Where to go

pcaffrey wrote:
I could be wrong but I don't understand how I would be limiting myself, looking at maps it appears the Gulf Coast extends from Florida to Texas. Quite a distance. The three locations I mentioned it seems that everyone heads to those areas which seems to cause a lot of congestion and from reading on this and other sites a camp site would be hard to come by. Texas would be a possibility.

I don't know what you mean by congestion and sites hard to come by in the major three states for winter. It just depends on what kind of park you're looking for. There are always openings in the 'not so popular' parks. The southern part of Florida is the warmest and will be more crowded. South Texas can be done as can the Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma areas of Arizona, including the outskirts. Every park doesn't fill and you don't have to make reservations years in advance.

If this is your first time wintering then I'd recommend picking a few places and different areas in each state - even using state parks for a week or two or Corp of Engineer parks so you can get a feel for the different areas of each state. Plopping yourself down for a couple months in a place you've never been isn't the way to go. You could be very disappointed in the park or the area but then you're stuck.