How we camp in Florida when NOTHING is available

Every late fall, the Great Migration of RVers begins, bringing campers galore down to the southern states to find some respite from winter weather. Flocks most commonly head to Florida in the Southeast, the Arizona desert in the Southwest, and Texas in the middle. As self-proclaimed "against the grain" RVers, you won't find us following these paths as the cold weather moves in. Instead, we're on our way north, back to Massachusetts, to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with our family. Our migration does happen, though; it just starts a little bit later. As soon as New Year's rolls around, we're back on the road, ready to catch up with our earlier snowbirds.

In year 1, we missed the migration altogether, when we got stuck in MA until late February. We didn't make our way to FL until late March, and by then, many RVers were already leaving their winter dwellings. In year 2, we were in FL by late January, but barely had time for a wave hello before we blitzed our way west. We entered Arizona on February 23, by which point the AZ boondockers were starting to disperse. This year, for the first time ever, we'd catch up to the flock, getting to FL by mid-January. This posed some complications.

Of all the states where RVers migrate in the winter, FL is notorious for getting filled to the brim. There are not as many boondocking opportunities, so reservations are essential. The main choices are to try and book a state park or a resort. Resorts offer the full hookups, the amenities, and the community vibe. The state parks offer more tranquility in nature. Both book up months ahead of time, and with demand being so high, resort prices increase to exorbitant levels, often well over $100/night. You can offset this by booking a weekly or monthly stay at a resort, but then you run right back into the issue of availability. If you want a long-term stay at a resort, you need to plan for it basically the year prior.

The FL state parks are even more notorious. Availability releases 11 months in advance, and most sites will get scooped up immediately. The state of FL has attempted to remedy this in a few ways, the most recent being to allow priority booking to FL residents. 11 months out, FL residents can book. Non-residents must wait another month. Great for residents who, rightfully so, should be able to take their vacations without fighting with all the full-timers and snowbirds. Bad for all the full-timers and snowbirds. What makes the situation even worse is that booking requires a nonrefundable fee of only $6.70. Not only do you get a full refund if you cancel, but you also get a refund if you no show.

The parks hold the site for a full day, until the following day's checkout time. After that, the remaining balance gets refunded, and the site opens up. This causes what is possibly the biggest gripe in Florida camping, where lots of people book way ahead of time, and they don't worry about canceling or no-showing because they barely have any repercussions. So if you're lucky enough to land in a state park and wonder why you're seeing empty sites, this is most likely the reason.

We could write an entire blog post on the hassle that is Florida State Park camping, as well as a few ways you can successfully sleuth your way into one of these coveted sites, but that's not what this blog post is about. We want to talk about what happens when you're a full-timer like us, heading to Florida in peak camping season. We have a lot working against us:

1. We don't plan our travels far enough in advance to jump on bookings as soon as they open
2. On the other hand, we're not spontaneous enough to try and grab one of the few boondocking spots available in the state
3. We move around too much to want to book a resort long-term, and it also doesn't meet our interests or budget anyway
4. But we also don't want to move around so often that we're traveling every few days

This year, we had two main goals for Florida. First, we wanted to park ourselves near Tampa so we could visit the Florida RV SuperShow. We missed the deadline for camping at the fairgrounds, so that meant finding a site somewhere nearby. After that, the next goal would be to park ourselves somewhere in the region from Naples to Fort Myers, so we could visit family in the area. So not only were we contending with the busy season in general, but we also knew that even more RVers would be headed to Tampa for the RV show. Our choices would be slim.

Fast forward to the last week in January. We had already been in FL for over two weeks and were currently staying in North Fort Myers. One evening, we went out for ice cream at Wonderland Cookie Dough, where we got to talking with the owner, Jeff. For backstory, Jeff brings his food truck to one of the nearby RV resorts, and while we were eating, another couple came in who were also RVers. Basically, this shop attracts the RV community, and so Jeff is no stranger to the RV world. This was part of our conversation:

Jeff: Where are you staying?
Me: We're at a HipCamp about 10 minutes up the street.
Jeff: Oh. What's that?

As you read that conversation, you probably had one of two reactions. Either you're also wondering what HipCamp is, or you're shocked to find out that Jeff doesn't know what HipCamp is! We weren't surprised, though, because in our years of RVing, we have had tons of similar conversations. Even people who RV on a regular basis haven't heard of HipCamp, and we see it often in the various RV Facebook groups, where someone can't find a campsite, another person advises to look on HipCamp, and the OP responds with "What's HipCamp?"

So we're here to break it all down for you, and to tell you how we use HipCamp to stay in crowded Florida, during peak season, in the locations we need and for the durations we need.

My response to Jeff was that it's a website where property owners can rent out camping and glamping options. It also isn't just for RVers. We learned about HipCamp years before we started RVing, because as you may have read recently, we loved unique stays and glamping opportunities during our pre-RV road trips.

Because HipCamp is a hub for glamping rentals and not just RV sites, word about it doesn't travel as fast in the RV community as, say, Harvest Hosts/Boondockers Welcome. The marketing for Harvest Hosts has been fantastic since its inception, with the company partnering up with several RV-related businesses to offer even more perks beyond the initial membership. In short, you can sign up for a Harvest Hosts membership and are then able to stay at a vast selection of businesses and private properties who have signed up as "hosts." They each have a profile where they describe who they are, list the size rigs they fit, the max number of nights you can stay, and their availability. If you want to stay there, you put in a request, and once the host confirms, you're good to go.

We love our Harvest Hosts membership and even have an affiliate link if you want to try it out for 15% off. However, when we're trying to stay in an area of Florida for a more substantial period of time, this membership doesn't really work for us. Most businesses only allow a 24-hour maximum stay, with some exceptions granted to stay an extra night. Boondockers Welcome – where you can stay on a person's private property – are sometimes more lenient, offering up to 5 nights max, but finding a spot for the full 5 nights that will fit our size rig is not easy.

