Winter in Florida - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Winter in Florida

John U · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bob,

Welcome,

Homosassa is one of the "hidden gems" IMHO of Florida. We like Homosassa River Carefree RV Resort. Less than 2 weeks gets you a month. We paid 340 for month there last year and had a blast. We took group nature walks daily. Great people staying there. CampNWater was ok too but slightly more expensive and lots of long term not as friendly people there.

Largo was too "Orlando" for us even though it is not that major a city maybe 80k.

Bushnell was too far inland for us considering Homosassa being not that far west so we never stayed there.

Sabatian was very nice also BUT the rates were almost triple those in Homosassa. So is budget dependent IMHO. We stayed at Pelican Island RV Resort, nice but expensive and Vero Beach Kamp. Ditto.

St. Augustine is my fav city in the country even more so than Key West. Have never stayed at any parks there as have a goofy brother-in-law who lives outside town and put in septic, water, elec, cable, and a 100' pad for us so we stay there for free LOL (just have to put up with him LOL!)((and move his MH when it is parked on "our" pad))

As we are scuba divers we like Marathon Key and stay at both Knights Key and Grassy Key RV Resort but again they are not pocketbook friendly. FYI

For the $ Homosassa wins hands down. Just our experience from 46 yrs of p/t RVing but we have been retired for 26 yrs so we do get around some.

John

Someday · RV-Dreams Family Member

Depending on how important warmer climes are to you: In our experience, Florida South of Tampa (generally referred to as below the frost line by many) fills up very quickly especially from Jan to Mar based on demand, so you should book asap.

If you are into boon-docking/dry camping, whilst many say there isn't any opportunities to do so in Florida, check out WMA locations - Florida Water Management is broken up into 5 distinct zones.

SD.

Howard · Host

Bob, there are so many choices and much depends on your budget, how far north or south you want to be, how close you want to be to the coast, and what you want to do while you are parked. The closer you are to the coast, the more expensive it will be. The farther south you go, the earlier you need to book. How close you want to be to various activities and services may dictate options. So, if you can provide a bit more detail about what you are looking for, I'm sure many of us will better be able to chime in. :)

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bob,

Wanted to emphasis that early reservations and planning for Florida - especially south Florida - is critical. Some parks, especially south of Tampa or on the coast, won't even confirm less than a 3 month reservation till after May or June - sometimes even later. "It just depends."

Not sure if you want to remain in one place for the season or move around a bit but I'll make a suggestion for a couple of weeks, or the season.

Cedar Key -

http://www.cedarkeyrvresort.com/

We and several RV-Dreams friends have stayed there. I think we had 5 RV-Dreams rigs there last January. Neil and Connie will stay in the area for a bit next year at a close location if I recall correctly.

Love Cedar Key but its a little way from everything. Sometimes that's good and the lot vs. cost, etc. we thought were OK.

If you like Golf, Traveler's Rest near Dade City has an "on site" gold coarse. This has a variety of sites and comes out of the Airstream Land Yacht Harbor history. Large but is quite varied in site offerings. We stay there when visiting the Tampa RV Show. If you stay in the shorter term, Golf View section, it won't be as hard to get in.

We'll be there this winter for a few days.

http://travelersrestresort.com/

We also plan to stay a short time where H & L are staying this year at Wilderness RV at Sliver Springs.

As Howard said, best if you sort of give perspective, especially if you are planning to move or be in one place for he winter it will help.

Just be advised in FL it's a gamble to just show up and expect a site to fit your plans. You might find a site for a few nights but I wouldn't plan a trip especially to south Florida past December without reservations with your rig.

Oh, and I agree about Largo. Having lived in the Tampa area Largo is too crowded. Tampa / St. Pete is just a traffic mess all the time.

Hope to see you down there.

Bill

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Thursday 14th of April 2016 07:02:15 AM

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Thursday 14th of April 2016 07:06:02 AM

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

We don't know Florida at all. The only reason Largo is on the list is we have friends that rent a condo there in March.
We are thinking of Homasassa for January. May think about St. Augustine for April as we start to head north. All else is open. We are just starting out so we really don't know what we like and don't like yet.
We do hike, bike and kayak, only a little golf, we are both pretty bad.

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bob…as others have said you should book now. However, you're far enough north that I think you'll be out of the area that will only reserve for >3 months. Down in Fort Myers where we winter almost all of the parks are that way although as Bill indicated once it gets into the summer some of them will give you a 1 month spot.

For us…winter is our down time from the 7 month travel season…so we stay in North Fort Myers at Seminole Campground from Nov 1 until Easter. Moving…even just once a month…is just too hard for what we think of as the stay in one place period, too much stuff that we put out for the winter as compared to normal travel season stops and it's too hard to have to put up/take down all the extra stuff.

