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Places to camp.

rico2072

rico2072

Guest
Guest
Want to practice some more on the camping side of touring. Meaning, loading and unloading, pitching the tent and having a peaceful evening before loading her back up in a decent time. So I live in Tampa and was wondering about some nice campgrounds to stay at. My wife and son will probably meet me to camp in the Honda Element.
So here is the criteria.
1. Campsites that are 1 to 1 1/2 hours away for when she joins me.
2. Campsites that are 2 to 4 hours away for when she doesn't.

That's it.
Thanks
 
Moss Park, south of Orlando is nice. Swimming, boating, hiking, etc.

I am thinking of doing the same thing. I have loaded up for camping twice and was unable to camp either time.
 
Rico, save the campsite fee, join COG, and come stay with me. Since I do a LOT of this moto camping stuff, we can go over a few things together while you're here.
Of course, you are welcome to come here even if you don't take my suggestion above. Good game plan tho buddy. It's easy after you do it a few times, and gives you lots of options while on the road, to say nothing of saving a lot of money in the process. Come on up buddy. The cows aren't too noisy at night.
 
Do I need to bring Fireball! LOL
I'll take you up on the offer soon.
I'll keep you posted when the wife gets back in town.
 
Juniper Springs in Ocala National Forest. On the outside of your 90 minute limit, but way nice place. Hike the trails and check out the springs. One of my all time favorite places to sit and meditate is back in the trails. Simply beautiful.

You could also try Hillsborough State Park south of Zephyrhills on 301. That's real close to you.

But Al's is really cool too, I especially like the alarm clock.
 
How do you guys camp?  Around here in Colorado, places fill up fast.  You can't typically get away with just deciding you've ridden long enough and grab a spot at the next camp ground.  You just pull off the side of the road and pitch a tent?  Tried that with my son a couple years ago on a fishing trip.  Decided to just grab him after school and book it.  We ended up pitching the tent in the back of the truck and sleeping at a truck pull off parked along side a huge dirt mound.  I wasn't real happy.
 
Willy said:
How do you guys camp?  Around here in Colorado, places fill up fast.  You can't typically get away with just deciding you've ridden long enough and grab a spot at the next camp ground.  You just pull off the side of the road and pitch a tent?  Tried that with my son a couple years ago on a fishing trip.  Decided to just grab him after school and book it.  We ended up pitching the tent in the back of the truck and sleeping at a truck pull off parked along side a huge dirt mound.  I wasn't real happy.
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It all kinda depends but when it's busy I'll tend toward a commercial campground. Generally speaking, they are not as anal as U.S. and state parks(some ban beer, the elixir of the gods), national and state forests generally excepted. At the commercials, they can almost always accommodate a tent "out in the yard somewhere", especially if you have cash and ask what is the "cash rate, no receipt needed". Quite a few RV parks actually have a very nice tenting area.

In Canada, Crown land. It's free for Canadians and a bargain for foreigners, if you bother to get a pass.

When traveling, I've found that a local motorcycle dealer is a fountain of knowledge for riding in a given area. Example. I was in Hobbs NM and had ridden by a couple of nasty dusty rv trailer over night parking places. I was having petcock issues with the KLR so I went to the MawKaw dealer. No part, but they clued me in on a nice, clean, cheap county park outside of town that had real green grass and clean showers. Also clued me in on some good riding and eating places.

When asking for a place to overnight, ask where a fellow(or lady) could pitch a tent for the night, don't ask about a place you can camp. You could wind up in the yard for free or even in a spare bed, and a free home cooked meal or two. Volunteering to buy the wine/beer always helps.
 
This past summer I used a campground app on my phone for the first time -- Allstays Camp & RV. It notes where I am and shows nearby campgrounds (and other resources, like gas, restaurants, etc.) on a map. This allowed me to ride until I was ready to be done, then open the app and see what was nearby. The listings also include information about the locations. I would simply call around until I found one with available space.
 
bajakirch said:
This past summer I used a campground app on my phone for the first time -- Allstays Camp & RV. It notes where I am and shows nearby campgrounds (and other resources, like gas, restaurants, etc.) on a map. This allowed me to ride until I was ready to be done, then open the app and see what was nearby. The listings also include information about the locations. I would simply call around until I found one with available space.
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+1

I bought this app about a year and a half ago for traveling with the Roadtrek. Hugely valuable, easy to use, lotsa good info for traveling and camping.
 
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