Florida Camping 101

Welcome to Florida!

Introduction

Welcome to Florida camping 101. This is a multi-part series on being outdoors camping in Florida. After living in Florida for over 10 years I will highlight my favorite spots, activities, regions, etc. on Florida.

General Overview

Florida has four main regions to consider while planning a trip here to explore it’s natural beauty. Panhandle, Northern, Central and Southern.

While not the most mountainous state in the US Florida does offer an abundance of other natural beauty including, crystal blue springs, stunning white sand beaches, lowland hammocks, fresh water lakes and some of the largest wetlands in the US with wildlife only found here such as the alligator and American crocodile.

We will be discussing each region in detail on subsequent articles in this series on the Florida outdoors.

Activities

Getting humanity outdoors enjoying nature is the goal of this blog. I will highlight the activities that you can do while in nature to not only get you out and about but enhance that experience while doing so. Because Florida has such diversity you have plenty to choose from depending on how adventurous you are.

• Camping
• Hiking
• Multi-day Backpacking
• Kayaking
• Fishing
• Surfing
• Sailing
• Diving
• Snorkeling
• Beachcombing
• Bird Watching

As you can see there are many options of activities outdoors.

Seasons and Weather

There are basically two season in Florida, the wet and the dry or Summer and Winter. Although temps will average in the 80s year round it can get below freezing in the winter as cold fronts push through, so be prepared.

Wet season is summer, dry is winter. April to November is basically the wet hot season. December to March is the dry cool season.

Summer season is hot, very hot, hot as balls. This is the hurricane season which officially runs June 1 to Nov 30. It will thunderstorm everyday around 2pm. These thunderstorms bring localized heavy rain, wind and intense lightning.

Winter season is cooler and drier even though it will rain during the winter you just don’t have the thunderstorms like summer. Florida will have 3-5 cold fronts throughout this season. Depending on what region you are in the temperatures can drop below freezing. It can be 80 degrees the day before and 30 degrees the next, with cold icy wind.

So plan accordingly on which region you are going to, what activities you will be participating in and what time of the year you will be there.

Regions

The images above show the four different regions and where the Florida Trail runs. We will discuss the trail further down.

Panhandle:

The panhandle region of Florida encompasses the area from Tallahassee to Pensacola with Alabama bordering the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Some of the worlds most beautiful sandy beaches are in this region. Remote beach camping is accessible here. This is also the norther termination point of the florida trail.

North Florida:

Encompasses the region from Orlando up to Jacksonville and over to Tallahasse bordering Georgia to the north. It stretches from the Atlantic coast to the Gulf coast area of Big Bend. There are two major national forests, Osceola and Ocala which offer many outdoor activities. Hiking, backpacking, kayaking, fishing, camping, swimming, and springs. The northern region also has numerous wildlife management areas to explore. The weather is typically cooler in this region than the rest of the state.

Central Florida:

This region is from Daytona Beach on the Atlantic to Orlando and over to Tampa, with the southern border running east west at the top of Lake Okeechobee. There are a number of wildlife preserves, springs, beaches, camping and fishing. The center of the state is where the majority of Floridas agriculture is produced. Large expanses of cattle grazing and sugar cane dominate 70% of this region.

South Florida:

This area extends from Stuart on the Atlantic to Naples on the gulf all the way down to Key West. Great beaches, diving, surfing. South florida is home to the Everglades national park, lake Okeechobee and the cities of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Key West and Fort Meyers.

If you have the amazing opportunity to see a panther or bear in the wild you will be one of the lucky ones as they are quite rare to see. Just be bear aware while camping in the wild.

By far the biggest dangers are sunburn, heatstroke and dehydration.

Getting Around

By far the easiest way to get around Florida is by car. Many of the highways are tolled and you will need a Sunpass which is readily available at grocery and convience stores.

If flying in there are many major airports to choose from depending on which region you would like to visit. Jacksonville or Tallahassee for North Florida, Panama City or even Mobile Alabama for the panhandle, Orlando and Tampa for central and West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami for the south.

Train travel is possible as well depending on where you are going. Amtrak has regular north south routes but do not go east/west. The newest and best way to travel on the train is the Brightline which offers high speed service from Miami up to Orlando. There is bus service throughout the state, a quick google search will point you in the right direction if going the bus route.

Closing

Florida has many options for exploring the outdoors it just depends what you are looking for. By far my favorite spots for camping are in the national forests with a beautiful cool spring to jump into after a day of hiking.

You will find it easy to get here, get around and easy to get off the beaten path.

So whether you are looking to camp on the beach or in the forest the options are here in Florida.

Please keep an eye out for subsequent posts on the Florida outdoors as I will dive deeper into detail region by region!