Extended stay recommendation, Fl Keys in Feb

Beau Bo wrote:
Thanks for the replies. I checked out the State Park reservations and they are full up for the dates I need, not even a one day vacancy listed. I guess I'll just try for cancellations after 3pm and hope I get lucky. The NAS campgound seems like a good Plan B if the park CGs are full.

To me, the Keys SPs are worth it to keep checking online, grab a res (even one night here and there), then fill in as needed.

We were in our Class B in Long Key one February and met another van couple who got in with a cancellation, then talked to the ranger at the park and were offered two weeks if they wanted it. You never know what you might get in person.

With a smaller RV or TC, it's easier to get a site and cobble together a great time. We've gone back and forth so much on the 7-mile bridge on a trip that it has became known to us as the 42-mile bridge.

endalby wrote:
Since I noticed your logo at the bottom of the page I assume you are retired Navy. Key West NAS has an RV Park on the water. We took our TC down there about 4 years ago and stayed for a week. Not the most spacious RV park but some spots on the water and full hooks in Key West for $14 per night (might have gone up a little by now). Active duty have priority and after that everyone else who has DoD rights is first come/first serve (ie. retire). It was ran fairly well and we were treated great. No issues at all.
Keep in mind a lot of retirees go down there in the winter and stay a long time but the rules state you cannot stay more than 14 days at a time unless there is space. Odds are quite a few will have been down there for more than a month already and they will have to make space for you. Don't feel bad about; DoD campgrounds are not for folks to stay at for 6 months at time but rather for all to enjoy.
One last thing: Go Army, beat Navy.

This is the way to go in Febuary. You might get lucky at a SP or private, but in Feb theres a hoard of campers hoping to get lucky, plenty of compation. Good luck, congrats on the retirement.

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the State Park reservations and they are full up for the dates I need, not even a one day vacancy listed. I guess I'll just try for cancellations after 3pm and hope I get lucky. The NAS campgound seems like a good Plan B if the park CGs are full.

Since I noticed your logo at the bottom of the page I assume you are retired Navy. Key West NAS has an RV Park on the water. We took our TC down there about 4 years ago and stayed for a week. Not the most spacious RV park but some spots on the water and full hooks in Key West for $14 per night (might have gone up a little by now). Active duty have priority and after that everyone else who has DoD rights is first come/first serve (ie. retire). It was ran fairly well and we were treated great. No issues at all.
Keep in mind a lot of retirees go down there in the winter and stay a long time but the rules state you cannot stay more than 14 days at a time unless there is space. Odds are quite a few will have been down there for more than a month already and they will have to make space for you. Don't feel bad about; DoD campgrounds are not for folks to stay at for 6 months at time but rather for all to enjoy.
One last thing: Go Army, beat Navy.

John Peenekamp is great in Nov thru Feb...no mosquitoes. Also Google, Flamingo Campground at the southern tip of Everglades NP southern tip on gulf side.

There are several stratagies that have worked for us on many Keys trips. We have often stayed in small resorts, the ones with 10 little cabins etc. by making a deal to park water side with no hookups. A few times we've parked and payed in marinas. We have overnighted often at the fishing bridges parking lots. There are always two bridges, the new one and the old which is the fishing bridge.

The Florida State Campgrounds are usually booked way in advance but we have almost always gotten in on cancellations by arriving around 3 PM.
With a TC you can usually fit into tenting sites which gives a lot more possibilities. The private campgrounds generally cater to the big rigs and are super expensive. We have been able to negotiate with the small resorts to pay weekly the daily rate of the private RV locales.

Marathon Key has a lot of good choices. Key West has been, for us, the toughest spot to stay. Good Luck, we have had several winter forays that were terrific, ask around, you'll be fine!

You'll probably find the Keys state parks fully reserved for the end of the year, but you can always keep looking at the reservation site for cancellations. (The keys parks are John Pennekamp, Curry Hammock, Long Key, and Bahia Honda, and they run about $40 a night for water and electric, bathrooms, dump stations.) You can also try just showing up and asking about openings. Long key is especially laid back...we head down there next week for a few days.

But it would be good to have a backup plan or two since roadside pull off or parking lot camping isn't feasible down that way. Since you don't care about electric, one place to know about is Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge. Not really laid back, but could fill in if you need a place. They are full every winter with seasonal people who have been coming for many generations, but they do have a section with no hookups that had openings the whole time when we stayed there one winter. No generators, no dogs. The little key deer roam freely in the campground.

We like Jolly Roger at Grassy Key on Marathon, which is on the Gulf of Mexico side with some sites on the water, and try to run down there for at least a few days if not longer every year. There are a lot of seasonals, but they always seem to have openings for short term stays, too.

Others here have their own favorites they can suggest, but all commercial campgrounds will cost quite a bit more than the state parks.

By the way, the state parks have limits on the length you can stay, so you can't arrive and plan an extended stay if you get a site. Maybe two weeks.

There are lots of great State Parks all along the keys. We loved Bahia Honda SP, shallow snorkeling right off the beach. You could spend a while at each as you work your way toward Key West. We stayed in the military CG on the northern side of Key West along the water. Don't know if that is an option for you.