Camping in Florida
 

Does anyone have any camping experience in Florida around the Everglades? I'm doing my research on where to stay but I don't know much about Florida camping. I hope this question doesn't sound silly but - what about alligators? Are they a risk to campers? Do people tent camp Florida? Or do you really need the RV in Florida?

I would appreciate any info on Florida camping that you might have. Will be there late Nov early Dec.
Thanks for any help!

I live in Florida and have been to the Everglades but it's too buggy for me to camp there, certainly not in a tent. Alligators are everywhere in Florida. If there is a body of whatever, however small, chances are there is an alligator. But generally they do not want to meet you anymore than you want to meet them. If you want to camp, I suggest an RV.

I would be more concerned with snakes than aligators near the Everglades. My father killed a coral snake with his shovel in Melbourne about 10 years ago.
I would not have any food inside a tent.

Thank you for the replies. Common sense was telling me you don't tent camp in Florida but I just needed to hear it :-) As far as I know there are 4 types of poisonous snakes that you can encounter in Florida! Yikes!

The tent we are bringing is the kind that attaches to your truck bed so it would be off the ground. Florida is not our only stop on this road trip and we will be able to use it in other states.

We were thinking about using a campsite near the Everglades as a home base for our truck and bike trailer while we ride down to the keys on our motorcycles. I do want to see the Everglades NP as well. I love in CNY and we are used to mosquitos :-(

Don't be silly, people tent camp in Florida all the time.

*I* don't tent camp anywhere--did it once in Mexico b/c it was the only way to access a bird-rich reserve--so I can't help with personal experience, but I have friends and family members who do, multiple times a year, every year.

Poisonous snakes are simply not a concern unless you are the type of fool to go around trying to pick up random snakes. Read this article:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/pa...422-story.html

(And please, if you won't read the article, don't argue with me on this.)

Good article about the snakes. Thank you. I see snakes in my yard often but they are not poisonous and I leave them alone. (I like them). I'm unfamiliar with the types of snakes in Florida so this is appreciated.

So people do tent camp in Florida NewbE? Alligators aren't a concern? I don't want to sound silly just trying to be informed.

Yes, of course people camp in Florida, especially during the cooler months. And a tent in the back of your truck is a great idea. Do it! You will be just fine.

Sorry to accuse you of being silly, annikany, bad decision on my part. There's just a lot of hysteria about snakes and gators and roaches in Florida, mostly from non-natives who bring their prejudices with them when they move here.

Another good, basic article, this one about alligators:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ater/85916280/

Adult humans are basically too large for gators to bother with when there is abundant other prey around that's smaller and easier. I'm not sure I would tent camp with toddlers directly on the shore of a lake, nor with dogs, for that matter, but even then, if you avoid bodies of water between dusk and dawn, chances of an attack are infinitesimally small. And the vast majority of attacks are not fatal.

I can't resist adding that California, Arizona and many other states where people tent camp have mountain lions as well as poisonous snakes; and the entire Northeast US is infested with Lyme-disease bearing ticks; and brown recluse spiders, whose bite can be serious, are all over the place. Alaska has grizzly bears.

None of these are rare, all have killed people.

It's not the critters that would stop me from tent camping in the everglades it's the heat and humidity. Unless you are camping in the winter I would not suggest it. But then again my tent camping days are long gone as having a toilet and AC are now a strict requirement.

They are going late November-early December. Perfect weather for camping.

Go right ahead and camp. A big pig starts rooting up your tent in the middle of the night don't be afraid. Our neighbor's yard looks like a plow went through his yard this week from a couple of wild pigs. They moved here from Tenn and they want to move back. Snacks, gators, armiddilos, opossums and the bob cat have them scared to death. Then we had the hurricane. I feel so bad for them not to know of the critters we have on the east coast of Fl. I have only had coral snake and pigmy rattler encounters. I leave the racers and indigos alone. A big fat rat snack got electrocuted in our ac unit this summer. Every now and then I see python snakes that people have turned loose. I don't even open my windows at night to sleep let alone camp under the stars.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Puts it all into perspective which is what I was looking for.

NewbE- another good article.
(Ticks are so gross. Never had to worry about them until a few years ago in CNY.)

gmoney- I wouldn't travel to Florida in the hot humid months. I don't tolerate those elements well. But I'm used to bugs ;-)

AustinTraveler - thanks!

If you know of some favored camp spots I'd like to hear about them.

I must say every part of the country has some animals. My friends just moved to Arizona and they have had wild cats and a pig like critter in their back yard. He got attacked by fire ants last week and thought he had left them behind in Fl. I must say the worse encounter I have had is fire ants. They are wicked. I think if camping that would be what I would be on the look out for first.

I forgot about our bears.

Yes ants are a force to be reckoned with!

Walking with my friend on her large piece of land here in CNY last winter we rustled up coyotes. It wasn't until that encounter that I thought it might be a good idea to ring a firearm along. Since then my husband has been teaching me how to shoot. I now have a sling shot and a BB gun to bring along. Still have a long way to go before I carry anything else but the thought is there.

Well, you're more likely to shoot each other than hit an animal. A coyote is quite small and will not hurt you. And it also lives in every single one of the contiguous 48 states, so conquering irrational fear is the more sensible approach over camping with guns.

Maybe you're not cut out for tent camping??

<They moved here from Tenn and they want to move back. Snacks, gators, armiddilos, opossums and the bob cat have them scared to death. >

Sure, go on back to Tennessee, where they have all of those animals, including pit vipers and rattlesnakes, except gators.

(What sort of numpties are scared of possums?? Your friends are not too swift.)

https://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/tnmammallist07.pdf
A guide to the wildlife of Tennessee.

Newbe, I hate opossums. They are so ugly. Our new neighbors did not live in the country in Tennessee. They moved to be closer to family but think they are headed back. Do you have wild pigs in your yard? There was a huge boar on 46 today, he would have demolished a car but ran back into the woods. My husband did hit one on the space center road late one night coming home from work.. He kept his motorcycle up but took his saddle bag off. We found it the next morning with the dead pig in the ditch.

NewbE- I am a long way from carrying a firearm. Just saying I realized why it's necessary to have some kind of protection with you in the woods. I know a coyote attack is highly unlikely unless it was injured or rabid. The encounter just raised my level of awareness about my vulnerability in the woods. That's all. It was really unrelated to our road trip and camping in Florida. Probably should have left that out.

I grew up tent camping in NY and NH. I know what tent camping is all about. I don't know what it's like in FL so I seek information and I appreciate the answers. They are helpful. Other than a pocket knife I will not be armed ;-)

Opossums are cute. They are marsupials too! Very interesting animal indeed.