Camping in the Everglades in April

ekirkland wrote:
I just talked to the people at the campground at Collier-Seminole about the availability of sites after March 31 (all sites after that date are X-ed out). They said the campground will be closed to camping at that time for construction. So, I must chose another base. How is Koreshan SP? Looks like a good place to paddle on the Estero River. How long is the drive from Koreshan to Goodland?

We have stayed at Koreshan.
It is a nice park and you can get a couple of days paddle on the Estero and then some more in the bay
Make sure you walk around the compound and see how self sufficient the Koreshans lived. It is very interesting

Jack L

I've been to Koreshan, but just a quick walk around. I surprised that it has camping since that's unusual for historic sites. Expect thick traffic on US 41 in the area, so getting to Goodland probably will be slow. We've been to Goodland too but nothing there impressed me but we aren't kayakers.

I just talked to the people at the campground at Collier-Seminole about the availability of sites after March 31 (all sites after that date are X-ed out). They said the campground will be closed to camping at that time for construction. So, I must chose another base. How is Koreshan SP? Looks like a good place to paddle on the Estero River. How long is the drive from Koreshan to Goodland?

Collier Seminole is now open again.
If I were you I would make reservations now. We made them for two weeks in March. Once people know it has reopened, the reservations will go fast
Any of the ones on the back left are large.(like 16, 17, 18, etc)

Jack L

We never had a problem with the sites being too tight at Collier Seminole. We ended up with sites near the beginning of the loop road tho so I'm not too sure about ones in the back. This is Florida, plan on carrying Deet for mosquitoes. How many there are depends on the weather, a dry period followed by rain will bring out a lot of them. I'd make reservations at Collier-Seminole. I can't advise about the others.

I see that looking at Collier-Seminole reviews that the CG is undergoing renovations. Florida Parks are working their way thru the older CG and reworking the CG adding FHU in many cases. So when you get there they CG may be a lot different than what has been reported. I was surprised to see that a lot of people gave it 3 stars or less. We never hit there during a heavy rain period and always liked the park. But we are Florida natives and a few bugs aren't a problem to us.

Any of these CG down near the Glades will get soggy after weeks of rain. The land is probably about 2 feet above sea level at the most.

Collier Seminole was closed for renovation this year - maybe someone else can comment who has been there recently about the sites now.

Unless you are planning on dates that maybe fall around Easter or on weekends, you probably won't need reservations at Flamingo in April, but you can check the reservations system online and find out how full it is. A lot of peope skip it because it's a long drive down there and back, and until a few years ago, the sites weren't electric or reservable.

I love the place. Only (?) - or one of the few - places where gators and crocs coexist in same water.

Bugs can be bad in south Florida anytime of year, or sometimes not. Come prepared.

How is Collier-Seminole for a 30' travel trailer? I've heard the sites are sort of tight. I've also heard the sites can be muddy.

Are the bugs bad in early April at Collier-Seminole, Midway, and Flamingo. I'm thinking I may spend a few days at each. Do you think reservations are advisable?

If you weigh less than 200 lbs. put rocks in your pockets if you intend to get out of the vehicle. They have mosquitos down there that can pick up a small dog and fly away. That's the only place in the country where I drove on a two lane road with a 35 MPH limit on the way into the park and a 50 MPH limit on the way out. And I'm not kidding about the speed limit part.

Bring mosquito repellant

Flamingo CG is directly on Florida Bay. I'm not sure if they close it in the summer months but we've been down there several times and there were no campers. The CG is just a big open grassy field.