Florida help?

**Smckinney0031** · 03-18-2018, 21:56

Looking for places to hang in Florida either near Clearwater or Kissimee. Will be down April 29 thru May 5

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**richtorfla** · 03-19-2018, 12:01

Ocala National Forest is around a 2 hour drive from Clearwater. You can hike the Florida trail and hit some campsites like Hidden pond. There are Swiftmud sites that have primitive camping like Greenswamp and Richloam area. Myakka river state park has primitive sites on their trail system. If a large group, swiftmud sites have to be reserved as well as State park sites. Myakka is south of Sarasota and about an hour away. We camp a lot in Lake Wales Ridge State forest and those sites are reserved by using Reserve America. Creekside campsite is a great spot. There are other spots there that are good too.

There are some spots around Orlando that are like the swiftmud sites but run by another water management district.

Maybe some other Floridians will pipe in and give you some more spots to check out. There are a lot of places around the Fl. trail. Check out website (google) Fla. Hikes. They highlight a lot of spots to hike that support camping. State Parks may or may not allow hammock camping so you need to ask if you pick a state park. I didn't ask if you are backpacking or car camping so that also plays a factor.

Good luck on finding a spot. Hope others will chime in!

**j-Fish** · 03-19-2018, 14:58

Ocala forest is my go to because I prefer primitive camping along the Florida trail. But when I take my kids out I usually go to Arbuckle WMA over in Avon Park which is pretty close to Kissimmee. You have to reserve your campsite online but it’s a nice area that few people around there seem to go to.

Something else to keep in mind though is that Florida around that time of year isn’t known for having cool weather so hiking any distance can be uncomfortable. I just did 30 miles in Ocala this last weekend and I got a heat rash.

You can get to your reserved campsites in Arbuckle though with only about 10-15 minutes hiking.

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**Randonneur** · 03-19-2018, 15:45

I was at Hidden Pond Friday and Saturday and I was surprised at how many people I ran into. Luckily we were the 1st ones there and got to choose our spot.

**Biker Bob** · 03-19-2018, 16:12

Even if the Florida State Park has hammock camping it is not for all campsites. Somewhere in the detail listing for each site it will say hammock camping if it is allowed. In any national forest in Florida, a bear canister is required unless all smelly stuff is locked in the trunk of a car or in the cab of a pickup. There are fines for leaving coolers on a picnic table. I have no knowledge of enforcement for trail camping. Bears are a problem.
Hope you enjoy your stay.

Bob

**j-Fish** · 03-19-2018, 16:58

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/flori...telprdb5268952

I’ve never used a bear proof container. Transporting/eating your food is okay to have it in the open, stored in a bear proof container, properly hung in a tree, or in a hard top vehicle as per Fl gov

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**j-Fish** · 03-19-2018, 17:30

That is for national forests, I’m having a hard time finding anything specific online for state parks, though I’ve always hung my food the same way I do in National forests. You can always inquire over the phone when you call for a reservation if you choose to utilize a state park.

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**Smckinney0031** · 03-21-2018, 19:47

How about good beaches to hang? The first part of our trip down (Kissimmee) is a fixed location, but I can go north from there the last half of the trip

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**richtorfla** · 03-22-2018, 04:37

Fort Desoto has a several campsites available for tents and RV's. There are trees to hang from at some sites but the county frowns on hanging from the trees because they have had nails and hooks put in them so you may be asked to take down the hammock. What I have done there is find a site that looks like you can hang from and hung the hammock later in the day getting it ready for bed time. Then taking it down after morning breakfast. Got away doing that. It is a nice campsites and there are some that are on water. Camp is on a finger so a lot of sites have water access. it is a busy camp and usually booked up. Give that a shot if you are based near Clearwater. It is located past Tierra Verde. There is a cost to get on Desoto. Campsite is just before park entrance. My knowledge of beach camping is not much. I will try to post you a link if I can attach it.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

Hope the link works. May want to do a search on beach camping in fl. to see if you come up with other places.