Home isn't a place ... It's a feeling.
Everyone needs a place to call ''home'' ... even nomads like us who are constantly on the move. So six years ago when we started full-time travel, we chose to domicile in Florida. Besides having a 'no state income tax' advantage, Florida is also where two of our favorite people live. Having a level driveway to park for the night is always great, but add on a full sized kitchen, laundry, shower, and a front porch filled with lively conversation ... and it feels like home! Of course, it also means that Doug sometimes finds a couple home 'fix-it' projects waiting for him.
Confident that this retired engineer
can successfully change the furnace filter,
Mom heads back to her computer games.
During the last couple of years, we have spent a few weeks in Florida exploring new areas and celebrating family holidays before heading to Colombia, South America for the winter. When the pandemic changed our travel plans this past winter, those few weeks in Florida turned into five months as we waited for our turn to be vaccinated. Fortunately, what could have been a challenging winter, has felt like time spent in paradise. In between these precious visits with our parents, we have also found ourselves ...
Feeling right at home in
Florida's beautiful county and state park campgrounds.
Florida's state park campgrounds are very popular with most of them filling up months ahead of time with out-of-state as well as local campers. Reasons for their popularity include:
Location ... The state park campgrounds are often located near scenic natural areas ... rivers, springs, and beaches.
Campsites ... Almost all sites have electric and water hook-ups. Many of the campsites are surrounded by natural buffers of 'Real Florida' foliage giving us a quiet, private 'yard'.
Facilities ... The campgrounds have modern bathrooms and shower facilities that are always very clean thanks to the hardworking camp hosts. There are also a couple of coin-operated washers/dryers and a central dump station in the campgrounds. Doing the laundry definitely takes on a greater appeal when done under the Florida sunshine.
Nearby activities ... Extensive hiking and biking trails can usually be found in or near the campground. Canoe rentals are often available if the park is located on or near one of Florida's many rivers, lakes, or springs.
Cost ... Campsite prices range from $16 to $42 a night depending on the park. Even the $42/night rate is very reasonable if you are lucky enough to snag a spot at one of the three state park campgrounds located in the Florida Keys.
Overall Appeal ... Each campground offers something different and unique. If you want to get away from it all or be in the middle of the action, there is a campground for you.
Reservation system ... It is fairly easy to make reservations using Reserve America. With a little persistence and a lot of good fortune, we were able to enjoy many beautiful camping areas during our time in Florida.
Some new 'secret gems' that we discovered this winter were Florida's county parks and Core of Engineers (COE) parks. We found that these campgrounds have many of the same perks as the state parks, but we found it a bit easier to reserve a site for an extended period of time.
Like the state parks, Florida's other public campgrounds offer year-round camping experiences surrounded by the beauty of nature.
We feel fortunate to have been able to hang out at quite a few of these natural playgrounds this past winter. For those who are interested, here are brief descriptions of the state and county parks that helped us feel right at home over the last five months.
St Andrews State Park; Panama City, FL
Located in the northern panhandle of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico, St Andrews State Park is surrounded by beautiful white beaches. Hard hit by Hurricane Michael in 2018, the park lost many of its massive palms and campground structures, so currently only one-third of the campground sites are open as they continue to rebuild. Because of the great loss of vegetation, there is not much natural 'privacy' between campsites that is the norm in most other state parks. But a beach walk around the quiet peninsula makes up for that. We found our own private haven while looking for dolphins or enjoying a Gulf sunset.
Dr Julian G Bruce St George Island State Park; St George Island, FL
Located on a barrier island in the Panhandle, a campsite at the popular St George Island State Park is difficult to come by. We happened to get in for one night when we were in the area, and we found out the appeal. From the private wooded campsites, to the forested hiking trails, to the quiet sandy beaches ... St George Island offers serenity for those wanting to get away from the busyness of life.
Manatee Springs State Park; Chiefland, FL
Manatee Springs State Park is situated around one of the Florida's largest natural springs. This spring derives its name from the number of manatees who come here every winter to keep warm in the 72 degree water. A short walk from the campground led us to a boardwalk where we could watch these 'gentle giants' enjoy the warm spring waters. While many were visible from the walking path, there were even closer encounters when we rented a canoe and hung out with them for the afternoon.
Faver-Dykes State Park; St Augustine, FL
This small state park was a good overnight resting spot when we had a couple of appointments in the Jacksonville area. Faver-Dykes State Park offers naturally wooded privacy between campsites and shaded hardwood hammock hiking paths the led us to an overlook along Pellicer Creek. This land was donated in 1950 to the state of Florida by the Faver-Dykes family in order to provide an 'outdoor classroom' for visitors to enjoy ... a perfect gift then and now!
Collier-Seminole State Park; Naples, FL
Collier-Seminole State Park was also created by a generous donation of its previous owner, Barron Collier, in order to preserve an original Royal Palm hammock found here. The second part of its name pays respect to the tribe of Indians who originally inhabited this part of southern Florida. This park is a very convenient place to launch a day of exploration along the Tamiami Trail which leads to Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park.
Anastasia State Park; St Augustine, FL
Located on a beautiful island just ten minutes from the historical city of St Augustine, Anastasia State Park is a popular camping destination. We managed to snag a few nights when medical appointments brought us to the Jacksonville area and enjoyed walking the beach as well as touring the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.
