to anything, been averaging 100 miles a day on truck back and forth stocked now for a few weeks but missing the things i came to Florida for! I enjoy eating out seafood, pier fishing state parks beaches what i consider Florida stuff. Meeting with owner today to try to cut stay shortw but really don’t want to head back home to Ohio. Looked around but most site full and planing to escape toward east coast, then north.

Looking for site near activeites nearby 10 miles or less not sure if north Florida is less crowded nascar, Bike week ect. Even considering Georgia South Carolina near coast, not sure how weather would be.

Wife not happy need help hate to give up and head back to Ohio.
Best regards
Ron

[moosetags]

You might consider trying the Florida Panhandle west of Panama City on over to Pensacola. not quite as warm, but very bearable. The ocean is beautiful here. there are lots of attractions and restaurants. It's not as crowded with snowbirds here. The high season here is the Summer. You could even slip on over to the Alabama Coast. It is very nice there also.

Brian

[Minno]

There's an Airstream Park in the Panhandle. Haven't been there, but heard it's reasonably priced.

Kay

[Al and Missy]

Check out Long Point County Park in Brevard County. It is outside your desired range, being about 16 miles south of Indialantic FL but it is very close to Sebastian Inlet State Park with a big fishing pier. There are some shopping plazas and restaurants in Wabasso, about 12 miles and Vero Beach is 20 miles. Long Point is a no frills park, but many locals there for the fishing.

Al

[delrossa]

Call Jonanathon Dickinson Park in Hobe Sound.
Max stay is 14 days but they always keep a site open for extras.
I recommend the Allstays app. It has served us well for finding RV sites.

[dnas]

you might check http://www.christmasrvpark.com/. Right outside of Titusville, county seat of Brevard.(shopping, Walmart, restaurants). 40 minutes from Disney, 30-40 minutes from Kennedy Space Center, pristine beaches, wildlife refuge. We store our Airstream across the street at their secure storage facility. Family owned and very accommodating and friendly.

[captaind]

Welcome to Florida in High Season - It is very difficult for locals to find a spot.

[obsail]

Sorry your experience has been less than great. Will be departing from Ramblers Rest Campground in Venice Florida in the AM. I suggest you give them a call. Nice beaches within a few miles. Great little downtown with excellent restaurants. Pier fishing. Not too far north from where you are now. Good luck.

[runswithdogs]

If you're looking for "old Florida" try the CGs around Apalachicola and Cape San Blas. Although near the area devastated by hurricane Michael, the parks I've looked at there are open for business. No end to the FRESH seafood and fishing piers!

Apalachicola is a small historic town and there are all the usual services nearby. If you need a city break, Tallahassee is 60ish miles away. A bit cooler than south/central FL but that's a plus IMHO, especially when we get closer to spring.

[runswithdogs]

Cedar Key.



There is a big RV park there. You can walk to the fishing piers. You could also walk to a different seafood restaurant everyday for a week or more and not repeat.

[OTRA15]

Florida panhandle and all nearby coastal areas got hit hard last Fall by Michael. Caveat Emptor IMO. Suggest calling first before making any plans.

Recent thread detailing some of the above on Bob's way south:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...aw-191071.html

Peter

[Pjsepski]

We have stayed at many trailer parks along the panhandle. These are 2 state parks that we have stayed at, that are close to shopping, etc. The Topsail Park(Fl state park) near Santa Rosa. Very hard to get a reservation, but if you start accessing the site now, you can get into it for next year. Unbelievable beach, with trolley. Rangers are very nice too. The other state park is Gulf Shores Alabama. It is kinkda the end of the road, but the pool and fishing are exceptional. Big facility, bike and walking paths for miles. Start trying to book now for next year also. This has fishing piers, and local shopping. We have stayed in Panama City Beach a few times. Very commercial. In Destin there are trailer parks as well, but packed like sardines.

[SuzyHomemakr]

I had a house in Punta Gorda for a while, didn't care much for the town myself. Though you might try the Ice House on Tamiani for refreshments.

I was going to be staying in Citrus Park RV Resort last weekend, but had to cancel. So maybe they have some spaces? It's down near Bonita Springs.
https://www.mycitruspark.com/

Jonanathon Dickinson Park in Hobe Sound is also a good choice, and close to Jupiter, where fun can be had. Just avoid some places, unless you're packing an ascot with a proper blazer! Double Roads Tavern is one of my favorite hangs, lots of good music there. Good paddling on the Loxahatchee River from JD, as well.

[Relaytest]

We're staying here on Pine Island, at the KOA and couldn't be happier. We've booked for a month. I can't tell you how many people we've met who come here year after year. We're within 2 miles of a couple of nature preserves. Maybe 3 miles to a Win Dixie. Numerous kayak put ins. Bike path from one end of the island to the other. You might want to check it out before you head north.

[Relaytest]

By the way, this isn't like many KOAs. It's amazing how quiet it is at night. All of us seniors call it quits fairly early.

[gggolf]

Try the state parks along the GA coast. Jekyll Island and Ft. Mcallister I know are good and also close to great seafood.

[Bill M.]

We stay inland and do the 50 miles a day routine to eat or look at the gulf. Have come to like it okay. I hate the traffic over on the coast. With a dog the beaches are not a lot of use to us.

[moosetags]

Panama City proper and east for about 40 miles were devastated by Hurricane Michael last October. All of the areas in the Florida from Panama City Beach west were not impacted by the storm at all.

Brian

[greghoro]

Two key words to remember when planning FL camping during the winter: south and/or beach. Highest demand revolves around these two words.

At this point, the locations which match your criteria have all been booked a long time ago and you are at the mercy of finding cancellations. While a lot of prior responses have suggested state parks, I would recommend that you focus your search for this year on private parks if you want to stay in a desirable area for more than a month or so.

I say this as FL state parks have a 14 day stay limit, so you are going to have to be constantly searching to optimize your stays to avoid gaps. And you will be quite fortunate to find a site for 14 days at this point.

Frankly, I would treat this as a learning experience, stay put and spend the time scouting for next year. You will need to quickly decide if you want to go with State parks and move every two weeks or set down roots and stay in a private park. State parks are now booking for January 4 (11 months to the day in advance) and all the desirable campsites (south and/or beach) prior to this date are already booked.

Greg

[kitpumpum]

Originally Posted by Minno

There's an Airstream Park in the Panhandle. Haven't been there, but heard it's reasonably priced.

Kay

It's Mystic Springs Cove. We stayed there last year. Twenty-five miles away from Pensacola.