Snowbirding in Florida?

Arizona has had gorgeous winter weather this year.  I would say the weather has probably been about the best we’ve experienced since hanging around during the winter here.  Most of our time has been spent in the Phoenix area except for a few little “vacations” and Quartzsite. Today we finally pulled the motorhome out of the spot we had been sitting in pretty much for three months.  We left Phoenix in our rear view mirror and headed southeast.  We were Tucson bound with an intent to stay there for about 3 weeks.  We’ll be watching the weather east and hoping it warms up before we head in that direction. 

We arrived a little earlier than planned because we have an appointment to have our motorhome serviced on March 2nd.  So, it is only one night at the Voyager Resort but we’ll be returning here when the Escapade is over.  After our RV is serviced on Monday we’ll spend another night at one of the local casinos before we move (on our anniversary) to Diamond J’s for five nights and then to Escapade.

We’ve always heard people say how expensive it is to winter in Florida.  I had no clue what people called “expensive” because that figure varies on who you are discussing it with.   So, I decided to check for myself and see what expensive really means.

First of all, I wanted to look at state parks in the Keys.  I knew they had some there.  We had visited the John Pennecamp State Park many years ago.  The rate at the parks on the Keys vary according to season and specific park  but they seem to run between $36 to $43 a night.  The problem with booking reservations for next winter is that most of the sites in the state parks on the Keys are already booked until January 2016.  Reservations can be booked 11 months in advance so another couple weeks opened for booking on March 1st.   The two weeks that opened up were sold out pretty quick. 

I’m going to guess that some (many?) RV parks are already full for the next winter season too.  We know that northern Florida isn’t as warm as the southern part.  Others know that too and that’s why they flock south.  The RV parks in southern Florida have some pretty steep daily and monthly fees. 

Prices seem to be much lower through December.  We found parks in the $600 – $800 range.  However, once January rolled around those monthly fees jumped up.  I did find parks that were definitely in that expensive category.  Some of these ranged from about  $2,500 a month to close to $4,000 a month!

Arizona is another very popular snowbird state and that monthly price  would cover a whole season in many nice RV parks there.

Grassy Key Resort – with waterfront site $1675 a month until December 14 and after that the rate jumps to $2720 a month.  Now that’s real expensive to me.

There are quite a few Elk lodges in Florida. However, most of the lodges don’t have RV parking.  Some allow boondocking and a very few have more than 3 or 4 sites with hookups.  I bet they fill up pretty fast as well.    So, where do the hoards of people who go to Florida for the winter stay for a reasonable price and with full hookups?  They could  stay in membership parks like Thousand Trails but then they are limited on the time they can stay depending on the membership they own.  It could be only 2 weeks or 3 weeks.  Again, getting reservations may be a little difficult.

Northern Florida can get wet and cold.  We were there once in December.  The weather was nice until about the middle of the month and then, it rained and rained and rained.  Some snowbirds stay in the northern RV parks but the stampede of RVers head much farther south.  Try to book the Keys and you not only run into high monthly fees but also parks without any availability.  I think the Keys would be the perfect place to stay but the problem is so many others do too.  The east coast of Florida isn’t quite as popular as the Keys but it’s cheaper.  County parks around Florida are another option.

 Savannas Recreation Area is a county park just north of West Palm Beach.  The rate is $25 a night.  Now that’s a deal and one that might be worth checking into.  Jenson Beach RV parks are owner lots.  Many of the owners rent their lots out to snowbirds.

 Check out this riverfront lot on Jensen Beach for $1,500 a month.

So, what are the real secrets about snowbirding in Florida?  John (HeyDuke Blog) shared his favorite secret resort in Florida.  Where are the other great and secret places?   We’re thinking maybe we should go check out some of the RV parks in Florida.   That’s what we’re thinking alright.

‘Tis life on the road.