CAMPING IN FLORIDA FACT OR FICTION?
A hidden gem during winter in Florida. A nice quiet beach with free parking!
We knew camping during the winter in Florida would be a logistical challenge, but we wanted beaches, oceans, and palm trees.
So, we accepted the challenge and spent January through early April wintering in south Florida.
Now that we are back in the west, we wanted to share what we learned with all of you.
One of the amazing spots we had for “FREE” in Florida thanks to the Florida Water Management Districts.
There is no free camping in Florida. – Fiction
While there is much less available than in the western United States, we camped free for two weeks through the Southwest Florida Water Management District. These districts act like BLM or Forest Service so think boondocking, except for making a reservation. You are allowed to stay a maximum of 30 days per calendar year. Each place we stayed had a certain number of spots available that you reserved online. Once accepted you would get emailed a code to the locked gate to let yourself into the property. The only services these sites had was a porta potty, but they did offer access to a lot of good hiking trails. Unlike boondocking with wide open spaces, these were smaller areas, and you were impacted by the quality of your neighbors. We met some awesome people in these free sites, but unfortunately, also spent two nights on high alert with some sketchy ones.
The Queen at our spot at Taste of Old Florida, Hip Camp
Camping is Very Expensive in Florida. - Fact and Fiction
I know this blog is title fact or fiction but this one just depends on your preferences. We were able to make it very affordable by being creative. We stayed for free (see above) and utilized Hip Camp, which allowed us to stay on private property in the area. Think Airbnb except for campers when referencing Hip Camp. We stayed at Taste of Old Florida for two of our months and found an amazing community of likeminded travelers. This location offered a porta potty, outdoor shower, and water fill up station, which meant we relied on solar or generator for our power. Thankfully it was sunny most of the time so our solar was more than enough on most days. By staying at a hip camp and out of RV parks we found we saved about 50% on what private parks were charging. By doing a monthly stay we also saved on fuel by not traveling as much which helps balance out the camping expenses.
The sunset view from St George Island State Park, Florida.
You need to make reservations a year ahead of time – Fiction
We stayed at four different Florida State Parks without making reservations and just showed up looking for cancellations. Now this is a bit nerve racking to do but it worked out. While we were driving, Andrea would be on the phone calling into to see about cancellations at parks near our destination. Sometimes she would have to call every thirty minutes or so for several hours. Admittedly, we won’t do that too often, but it was nice to see it was possible. The downside to this strategy is that it took away from enjoying our travel days as much as we normally do.
South Florida is an Expensive Tourist Trap - Fiction
If you enjoy the tourist attractions, there are plenty of them that would gladly empty your back accounts. However, for us as full-time travelers we try to stick to a tight monthly budget and that means we choose to get creative. Instead of going to the trendy beaches that charge for parking, we looked for the hidden gems away from the crowd that we could park at for free. We love our cheat night dinner out, but restaurants down there are on the higher priced end, so we would make the most of their happy hour menu. ½ off appetizers and drinks were the treat we looked forward to during the week. This allowed us to sample the best restaurants, while staying on budget. Groceries at the largest supermarket chain, Publix, were extremely expensive so we sought out local farmers markets where we could get fresh, local produce and products at much more reasonable prices. If your down here for the winter, there are only so many beaches you can sit on before you get bored so what else can you do? We visited all the free botanical gardens, manatee centers, boardwalks, downtown Stuart, piers, turtle centers and one of our favorite free spots Peanut Island.
While camping on a budget in Florida can be a challenge, it is doable.
If the idea of not shoveling snow and scraping ice sounds good for next winter don’t be afraid to consider Florida in your camping plans.