West Coast of Florida

I like to ride US 41. 19 is nice, but long patches of nothing.

You mean peninsular Florida? Possibly Highway US27 or if you want to stay to the west(but not near the coast)then US19 but you won't hit many towns unless you divert down side roads to the west. It is not possible to drive down the west coast. 27 goes thru many small towns. It's actually hard to say since there are really 4 or 5 highways that pass south down the peninsula. 19, 27, 41, 301, 441 and maybe 17. They merge and run together for 50 miles then split up. If I had to pick one then maybe 41 it runs all the way down to the everglades and then along the northern boundary of the park, as the Tamiami Trail, into Miami. Lots of history behind the Tamiami Trail and many dead tourist and locals drove into that deep canal and were not found for decades.
Just get a map an look is probably the best advice.

Maybe we could come up with a list of small towns but it would be difficult.

Great!
I will take a look at 41, since it goes all the way to Miami.

Is it a good safe road for a large class A motorhome?
Also, I want to go all the way into the keys, but would like to make some stops down the West coast , on the way down.
Any recommendations for rv parks.

For us we like those tiny towns with long stretches of natural scenery. Not sure what you prefer as being scenic.

I would go on 19 to Port Richie, then hop on 53 to get to 301. ( you avoid the huge traffic mess in the Clearwater area by doing that) Follow that until it merges with 41 near Ellenton. Then 41 takes you the rest of the way down the west coast and then heads east at Naples thru the everglades to Miami

I would go on 19 to Port Richie, then hop on 53 to get to 301. ( you avoid the huge traffic mess in the Clearwater area by doing that) Follow that until it merges with 41 near Ellenton. Then 41 takes you the rest of the way down the west coast and then heads east at Naples thru the everglades to Miami

deejay41 wrote:
Great!
I will take a look at 41, since it goes all the way to Miami.

Is it a good safe road for a large class A motorhome?
Also, I want to go all the way into the keys, but would like to make some stops down the West coast , on the way down.
Any recommendations for rv parks.

All highways in Florida are pretty good, even the 3 numbered state roads for the most part are good two lane roadways. The state spends it's federal road taxes where it is supposed to, on the roads with no apparent corruption. US41 in particular is fine, a 2 or 4 lane roadway.
I'll suggest visiting White Springs near Jasper and the State Park there, Oleno SP near High Springs and maybe Ichnetucknee SP in the same area, Rainbow Springs SP near Dunellan, Myakka SP near Sarasota, Collier Seminole SP where 41 turns east across the Everglades and Shark River Unit of the Everglades NP in the center of that section.

As for RV parks for the most part we try to stay in State Parks which once again have won the best in country award. Most of their campgrounds have been converted to FHU over the last five or ten years and are generally big rig friendly. Some have twisty interior roads with lots of trees so look at campgroundreviews for a particular park. Ft Clinch near Jacksonville and Tomoka near Daytona fall in that group. And the only commercial cg we have stayed in, and they are few, are in the panhandle.

You most certainly want to avoid US19 anywhere close to the Tarpon Springs-New Ritchie area the traffic is awful.

I'd suggest honking your horn as you go thru Newberry since we live near there but we'll be off on our own trip hopefully. I have a personal story about the Tamiami Trail, when I was very young-a toddler, my Father was off in the Army in Korea and my mother and Aunt decided to drive down to Miami and rent a house down there (from NJ). My aunt was driving that dangerous, no railing section of the Tamiami Trail and fell asleep and just about ended up in the 30 foot deep canal. Apparently my mother woke up just in time to jerk the steering wheel away from the water.
They've made that section much safer now, OH yeah it runs thru the Seminole reservation and they do hand out tickets whenever possible.

We always try to follow routes that used to be the main route prior to Interstates. US 41 would be a good choice.

You can go US-98 to Perry; it's somewhat scenic between Port St. Joe and the Crawfordville turnoff. Then from Perry take US-19 south to US-98 past Homosassa and head to Brooksville, where you'll connect with US-41.

Once you get east of Crawfordville the actual coast is 20-25 miles away from the highway with county roads leading out to small communities. You'll be seeing 20 bazillion pine trees.

For more to see, from Perry I'd take US-27 to HIgh Springs, then head south on US-27 to Williston, then reconnect with US-41 and go all the way south to Land O'Lakes and pick a direction from there. To go to the Keys, get over to US-27 SR-50 Brooksville to Clermont, then south on US-27.

DO NOT go through the Tampa Bay area or, of course, the Orlando area.

For more to see, from Perry I'd take US-27 to HIgh Springs, then head south on US-27 to Williston, then reconnect with US-41 and go all the way south to Land O'Lakes and pick a direction from there. To go to the Keys, get over to US-27 SR-50 Brooksville to Clermont, then south on US-27.

You don't have to reconnect with 41. 27 and 41 run together from High Springs to Williston. But as I pointed out there are innumerable different routes, Florida is not short on North-South highways.