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WandaLust2's avatar
WandaLust2
Explorer
Mar 16, 2016

Reverse snow-birds.

Since we bought property here in FL and plan to move here in less than a year, we will be reverse-snowbirds. Come the summer heat and bugs here in FL, we will head north for the hottest months. I'm not sure where yet but the high 90s and low 100s doesn't appeal to us too much. what can you possibly do when it's so hot?

I hope there are places who cater to the reverse-snow birds out there with affordable rates.

Anyone else here a reverse-snowbird?
  • ...here's a view at low tide from our campsite, Wolfe's Neck, Maine, September:

    Morning:



    Afternoon (4 lighthouses are visible at night, as a bonus):



    Here's a view from our camper on the OBX (Outer Banks, NC), mid June:

    Oceanside:



    Pamlico Sound-side, looking out the window of our camper:



    Nothing like ocean-front :B

    ....anyone for a ...night in Rodanthe... ?

  • We have a mobile home in Port Charlotte and a park model in Seneca IL. When we leave in May to head north we leave on the AC which is connected to a humidistat. It turns the AC on when the humidity goes up to a level which you preset. Put up the hurricane panels and go. Our place in Illinois is a resident owned campground for RVs and Park Models. Very reasonable assoc. fees, ours is about $800 per year but that INCLUDES electricity. 2 pools and quite a few retired people for social activities. Check out the website, Woodsmoke Ranch Seneca IL.
  • Come to the Thousands Islands in NY. There are many seasonal parks to choose from.
  • Since you have this "reverse" idea in your head, I am assuming you are talking about going north in a RV, since folks with homes at both ends of the trip don't call it reverse, it is just snowbirding. North in the summer, south in the winter, whether you do it RV or sticks and bricks, ownership or rental, migrating makes you a snowbird.

    I know the Great Lakes area. Camping seasons range from beginning or end of May to just after Labor Day in some places, end of October at the latest. Memorial Day through Labor Day, most places you might want to go will be quite busy, if it is on the water, and most places will be on the water in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan. Busy means expensive. To get away from that, you need to get beyond a full day's drive from major metro areas like SE Michigan, Chicago-Milwaukee, or Minneapolis-St Paul.

    One of the nicest long-stay resorts is Petosky Motorcoach Resort near the tip of the Michigan Lower Peninsula. This one is an ownership resort, but owners rent out their lots seasonally as well. To find out what it costs, you have to call or pretend to book.

    Closer to the busy summer resort area of Traverse City, the nicest place is probably Traverse Bay RV Resort. Lots here are currently selling for about $65,000, which is actually pretty cheap for a piece of land that size anywhere near Traverse City. A little more downscale, Holiday Park on Silver Lake (about 10 miles out of Traverse City) rents sites at $50 to $75 a night, the lower cost sites going for about $300 a week for longer stays. You will find similar rates in other parks/resorts in Benzie County (Frankfort, Benzonia) unless you want to be actually on the Lake Michigan shore, on Crystal Lake, or close to the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

    Prices should be lower in the NE part of the LP (from I-75 over to Lake Huron) but I can't vouch for any places because I always went to the NW part. Upper Peninsula will be a bit less expensive, if you get away from the extremely popular straits area (e.g. near St Ignace). Still, for decent parks with long term stays, and near cities (like Marquette, Houghton or Escanaba) you'll be looking at $40 a day or higher. Town and cities in the UP often have small public tourist parks in the $20-30 price range, but most of these have limited stays, often 14 days, sometimes less.

    For Michigan, you don't want to be any further south than Houghton Lake, where the summer resort area starts, unless actually on the shore of one of the Great Lakes. The summer climate is still central plains, and temperatures can reach the high 80s regularly, into the 90s from time to time. Corresponding areas of Wisconsin are north of Green Bay (the Door Peninsula is really nice in summer, but just as popular and expensive as Traverse City). For Minnesota, up in the Thousand Lakes area north of Minneapolis.

    One more thing to think about, June through August is severe weather season for the Great Lakes, with thunderstorms as warm and cold air masses push at each other, occasional tornadoes and more frequently straight wind speeds that will challenge RVs.
  • rockhillmanor wrote:
    Don't know what your mileage restriction is but......

    IMHO, JMHO.
    THE FINEST place to stay in the Summer months is LAKE GENEVA, WI.

    I reverse Snowbirded there for 4 years. Ahhh it was just great. Crisp clean smelling air and it is so beautifully green in spring and summer it hurts your eyes. And tons and tons of things to see and do! :C

    The crisp clean smell of the air up North is what I miss the most.
    Florida just doesn't have it.:(

    Oh, that sounds so delightful. Can you recommend an RV park in or near Lake Geneva?

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