Florida Keys & St Petersburg Boondocking in January
Kiers10 said
03:19 PM Dec 26, 2017
Happy Holidays fellow travelers! I'm four months and five trips into this adventure and learning tons along the way. I'll be traveling around Southern Florida and hopefully the Keys from mid-January until early February. I plan to mostly boondock where ever possible. I'm finding good options around Southern Florida but have been struggling to find places to Boondock on the Keys and in St Petersburg. I'm a solo female traveler so safety is important. Thank you in advance for any tips you have to share.
Neil and Connie said
07:19 AM Dec 27, 2017
You’re probably way too late for a spot in the Keys at this point. Even the box docking ones have likely been reserved for months. Further up the Mainland you should have more luck. It most of the parks anywhere near the coast are likewise already booked. Inland in the Arcadia or up towards Orlando you may have more luck.
If money was no object I’m sure there are some resort-ey spots available…but most boon dockers do it at least partially for economic reasons so I’m guessing that money is an object for you. We are in North Fort Myers and here at Seminole CG most winter folk are here for 3-6 months And made reservations for this year last spring.
A hitch and hop said
08:08 AM Dec 27, 2017
The Key West area is still in the recovery stage from Erma. You might contact one of the churches there and see if they need help. They do a good job in finding hook ups for volunteers.
bjoyce said
08:10 AM Dec 27, 2017
High season in Florida is January through March, with February being the worst time to get a spot. Boondocking spots are not available due to them being overrun in winter, anyplace known will have hundreds of RVs trying to stay where there is not room for that many. This causes problems, so signs go up and everyone is kicked out. If you want to boondock in winter, Arizona is much, much better. Plus solar works better in Arizona due to less cloud cover, so the boondockers head there. You can find campsites for money by the second half of March and all of December in south Florida.
Kiers10 said
09:07 AM Dec 27, 2017
Thank you for all of the replies everyone. I spent a lot of time yesterday googling and making phone calls. I still have a few more to make but I'm afraid the Keys may be day trips this time. I love the idea of contacting Churches and helping out! I'm going to give that a shot as well. I did find Everglade National Park has some $30 a night spots left so that may be where I end up. Has anyone stayed there? Thoughts? I can afford cheaper RV parks but there aren't many of them available either. Even the $85-$150 a night spots are mostly filled now. It amazes me people pay that much! You can find hotel rooms for that price. I'm also very disappointed with the lack of RV parks and overnight places in and around St Petersburg. For such and amazing progressive city they are definitely lacking in that area.
Dutch said
11:27 AM Dec 27, 2017
I don't know if you're eligible, but with our Federal Senior Access Pass our site at the NPS Midway Campground on the Tamiami Trail (US 41) is just $15/night. The sites are electric only, but water and a dump station are available at the park.
Kiers10 said
11:46 AM Dec 27, 2017
That sounds awesome Dutch! How old do you have to be to qualify? I'm 50 years young, it's old enough for AARP. ; ) I actually have a National Parks Pass, I'll look into whether that works the same.
-- Edited by Kiers10 on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 11:48:10 AM
Dutch said
12:15 PM Dec 27, 2017
Sorry, Kiersten, you're 12 years shy of qualifying for an America the Beautiful Senior Pass. They don't follow AARP's marketing guidelines...
Happy Holidays fellow travelers! I'm four months and five trips into this adventure and learning tons along the way. I'll be traveling around Southern Florida and hopefully the Keys from mid-January until early February. I plan to mostly boondock where ever possible. I'm finding good options around Southern Florida but have been struggling to find places to Boondock on the Keys and in St Petersburg. I'm a solo female traveler so safety is important. Thank you in advance for any tips you have to share.
You’re probably way too late for a spot in the Keys at this point. Even the box docking ones have likely been reserved for months. Further up the Mainland you should have more luck. It most of the parks anywhere near the coast are likewise already booked. Inland in the Arcadia or up towards Orlando you may have more luck.
If money was no object I’m sure there are some resort-ey spots available…but most boon dockers do it at least partially for economic reasons so I’m guessing that money is an object for you. We are in North Fort Myers and here at Seminole CG most winter folk are here for 3-6 months And made reservations for this year last spring.
Thank you for all of the replies everyone. I spent a lot of time yesterday googling and making phone calls. I still have a few more to make but I'm afraid the Keys may be day trips this time. I love the idea of contacting Churches and helping out! I'm going to give that a shot as well. I did find Everglade National Park has some $30 a night spots left so that may be where I end up. Has anyone stayed there? Thoughts? I can afford cheaper RV parks but there aren't many of them available either. Even the $85-$150 a night spots are mostly filled now. It amazes me people pay that much! You can find hotel rooms for that price. I'm also very disappointed with the lack of RV parks and overnight places in and around St Petersburg. For such and amazing progressive city they are definitely lacking in that area.
That sounds awesome Dutch! How old do you have to be to qualify? I'm 50 years young, it's old enough for AARP. ; ) I actually have a National Parks Pass, I'll look into whether that works the same.
-- Edited by Kiers10 on Wednesday 27th of December 2017 11:48:10 AM
Sorry, Kiersten, you're 12 years shy of qualifying for an America the Beautiful Senior Pass. They don't follow AARP's marketing guidelines...
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm