Winter on the Gulf Coast.

Start your trip by stopping at Lake Amistad near Del Rio, TX, and then follow the Rio Grande south. There are plenty of RV parks and lakes along the Rio Grande all the way down to Brownsville and then you can work your way north along the coast.

Thanks all for the feed back - keep it coming.

As far as cool weather, cool is ok, long term cold - not so much.

We actually dislike heavy crowds more than cool weather.

On one early spring trip to Pensacola, FL. to see the Air and Space Museum, I stayed at the KOA in Bagdad, FL. just east of Pensacola. It was early March. I drove down to the beach one day and saw one couple on the entire beach. They were wading in the surf and wearing heavy jackets. I wouldn't call it cold, but chilly seemed to fit. I was stationed at NAS Pensacola for two years and winters were often chilly. You really need to be about half way down the gulf side to find warm (not hot) weather.

My favorite campgrounds on the gulf:
Fort Pickens. Loop A is an easy walk to the beach.

St. George Island: wonderfully isolated, great small town, and beautiful sunsets

Buccaneer State Park, MS: the water slide is closed so the park is pretty quiet. The beach sites are very quiet, as is the town. Sunrises are wonderful. The beach is a seawall but there are areas close.

To someone who has lived in Minot ND for the last two years and who long ago was stationed in Anchorage...and Biloxi MS, this talk of the gulf shore being COLD makes me laugh.

And before all of you literalists start jumping for the keyboard; YES I DO KNOW the idea of Cold as well as heat is all relative.

cpd520 wrote:
Planning a slow trip this winter along the Gulf Coast. Probably take 5 months going out before looping back interior to see family. We will leave Arizona the first of January. will spend a couple days to a couple weeks per stop.

I understand that many people winter along the coast, making it the busy season. My question is, how hard will it to be to find camp sites, and what kind of cost can we expect. We aren't resort type people. When we can, we do a mix of dry camping, Fed/State/County parks and middle of the road private parks.

first couple of trips were on the west coast. Have no idea what to expect on the gulf.

One place that remains in my mind is Garner State Park (Texas). Its in the hill country so to speak. But I loved the camp sites, plenty of space with all connections avail. During the fall and winter the place is mostly empty. Reservations make sense. Sorry but my unit stays parked in front of my home since its so hot here in the summer. Plus I love the fire pits during the winter time.

cpd520 wrote:
Thanks for the replies. We started our FT travel in January, and are still trying to figure out what full time travel will look like for us. Tend to like to make short hops and spend time stomping out the area. 100 miles down the road to somewhere new is fun. Every little town has something unique/worth seeing.

2gypsies wrote:

Have a good trip! Arizona had an awesome winter last year. Are you sure you want to leave?

Az is great, but after 59 winters there, it's time for something new.

Wife and I both really enjoy the beach, but have only traveled the west coast. Figured it was time for something new.

I like to surf fish and wife likes to collect rocks. We are thinking about getting a couple kayaks.
Any thoughts on where to stay and what to do will be appreciated.

Again the Crystal Beach area of Texas is an area people surf fish all the time. Since you like fishing Roll over pass MIGHT be perfect for you to stay as there is good fishing right there and

Buy a membership to avoid the daily charge
http://www.rolloverpasstexas.com/
http://crystalbeach.com/

NMDriver wrote:
Being close to the ocean you will need to wash your rig with fresh water to reduce rust. I give mine a good under wash anytime I drive close to the ocean even if I do not camp on the beach.

My first beach camping (Point Mugu, CA) trip produced more rust on my rig in one week than I normally get here in NM in 5 years. BTW I was in Corpus Christi the year they had 4-5 inches of snow on Christmas :S, so watch the weather forecast as you go along.

I too will endorse the state parks from TX to FL. We did not have any trouble getting sites but we traveled in Nov not Dec-Jan.

Well CC's snow was a first for us after so many long years and we loved it. It was gone in no time, by the next day (dang it). We didn't break out any snow shovels for it, besides who has them here? We do have a wind problem here during that time of the year. Lots of wind. I didn't care for the CG's in Rockport, Aransas Pass or Fulton, since sites are too close together. I would go visit them (and I'm here from Corpus Christi - CC) with my MH and just didn't care for the close comfort. I BBQ with mesquite and worried about my smoke drifting into their site. Myself, being a fool, I want to travel up north where it is colder with more room between camp sites. If I could get away with the long drive out of Texas, I'd definitely hit LA, MI or AL. But alas I have a son in high school and I'm totally solo, a widow now. So that determines my driving distance and my stays.

cpd520 wrote:

I like to surf fish and wife likes to collect rocks. We are thinking about getting a couple kayaks.

Any thoughts on where to stay and what to do will be appreciated.

Matagorda Bay Nature Park fits the bill. The only real negative is that any shopping beyond a general store is 30 miles away.

They changed their reservation system awhile ago. The last time I tried to make a monthly reservation was so confused I finally gave up. Hopefully that's fixed now.

Being close to the ocean you will need to wash your rig with fresh water to reduce rust. I give mine a good under wash anytime I drive close to the ocean even if I do not camp on the beach.

My first beach camping (Point Mugu, CA) trip produced more rust on my rig in one week than I normally get here in NM in 5 years. BTW I was in Corpus Christi the year they had 4-5 inches of snow on Christmas :S, so watch the weather forecast as you go along.

I too will endorse the state parks from TX to FL. We did not have any trouble getting sites but we traveled in Nov not Dec-Jan.