St George Island SP in February??

[KyDan]

Wondering if anyone has camped St. George Island FL or St Joseph Peninsula state parks in winter.

We are heading south around the last 2 weeks in Feb.
Wish we could go further south but unable to find reservations on/near the beach.

We've stayed at Top Sail Hill preserve several times and just want a change
of scenery so to speak.

Other suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

[Great Horned Owl]

Last February, we camped for five nights at each of them. St. George Island state park was nice, but St Joseph Peninsula state park ranks as one of our all time favorites. The walk from the campground to the beach is only about 100 yards. Toward the end of the peninsula, you can walk for miles and not see another person.

If you don't need an electric hookup, you might also like Mack Landing campground in the Apilachicola National Forest. Of the seven nights that we spent there, we were completely alone for five of them.

One of the things that we like best about the panhandle, is just how uncrowded it is. For the entire time we were there, we never made a single reservation. I don't think we ever saw a completely full campground.

We expect to visit all three places again this year.

Joel

[KyDan]

We have 5 days reserved on Sanibel Island!!
We also have another 7 reserved on St. Joe Penn as you suggested.
Thanks for the info!!

We are excited and have our fingers crossed that weather will be seasonable in the panhandle and not below!

We appreciate your help!

[Smokyroo]

I went to graduate school at FSU and February on the Gulf Coast can be raw maybe not subfreezing raw, but you could get a cold front blow in and have temps in the 20s easily or it could be rainy and 40 degrees. I love those parks and visit them to this day as St. Joe is one of our family vacations we go to every few years. One of my favorite parks in Florida to camp in for sure. Count on packing some winter clothes for sure if you camp in the Florida Panhandle in the winter to be safe.

[whj77372]

My father had a condo in Hollywood, FL for over 20 years and he would say that Florida in the winter starts in West Palm Beach and south! He and my mother spent every winter in Hollywood, November 1st thru May 1st, I went to collage in Melbourne, FL for four years and it gets cold there but I don't remember it ever being cold in Hollywood? Even if it got cool, the next day the beach would be full due to the Gulfstream. My father loved his job at Gulfstream Race Track and he worked from early January for 90 days during the meet. He worked until he couldn't walk that much, for 19 years.

[Crusader]

This place looks nice.Carrabelle Beach

[KyDan]

We've spent a week each of the last 5 years in FL. Also one in Gulf Shores.
We've had good years when we walked in the afternoons in shorts and T-shirts and we've had bad years when we wore jackets and sat inside due to rain, drizzle and gray skies. Each year is a new adventure and each year we make
our reservations with fingers crossed! This year we'll be totally bummed if
it's cloudy and cold (by south FL standards) and windy in Sanabel Island.
I know the possibility of crummy weather is greater for our 2nd week which is St. George Peninsula SP in northern FL.

We took a 7 day Caribbean cruise in January 3 years ago. We had great weather but the cruise director kept talking about how lucky we'd been weather wise. He said the previous 3 cruises had clouds, rain and cool temps. January is the rainy season in the Caribbean. (Who knew?)

Top foto is why we go back to Top Sail Hill Preserve SP over and over!
Number 2 is why we go to Florida each winter over and over!
Last one is what it's like on the beach some years

Still rather be there than in KY in January!

[Crusader]

KyDan that looks nice right about now........Its 3 degrees right now in Michigan !!!!

[Cajun Po-Boy]

KyDan...that last pic on the beach needs to be your Christmas/New Years card! LOL

[buzzards27]

Originally Posted by KyDan

We have 5 days reserved on Sanibel Island!!
We also have another 7 reserved on St. Joe Penn as you suggested.
Thanks for the info!!

We are excited and have our fingers crossed that weather will be seasonable in the panhandle and not below!

We appreciate your help!

St. Joe is the BEST. As you drive toward it from the northwest it first appears to be a tiny speck of an island around Mexico Beach. Camping is in semi private sandy sites. Beach is stunning and we had a hard time stopping to return. If I recall there is limited and pricy fuel, food stores and a restaurant or two on the peninsula. Otherwise it is a long haul out.

We picked St Joe over the other becuz that one looked like a long bridge crossing, I hate bridges.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by buzzards27

We picked St Joe over the other becuz that one looked like a long bridge crossing, I hate bridges.

Well then don't ever drive to Key West!

And thanks for the heads up to fill up before we get there!

[buzzards27]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Well then don't ever drive to Key West!

And thanks for the heads up to fill up before we get there!

lol, I can do bridges, but really try to avoid them. Key West would only be by boat or plane.

There is a small community just short of the park entry and there may be a little more than the two gas pump we saw outside the party store.

[KyDan]

Several years ago we flew to Miami and rented a car and drove to Key West.
It was fun and I'm glad we did it. Key West was also fun but we just happened
to be there during some sort of sail boat regatta and darned near EVERY bicycle on the Key was rented. We finally found 2 way out on the fringe and I think we paid like $100 for 5 days but bike riding in Key West is awesome.
Traffic actually tolerates bicycles.

We were standing on a street corner when an old grizzly geezer rode up on a
total piece of crap bicycle. He had a bent up rusty basket on the front.
In the basket was a boat anchor! He tossed the anchor out on the sidewalk
and walked into a bar! I was laughing so hard I forgot to take
a picture!

Around where I live, if you ride on a main road on a bicycle you are taking
your life in your hands.

[Smokyroo]

I concur with St. Joe being awesome. If we ever get back to Fla it will be either near the town of Port St. joe or near Ft. Pierce. I miss the water a bit now living in the mountains and my boating season is cut in half! But Florida has changed so much and some for the worst in my lifetime. The old Florida I knew growing up as a kid is getting harder to find these days.

[Smokyroo]

There is ample fuel on Cape San Blas and in nearby Port. St. joe. You need not to worry about running out of gas. We shop at the Piggly Wiggly there in Port. St. joe but there is the Cape Trading Post and their prices are decent. If you go you MUST eat at the pizza place in down town Port St. Joe called Yo Mommas. It is really good. My New Jersey Italian brother in law said it is the best pizza he has ever had.

[wbdvt]

KyDan - please post pics and narrative on how your trip goes! DW and I are starting to get to the point in our lives where we will be able to take extended camping trips and FL is on my list for winter.
I did some work for Brown-Forman in KY. Nice people there not sure if you work there

[buzzards27]

Dan, any reviews of your stay?

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by buzzards27

Dan, any reviews of your stay?

In case you haven't already seen it- there is a discussion thread with
a video and a photo here--
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ear-35927.html

You can get lucky in the Panhandle in the winter but we weren't excited
about the weather we had.
St. Joseph Peninsula SP is a very nice little park and I recommend it-
just not in February.
If you do go be SURE and bring your bicycles!!
Choose the Pines campground if it's hot and sunny. The breezy
campground is better if you want sun on your site.
Pay attention to site length. Seemed like the Pines had more small
sites but some large enough as well. Breezy sites were more open
and I -think- more were on the larger size.
Both are fine as long as the weather cooperates.

[buzzards27]

Yep, caught that discussion. We were in s Carolina about the same time and fought wind too.