Tomoka State Park; Ormond Beach, FL
While Tomoka State Park is not on the Atlantic Coast itself, it is very close to some interesting beach destinations. It was nice to be able to move our 'house' and have everything we needed as we hung out at Flagler Beach for the day. Less than an hour to the west, we were able to enjoy some more mantee-watching at Blue Springs State Park.
Highland Hammocks State Park; Sebring, FL
While the campsites at Highland Hammocks State Park are close together, and the large campground is busy, we found our solitude (and logged some serious hiking/biking miles) on the many trails in this park. Ancient Hammock Trail with its narrow walkway through the cypress swamp was one of our favorite natural retreats.
Lake Kissimmee State Park; Kissimmee, FL
Lake Kissimmee State Park is one of those 'out in the middle of nowhere' parks that provided many enjoyable hiking paths as well as good bird-watching opportunities from its observation tower. Located in the cattle country of central Florida, this park still has some resident cows, although the 'Cow Camp', like the many ranger-led programs in the state parks, is not occurring at the present time.
Lake Griffin State Park; Fruitland Park, FL
Lake Griffin State Park may be small, but it is home to the second largest live oak tree in Florida. Mammoth Live Oak is believed to be between 300 and 500 years old. Even during this current pandemic, its limbs are still opened wide to greet all the park's visitors.
Fort Desoto County Park; Tierra Verde, FL
Shhhh ... Don't tell anyone about this hidden gem. Because Fort Desoto Park is a county park, it isn't as well known to out-of-state visitors, so it is fairly easy to reserve a campsite during the week. Weekends??? Better have other plans because this campground fills up with local families enjoying the sun, sand, shells, and surf. We spent a total of four weeks here during the past few months ... and the beach walks, sand dollar hunts, and sunset views never grew old.
Sebastian Inlet State Park; Melbourne Beach, FL
Sebastian Inlet State Park lies where the Indian River flows out to the Atlantic Ocean. Because of all the fish that also flow between the two bodies of water, this inlet is a popular place for both fishermen and dolphins in search of dinner. We enjoyed the show as the dolphins snagged the best fish and celebrated their fortune with flips and happy splashes.
Torreya State Park; Bristol, FL
Torreya State Park sits on a high (for Florida standards) cliff overlooking the Apalachicola River, and is home of the extremely rare Torreya tree. In 2018, this park suffered a lot of damage from Hurricane Michael and lost 90% of its tree including many of the precious Torreya trees. Slowly it is beginning to recover as colorful wildflowers and small pines start to sprout up along the walking paths.
Three Rivers State Park; Sneads, FL
Not far from Torreya, Three Rivers State Park is also in the recovery phase after Hurricane Michael. The campground is located on the banks of Lake Seminole so we enjoyed the hiking paths along the water's edge. Volunteers have been hard at work to clear the hiking trails of the fallen trees and are replanting the long leaf pines that will someday stand tall once again.
Hanna Abbey County Park; Jacksonville, FL
Another large county park that lies along the shore of the Atlantic in northern Florida, Hanna Abbey County Park is a local jewel. The large wooded campsites and facilities rival the more popular state parks. There are plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails as well as easy access to the ocean beach for a long beach walk.
Wekiwa Springs State Park; Apopka, FL
Wekiwa Springs State Park is a popular place for camping, hiking, canoeing, and of course, swimming in the natural spring. Spring break was in full swing so many families and groups of teens were enjoying the refreshing spring waters. Unlike our friends the manatees, humans are attracted to Florida's natural springs to cool down rather than to warm up.
Oscar Scherer State Park; Osprey, FL
Adjacent to Sarasota's Legacy Bike Trail, Oscar Scherer State Park provides easy access to biking as well as many hiking trails in the park. It is also just a 20 minute drive from there to one of our favorite beaches in Florida ... Siesta Key Beach. And as if it can't get any better than that ... it is an easy six mile bike ride from the park to Calusa Brewing, whose brewers love making IPAs as much as Doug loves trying them.
Myakka River State Park; Sarasota, FL
Wildlife galore awaits you at Myakka River State Park. This is one of Florida's largest and oldest state parks and home to a variety of plants and animals. On our seven mile bike ride through the park, we saw alligators, turkeys, a soft shell turtle, herons, osprey, wild hogs, and an owl trying to nab a fisherman's fake spider lure. The walk across the Canopy Walkway highlights the beauty that can be found high in the treetops of this palm and live oak hammock.
St Lucie South Core of Engineers; Stuart, FL
Probably our 'fanciest' public campground and definitely the smallest, St Lucie South COE Park had nine large pristine sites all with a view of the river boat traffic on the Okeechobee Waterway as it approached the St Lucie Dam. There were plenty of opportunities for watching recreational boat traffic as well as enjoying a sunset along the waterway.
If you have managed to get to this point ... Wow, thanks for allowing us to share our best memories and photos of our 'homes' during this past winter. We are grateful that we could explore so many beautiful natural areas in Florida.
The only greater gift of us was being able to pull up into our parent's driveway every couple of weeks in between state park visits. With their bright 'Welcome' sign displayed, we always know that we have arrived at the best place in Florida for ...
feeling right at home.
Tomorrow we start our northern migration. We are heading up the east coast following the Appalachian Mountains through Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
We appreciate any recommendations as we explore this 'new to us' part of the United States.
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