We normally stay at Cedar Key for a week on the way south in the fall…although we are at the Low Key Hideaway there instead of the park that Bill recommended…it's nice too but the attraction at the LKH is that 20 foot commute to the Tiki Bar for Happy Hour. There are only 3 RV sites there so if you want one for next winter get it now.

The spots you've listed aren't really what one would call warm in the winter…while there won't be snow you'll be in jeans and sweatshirts for more of the time. Further south where we are you're only in those for maybe a week total…shorts and T-shirts the rest of the time. Costs more down here of course…but it all depends on whether being warmer is worth it to you.

-- Edited by Neil and Connie on Wednesday 13th of April 2016 11:57:14 AM

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Well we have at least gotten started with you help and have just booked our first stop which will be Cedar Key Rv Resort for the month of January. Looks like we got a pull through site for 675.00 which we thought was good. Looks great on line with big sites.
Struggling with Homasassa right now sites look small.

Allso exploring Sherwood Forest in Palm harbor, ( this would take care of our Largo needs to meet our friends staying in Largo)looks like large sites and got good reviews on line.
Please keep any suggestions coming.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bobc wrote:
Well we have at least gotten started with you help and have just booked our first stop which will be Cedar Key Rv Resort for the month of January. Looks like we got a pull through site for 675.00 which we thought was good.

Cool! It begins.

We'll come over and visit sometime after January 21st. Do lunch, etc. We'll be over east of Ocala by then. We really liked the park and the people. Would go back again and may still this coming year.

You might want to consider going to the Tampa RV Show which runs the 18th-22nd. We recommend going on Wednesday or Thursday. That's when we'll be there visiting friends, etc. You should go at least once and see all the stuff you don't need. It's not that long a drive down from Cedar Key and Florida distances are "shorter" than in the northeast.

http://events.frvta.org/florida-rv-supershow/

As it gets closer we can recommend a few routes into the area along with entrance coordinates. Shorter is not always best with the big rig. For the most part, you'll enjoy travel in Florida as long as you stay out of the heavy traffic areas.

And yea, be careful of small sites. With the truck you rig is pretty long. :)

Bill

sherev · RV-Dreams Community Member

We can also recommend Traveler's Rest in Dade City. We have a 42 ft. 5th wheel and decided on an annual lease, using this place as our new home base. The park is great! There are tons of activities, including the wonderful golf course, tennis, bocce, pickle ball, pool, and lots of other fun stuff. The park is well-maintained, and the people are extremely friendly and helpful. It's not too far from shopping and entertainment, and also features weekly entertainment at the park, as well. We're sure you'd find your stay to be extremely pleasant and worthwhile.

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

How far away is Dade City from Largo, we have friends that stay in Largo that we want to spend some time with.
We have not had any luck finding any available sites in the Largo area.

SuzieQ · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dade City is about hr to hr & half from Largo.

Some good restaurants & brew pubs near Sherwood Forest

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

No sites available at Sherwood Forest for the month of March

Howard · Host

Riverside RV Resort is a nice spot. It's officially listed as Arcadia, but is close to Port Charlotte. A bit warmer down there, and a really nice park.

On Tampa Bay is one of our favorites: E.G. Simmons Regional Park, a Hillsborough County park. It has 98 sites, most with access to the canals that run out to the bay and to interior lagoons. Electric and water hook-ups only and all first come, first served - no reservations. $24 per night or $18 per night for seniors. Great for kayaking and fishing.

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you Howard, that will be a great suggestion if we can't find anything for the month of March in the Largo area.
We so far have January booked at Cedar Key, and just booked Blueberry RV Resort in Bushnell for February. Still holding out hope to find something in the Largo area for March, we are on a wait list for something in clearwater( close enough to Largo)
Not sure yet but may plan to Do St.Augustine in April before we start a slow trip back north(Mass) June for one last set of Doctors appointments before we head out west via a northern route and then hope to winter in the Arizona, New Mexico area the following winter.
As they say all plans are made in Jello and we do want to take our time.
Thank you all for your help and support as we start our new adventure in May.
Howard with out your site we would have never gone down this Road, so Thank you so much for all the info you provide and we just love following your travels

EBendana · RV-Dreams Family Member

We love Salt Springs resort in Ocala Natl Forest

TheNewhalls · RV-Dreams Family Member

Try Timberlane RV Park in Bradenton, FL or Royal Coachman in Nokomis, FL.

Jerry8mm · RV-Dreams Community Member

Bob, I will be in one of the Cedar Key pull-thru sites from Dec. 1 through the end of March, so I will be your neighbor.

Bobc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Look forward to meeting you Jerry.
We will be there for the month of January