winter camping in the carolinas/florida?

[barchetta1]

My wife and I just bought a 5th wheel and are excited to camp. Is camping in the carolinas (north or south) feasible in the winter?

What about florida? We could maybe do a 5 day trip.. we are typically weekend warriors though because Im a young 51 and have to work.. ugh.


Is there a safe water antifreeze if we dont drink it? In other words, we only do dishes and shower etc? Ours is an older 5th and the floor is not all enclosed in and insulated...

Our favorite campsite thus far us jellystone in Marion nc. We've been camping 4 times in total.

[barchetta1]

Id like to thank you all for your information. we actually live in south carolina (fort mill).. going to be looking at these suggestions and we hope to go out and do a friday/sat/sun in the coming weeks.

[spoon059]

We camp in Florida and South Carolina every February. Its AWESOME to get away from the dreary mid-atlantic and see the sun and warm weather again! We stay south of Tampa on the Gulf side and actually swim in February!

[zackyboy3rs]

Daddy Joes Jellystone Tabor City NC. 40 minutes northwest of Myrtle Beach. Quiet out of the traffic but close to many places to visit. Google it.

[pulsar]

RGar974417 wrote:
We stayed in Huntington Beach State Park over Christmas 3 years ago. They day we arrived it was 80. The rest of the week it was in high 50's or low 60's during the day. Lower at night.It's a short walk to the beach, they have great nature programs and it's close to Murrel's Inlet where they have some nice restaurants like Drunken Jacks. While at Hintington Beach, take a tour of Attalya.

Anyone going to Huntington Beach State Park should take the time to tour Atalaya (with one 't'). They don't have guided tours during the winter, but you can tour it on your own. If your are there between March and October, take a guided tour. The guide will share many interesting stories.

Also, one should tour Brookgreen Gardens, which was part of the original Huntington estate.



Tom

[mgirardo]

We have camped in SC, GA and FL in the winter. A couple winters ago we were in Greenville, SC camping at Paris Mountain State Park. It got into the mid 20s a couple nights, but no snow. I prefer cold weather camping (wife does not), so mid-20s is fine with me. Except for Florida, most campgrounds and state parks are a lot quieter in the winter.

-Michael

[Community Alumni]

We've spent several winters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at Myrtle Beach Travel Park. November is nice month with lots of 60-70 degree days. Typically December/January are in the high 40's and mid-50''s. Things start to warm up in February with some 60's and March can be 60's and some 70's. Nights can freeze throughout the winter with most temperatures being 30's & 40's.

We've experienced lots of sun but typically windy. Winds can be cool off the ocean even on very warm days. We can usually wear shorts but often need a sweatshirt or light jacket. Sure beats winters in Montreal.

[RGar974417]

We stayed in Huntington Beach State Park over Christmas 3 years ago. They day we arrived it was 80. The rest of the week it was in high 50's or low 60's during the day. Lower at night.It's a short walk to the beach, they have great nature programs and it's close to Murrel's Inlet where they have some nice restaurants like Drunken Jacks. While at Hintington Beach, take a tour of Attalya.

[tatest]

Depends on your expectations.

If you want to be warm most of the time, then South Florida is the place. It is full of RVers who go down there to stay for the winter, but short term stays are still possible if you search.

If you don't mind southern winter temperatures and are just concerned about freezing, staying close to the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts works for most of the winter. On the Atlantic coast, you want to be within the influence of the Gulf Stream, which means mostly south of Cape Hatteras, although long freezes have been rare as far north as Hampton Roads (which does average a few inches of snow per year). But it can also get cold much more to the south, as I've experienced sub-freezing nights trying to tent camp at Daytona in early February.

Generally, more likely to be warmer the more you go to the south, and when it does get colder, more likely to be sub-freezing the further inland.

One of my cousins goes to Fort Myers for the winter, it gives him the most riding days, and from there he more often rids south, to Naples or across the Everglades to Miami or the Keys. But when it is warmer, he rides north.

Another cousin winters in Hernando County, which is sometimes warm, sometimes cold, but most of the time mild.

My brother lives in Citrus County, which can get below freezing, but is usually mild, not so often shirtsleeve warm.

My sister makes late winter trips to the Outer Banks, because coming from Michigan, being on the beach, above freezing, with no snow, is good enough for her.

[Cocky_Camper]

I live in upstate SC just south of Charlotte. We normally have mild winters for most part. There may be a day or so each winter where we will barely get above freezing, but that is normally one day during the winter at the most. We normally snow every year, but it is normally gone within 24 hours. The thing that you have to watch out for in the Western Carolina's is the cold air wedging in against the mountains with warm air aloft and moisture, which can lead to an icy scenario. But his only happens once at the most.

[DutchmenSport]

We have camped in SC and Florida for the last 3 years now, the week of Christmas and the 2nd week in March. In Florida, we've been to several of the state parks in the Panhandle area. In SC, we've been to a couple state parks in the SW section (McCormick's creek). Although the temperatures not in the 90's or anything, we were not freezing either. Florida was much warmer than SC, but still no snow, or freezing in SC.

We're going back to SC, this time, the week after Christmas and coming home after New Year. Hope we don't get snowed OUT of Indiana on our way back.

[Opie431]

In Michigan we get water from the campground bathroom and use it for washing dishes, cooking. etc. We have tent camped in eight inches of snow so you should have no problem.
We use an electric blanket so we do not have to have the heat turned up high at night. And yes it works in a tent or RV at night.

[Horsedoc]

I really don't have a dog in this fight, but take a look at Stephen Foster State Park in S Georgia (Okeefenokee Swamp). No mountain scenery for sure, but the swamp is beautiful with no mosquitos (well not many anyway 🙂 ) in the winter. Fishing will be good for panfish. Alligators will be abundant but slow with the cooler weather. Raccoons will be plentiful. Snakes will be scarce because of the cool weather and the alligators eat them.
You can rent a boat or a canoe and see what the swamp is all about and some of the history at Billy's Island when it was a thriving town. It will not be crowded and temps will be moderate. We have been several times and had a small rally there several years ago. There are also scheduled guided tours

[magnusfide]

We enjoy camping in winter. Layered clothing is best and we do have a small heater to help the furnace. We've camped in freezing temps using a heated hose to keep water flowing too. We've stored our RV in north Georgia mtns and sw NC mtns: have only blown out the water lines with the mattress inflation pump and made sure the all tanks were empty - had no problems. Have never used the antifreeze stuff in the southern states.

[Stormy_Eyes]

When are you thinking of coming to Florida?

We are spending time in Florida State Parks, exploring our newly adopted state. Like others, we made reservations on reserveamerica.com. These parks are pretty booked up when you do the occasional search, but do cancellations happen. We had to cancel time in the Keys and successfully picked up other people's cancellations at an ocean front state campground.

So, if you decide you want to make that trip to Florida and cannot get the dates you need, make cancellable reservations someplace then check reserveamerica as frequently as you can for Florida. When stuff happens, reservations for great campsites are cancelled; they are snapped up fast. Competition is greater when schools are out of session; probably also fewer cancellations then since it is a younger crowd.