Winter on the Gulf Coast.

I've been doing something like that for years. I'm not as concerned with temperature as some are. My stomping grounds include state county and municipal parks from around Corpus Cristi to southern GA.

Getting a spot for a couple weeks usually isn't a problem except for holidays. Longer stays probably require a reservation.

Padre Island National Seashore maybe just the place for you if you are up too boondocking. They have water and a dump station and cold showers but no other services available.

What a wonderful idea. I have to laugh at the folks who remind you that it's chilly. Chilly is good and a lot better than 10' of snow. Since you live in AZ chilly is just fine. LOL

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.

In January through March we haven't had a problem getting campsites at state and national parks in the panhandle of Florida, the beach areas of Alabama and Mississippi, and in southern Louisiana. But, it was typically in the 50s with a nice day going into the low 70s.

End of Feb into March this year, at Gulf shores we were either freezing or drounding in the rain. Nice place to visit, if weather is decent.

When you enter Texas stop at their Welcome Center and request their public campground booklet. It is great!

Jan Feb March are popular months. You might call places of interest a week before you plan to arrive and just make a reservation to be sure. I definitely wouldn't plan out your whole trip. A lot can happen enroute. You might want to stay at a place longer than you planned.

We found Louisiana and Mississippi not typical snowbird places so they're not as busy.

We always used Gulf State Park at Gulf Shores, Alabama. It's very popular and if you want to stay monthly you might have a wait. They usually have short-term stay sites open as folks come and go at those.

For Florida, the popular 'warm' cities below mid-Florida are going to be busy. If you don't mind staying in the middle or northern, you'll find a site without reservations.

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

I recommend dry camping on the beach at Crystal Beach near Galveston. $10 per year for permit. Every week or so we go to a commercial campground and do laundry, fill tanks etc. Then back to the beach. Nice free ferry ride from Galveston
Another spot we like is Holly Beach, LA the Cajun riviera, Same thing park on the beach no charge.
There are also dry camping opportunities west of Galveston as well as a government CG (state I think)

The closer you get to the ocean and the further south you get will make prices go up. Until you reach the Florida Keys and the prices will be exorbitant. Can't speak about other states but State parks in Florida get booked up months in advance. Even parks not on the coast tho interior parks aren't as bad. Until you get south of Orlando you should be able to find someplace to stop w/o reservations away from the coast. Bets are off south of that.

The Gulf Coast during the winter is often chilly except for the coastal areas of southern Texas and the lower two-thirds of Florida. I have some friends that have stayed in a condo in Gulf Shores, Al for the month of February for about 4 years and they've seen down right cold to cold & rainy to mild. I've stayed in Corpus Christi, TX in late January and had mild temps, but windy.

Late February and March will be busier along the Gulf, especially March. We usually stay in Florida about 70 miles north of Tampa. It's cooler there, but generally mild. Our campground is often booked for many days in February with occasional vacancies. You should find available campgrounds along the upper Gulf Coast in January and February mainly because it's too cool for many snowbirds.

You might spend some time reviewing average temps for areas along the Gulf. Below is a Weather.com site with maps of average temps for the U.S.. You can check specific cities too.

http://www.weather.com/maps/averages