We are considering a trip the end of this year to Key West,just after Christmas. Couple of things we are interested in. What do you snowbirds do when traveling down. Do you stay in hotels until you reach a warmer climate? Are there campgrounds open along the way? It looks like a 1500 mile drive. About a 3-4 day drive?
Also any feedback on campgrounds along the Keys. We considered Boyds in Key West, but after reading some reviews it doesn't look that great?
How about Blue Water Key RV resort? It looks like it's only 15 miles from Key West.
Blue Water Key RV Resort is very nice but very expensive. But then everything in the keys is expensive. When my wife and I stay there for the winter, we stay at the KOA at Sugarloaf Key. That's about MM20 from Key West. The KOA has a nice beach, marina, pool and a poppin' cantina at night.
Even if you don't Stay at the KOA, across the hwy is a restaurant called Mangrove Mamma's. Great food and drink. You've got to try the cracked conch.
At sunset head for Key West's Mallory Square for the sunset celebration. Alot of street vendors and street performers. My wife's favorite is the "Catman" with his house cats.
As for the drive down you might want to check out Pigeon Forge, Tn. Campgrounds would still be open and the holiday show at Dollywood has been voted #1 holiday show. Farther south there's Chattanooga, Tn. Many interesting things from the aquarium to the choo choo. In the Atlanta area you might find Stone Mtn another interesting stop. Again these attractions have campgrounds open. Maybe limited operations but open.
Your journey to Key West will be as fun as when you get to the warmth of the Keys. Enoy!!
If you take I-75 there are camp grounds open from KY on down. You many only have electric if it's below freezing but that why you have a propane furnace. We carry a case of bottle water in case it to cold for the on board water system. Some of the camp grounds are signed up with Passport for discounts. When we use I-75 we usually stop the first night in KY and the next in GA. Then find a place in central FL
Our first overnight stop after leaving Chicago is always in Paducah, KY (Duck Creek RV) where we usually can de-winterize.
We typically drive 300 miles per day except for the first day which is around 380 miles.
We've stayed at Boyds which is a beautifully landscaped RV Park, convenient to Key West, but very tight; $95 per night. The sites on the water are not worth the extra money.
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2011 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two bikes (both Electric Schwinn's with motor assist)
Depending on just where in MI you're coming from, here are a few campgrounds along I-75 that we've used in the winter: Twin Lakes in Bluffton, OH, just south of Findlay. Oak Creek in Walton, KY, just south of the I-71 south cutoff. Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY Indian Mountain State Park in Jellico, TN., just inside Tennessee. Harrison Bay State Park just NW of Chattanooga, TN (about 15 mi off I-75)
Once you get past Tennessee, you should have no problem finding RV parks along your route that are open, and with full services. Ohio is the hardest place to find winter campgrounds since they pretty much shut down for the winter. All the above, however, are open all year, and we've used them all, although most will only have electricity available during the winter.
We carry three one-gallon jugs of RV anti-freeze for toilet flushing, and the same amount of fresh water for drinking, coffee, and washing. By the second day, we usually find a park with an open bath house for showers, so we only have to miss our shower the first night. After we get into southern KY, or TN, the weather is usually warm enough where we can de-winterize our rig for normal shower and toilet use.
One thing about the Keys......you're going during their peak season, so I would suggest that you make your reservations NOW, wherever you decide to stay. You may find most sites already booked by now.
My rig is loaded with all kinds of stuff that would freeze. So I stay in it at night. I never had a problem with anything freezing while traveling during the day.
My first night is in Missouri and there are plenty of campgrounds availalbe. There might not be water available, which I don't need. The office might not be open, but can self register. I do need a site with electricity.
I leave the RV winterized until in Georgia. I take a couple of gallons of water to cook and drink and I take a 5 gallon jug to use in the toilet.
Yep, actually drove to all of these places---in the last eight years. Missed Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Thanks for all the reply's. We narrowed it down to about three campgrounds in the keys. Two are booked already and one didn't have very good reviews on the web. We wanted to be as close to Key West as possible.
So we put our name on a waiting list (28 pages) at Blue Water Key Resort. In the meantime we decided if we can't get something there, we would start out at Top Sail in Santa Rosa beach. We were able to get a pull through site. I heard it was a nice state park with beach access.
We'll finish off in Disney for a week and head back home for the snow
Top Sail is a very nice state park in the Pan Handle we have been there many times and it can get cold there in December and January. The beach is beautiful and they have a trolley that goes back and forth all day long to take people to the beach, hopefully it will be warm enough so you can do that. Enjoy your stay. One of our RV clubs will be there for our Christmas campout a few weeks before Christmas.
Offline
