De Soto Beach Campground Florida

[headchange4u]

The wife and I are going to see some friends in St Petersburg Florida at the end of July. I consulted my book Beach & Costal Camping in Florida And saw that De Soto Campground was right in the area. Voted best beach in 2005 .

What's cool is the campground is divided into sections, some strictly for tents, pop-ups, and vans. You can see each campsite before you book it. That's really cool. Here's a pic of our site:



Here's a shot of the campground via Google Earth. The yellow pin is approx. where our site will be (27°37'54.40"N, 82°43'24.59"W if you wanna see it on Google Earth)


Anyway, I was excited about the trip so I thought I would post some info. My wife is going so I will be using a tent to sleep in (don't hate me ). It will be my big 'ol Coleman tent big enough to stand up in (10x12). If you noticed I did make sure that our site had plenty of trees for my hammock. I may not sleep in the hammock at night but I will certainly be napping in it and probably enjoying a Christopher Moore book.

[slowhike]

better check out the regulations before you hang your hammock my friend.
i hear they are pretty strict about not tying any thing to trees in florida. something to do w/ endangered snails???
might be time to purchase a collapsible hammock stand<g>.

[dsshepard]

Bring your camera, that campground is a bird sanctuary and will present many opportunities. Also it goes without saying to make sure you lock up your food, there are hundreds of raccoons there. My wife has a sister who lives in St. Pete and we have camped there probably about 6 or 7 times in the last 15 years.

The fort there is a neat place to visit as well. Wish I was going with you!!

[headchange4u]

better check out the regulations before you hang your hammock my friend.
i hear they are pretty strict about not tying any thing to trees in florida. something to do w/ endangered snails???
might be time to purchase a collapsible hammock stand<g>.

Crap. I will have to check on that. I can always set it up behind the tent, where it can't be seen. If they do say something I will claim ignorance and take it down. Endangered snail???

Bring your camera, that campground is a bird sanctuary and will present many opportunities. Also it goes without saying to make sure you lock up your food, there are hundreds of raccoons there. My wife has a sister who lives in St. Pete and we have camped there probably about 6 or 7 times in the last 15 years.

The fort there is a neat place to visit as well. Wish I was going with you!!

Thanks for the info. I was hoping someone else on the forum had been there. We also stay at Edisto Beach, SC every year and they also have a racoon problem. The food stays locked in the car. My wife feeds them . I got some pic of our racoon friend from last year here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...h/b963464f.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...h/20290132.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...h/3314dcf4.jpg

I will be sure I got some binoculars for the bird watching.

[Cuffs]

I lived only about 45 minutes from there for almost 20 years! I cant tell you how many times Ive camped there. You will be very happy with it. While camping in summer in FL isnt usually a good idea, the Gulf breezes will keep it bearable. Enjoy and we expect a full report!!

[RockStar]

I want to go to AMelia Island near Jacksonville! They have wild horses there! It looks beautiful. I missed the ferry the day I was there. Then had to catch a train to H.F. West Virginia. =/

[Cannibal]

I don't think you'll have any problems hanging in the campground. I've been doing some sections of the Florida Trail and so far I've had 3 different wildlife officers come check out my hammock; they're jealous. Not once have I been told about any hanging regulations. That is probably mostly in the wetlands or protected area.

AlHikerGal is right, it's gonna be hot. Sometimes I laugh while I'm hanging in my hammock sweating thinking about which UQ I'm going to go with.

[T-BACK]

[QUOTE=headchange4u;18957]Crap. I will have to check on that. I can always set it up behind the tent, where it can't be seen. If they do say something I will claim ignorance and take it down. Endangered snail???

I've never stayed at the campground but I know they allow you to hang a hammock from the trees on the public beaches. I can't imagine that It would be a problem. If you feel like company one day, let me know and maybe I could come down for a few hours.

[slowhike]

[QUOTE=T-BACK;19025.
I've never stayed at the campground but I know they allow you to hang a hammock from the trees on the public beaches. I can't imagine that It would be a problem. If you feel like company one day, let me know and maybe I could come down for a few hours.[/QUOTE]

that's good to hear. i'm glad i was wrong! man... that's twice this year... gotta be more careful