Florida Travel

[pageleigh]

Can anyone give me some information on Florida State Parks? I would love to stay for at least two weeks somewhere on or near the ocean preferably the southwest, possibly near Fort Myers. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
M

[Steve & Terri]

Welcome to Florida State Parks

[Cat futrell]

Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine Florida is nice. But it is on the Atlantic side. Need to book pretty far in advance.

[Bill MacDermod]

Originally Posted by pageleigh

Can anyone give me some information on Florida State Parks? I would love to stay for at least two weeks somewhere on or near the ocean preferably the southwest, possibly near Fort Myers. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
M

You don't mention when you are planning this. When you talk about being near the water your talking having reservations 9 or 10 months in advance, The state parks allow you 14 days then you have to leave for a day or 2 then go back. Many of the parks keep a percentage of the sites open for walk ins but for that to work you need to get where you want to be early in the morning. If you want Fort Meyers try to get into Koreshan state park first as its not on the water so you may be able to get in w/o reservations and work from there. Desoto County park in St Pete has most of its sites on the water but its mostly always filled. Sarasota has Oscar Sherer and its not right on the water but its about 4 miles to this years best beach in the USA. Siesta Key and it could be a problem getting in w/o reservations. If you like alligators there is Myakka state Park 9 miles east of Sarasota. but it is hard to get into as well. reservations are available on reserve america

[Big O]

I'm staying at Oscar Scherer for a few days this coming January than Collier-Seminole before heading south to the Everglades. Try reserveamerica.com. Very easy to use and you can book right there.

[honda03842]

Fort Desoto it's a county park on an island, actually they have the whole island.. Wonderful place south of Tampa. Google it.

[Steven Tonnesen]

I have been living in FL since 1959 and can attest to the fact that the State Parks are the best part of the state. In addition, there are a few private and county parks that excel.

For beach camping near Ft. Myers, skip the RV, get a tent and take the ferry to Cayo Costa State Park. You will be camping steps away from a pristine beach. For RV camping, try near Sarasota at
https://www.scgov.net/turtlebeachcam...s/default.aspx , where again, you will be steps away from a wonderful beach.

By the way, I have a 13' UHaul camper that I am still trying to decide whether to keep or what. Might you want to rent it? It is in Clearwater, FL. It has an AC installed in the left window and the original propane heater, as well as all the other original equipment.

Originally Posted by pageleigh

Can anyone give me some information on Florida State Parks? I would love to stay for at least two weeks somewhere on or near the ocean preferably the southwest, possibly near Fort Myers. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
M

[Alf S.]

Originally Posted by pageleigh

Can anyone give me some information on Florida State Parks? I would love to stay for at least two weeks somewhere on or near the ocean preferably the southwest, possibly near Fort Myers. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
M

Hi: pageleigh... I think Koreshen Historic site/st. pk. is as close to Ft. Myers as you can get. Sadly no Gulf views tho. I found out that ocean views are also "Pay per view" sites as our view of the Bay of Fundy site was 80 bucks a night. Oh well you may only go there once in your life... so enjoy the view.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Ray N]

We just returned from spending some time at Fort Desoto park which is part of the Pinellas County park system. It is a beautiful park located on an island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Many sites are right on the water. We weren't there over the weekend and I'd say about 80% of the sites were empty. In a month or two the sites will be harder to come by, but in November and then again in May there seem to be a lot of sites available and the weather is beautiful. The county does charge more than the state does, but you can make reservations. Waterfront sites cost a little extra - I think it was about ten dollars above the base rate.

[pageleigh]

Thanks for the info...I am going to Asheville for a few days next week.

M

[pageleigh]

Thanks so much for the info..

[pageleigh]

Thanks..I just bought a 2010 Scamp and hope to use it ALOT!

[mary and bob]

Since you are in Georgia, why not stop at Jekyll Island for a couple days. We are there all of December and the first 3 weeks of January.

[jwgeorgen]

For beach camping near Ft. Myers, skip the RV, get a tent and take the ferry to Cayo Costa State Park. You will be camping steps away from a pristine beach.

I second the Cayo Costa State Park. The birding in the winter is outstanding and the shelling is world renown. There are a (very) few private residences on the southern end of the island, the rest is State Park. You can take a water taxi from Pine Island or Captiva and enjoy the beaches in perfect peace!

jan georgen

[pageleigh]

I could come in January...where are you staying?

[pageleigh]

Sounds wonderful!