This is why we turn to HipCamp. Because property owners are charging a nightly rate, you can typically choose how long you want to stay, with no real maximum. You can also reserve online, and most people's bookings open anywhere from a few months in advance to a year or more. This is convenient for us because, as soon as we know where we want to be when, we just go onto HipCamp's website and see what's available. We don't feel pressured to book a site a year in advance.

We also find that HipCamps tend to mesh with our needs better than if we stayed at a resort. We usually opt for more space and less amenities when we have the choice. We work from the road, so we're spending lots of time hunkering down inside. As long as we have decent internet, we're good to go. And, if you're wondering about hookups, many HipCamps offer at least water and electric, and some even have sewer! The best part, though, is that we aren't paying in the triple digits for a resort where we're not using most of the amenities. Our FL HipCamps this year cost less than half the price than if we had stayed at a resort.

HipCamp 1: "On the Pond," Ruskin, FL (Business: Terrapy Farms)

This HipCamp served as our basecamp during the Florida RV SuperShow. It was about a 25-minute drive from the Florida State Fairgrounds, and it also put us close to I-75 so we could get down to Sarasota for some shopping. As with lots of HipCamps, property owners use the income from campers to help fund the growth of their business. In this case, owner Mike had recently bought the farm and was working hard to rehabilitate it. He was growing and tending to several fruit crops, including starfruit, bananas, papaya, mangoes, and citrus. He also had farm-fresh eggs as well as CBD products made from his hemp plants. We've noticed that HipCamps in Florida are an especially good choice for a rig our size because lots of these places have ample land. This was the case here. The farm acreage spanned the entire circumference of the pond, and Mike set up various camping pullouts along the edge. We chose a site closer to the entrance; the other side of the pond was more conducive for tent campers or small RVs.

We didn't have any hookups at our site, but we did have our own Port-a-Potty, and Mike had places for us to fill up on water if we needed it. He also had trash and recycling receptacles. For outdoor space, we had not one but two picnic tables, a couple of outdoor chairs by the pond, and no neighbors nearby. Our "yard" was surrounded by palm and banana trees.

Now, with this being a farm stay, we needed to be okay with all that comes with the farm life. This meant some noises and equipment (but honestly, it was minimal here), and, for lack of better phrasing, there was some junk. Our view out the pleasure side was the beautiful pond and foliage, but our views out the front and business side were this:

Doesn't bother us none, but it's something to keep in mind when choosing to stay on these properties. They're often budding businesses that aren't in pristine condition. But, this was a spacious, overall quiet place to park, and we got more of a local experience than we ever could have staying at a resort. Mike was an incredible host and has some amazing products. If you want to support his business, we invite you to check out his website, or come stay on his property if you're RVing in the area!

HipCamp 2: "Gulf Coast Getaway," North Fort Myers, FL (Business: NoFo Groves)

This HipCamp was located on a nursery. Owner Aaron is building the nursery on his property, so his house is located here also. He has set up his land to accommodate 4 RVs. Two sites are gravel and have 50amp electric and water hookups. We were initially going to stay in one of these sites, but we switched at the last minute because recent rains had made the ground soft and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in the dirt on our way in. We parked in site 3, which was a 30amp electric and water site, on the grass. Our other option would have been next to the house, in Aaron's gravel driveaway, but the grass was stable enough to hold us.

Choosing site 3 also meant we would have some rather unique neighbs...

Yes, we got daily pre-dawn wakeup calls, and no we didn't mind. Just one of the many experiences of staying on farmland. Also, are these not the most beautiful birds you've ever seen? Who can get mad at show-quality Phoenix roosters when they're just living their best life? (P.S. the ceiling fans worked to drown out the sound).

Besides the water and electric hookups, we also had access to the nursery's public bathroom, and we had a picnic table. The property was on a side street which made for convenient morning walks, and when we wanted to go a little further, we popped over to the wetlands preservation park up the street, which made for some incredible bird-watching.

Speaking of bird-watching, this HipCamp was only about 10 minutes away from one of our favorite eagle nests, Southwest Florida Eagle Cam. An eaglet was born on New Year's Eve, which meant there would always be an eagle in or near the nest, guarding their little one. We got to meet new mom F23 as she perched herself on one of the nest tree branches. (Hot tip: Head to Wonderland for some cookie dough and ice cream, and then take it over to eat while watching the eagles)!

We were 2-for-2 in terms of getting the local vibe at our HipCamps. Aaron told us about his dreams for his nursery, and we were happy to play a small role in helping him fulfill them. Even though his main focus is his plants, he was incredibly conscientious, making sure his campers were enjoying their stay. We had to skip out early on our last morning in order to beat a storm that was rolling in, but before we left, Aaron asked us how everything was, seeming almost self-conscious that he doesn't offer the "vacation" experience that some people might expect from Florida. We told him that isn't what we're looking for. We're looking for a peaceful place to park and live our regular, everyday lives. In the full-time RV life, there's a time for adventure, but more often than not, we're just in our own routine. To be able to have a safe, convenient basecamp was our top priority, and we got to support a small business, too. That's a win-win. You can read more about NoFo Groves here.

Give a little, get a little!

If you've read this far, we want to reward you with $10 off your next HipCamp booking!

The beauty of RV life is that we have the flexibility to live life the way we want. This gets tricky when we're going to crowded destinations at peak times, which is why we're happy to have ample options for finding campsites. HipCamp has been a valuable resource, but we're keeping a close eye on its development. Over the past couple of years, we've noticed that they've been allowing RV parks to set up profiles, so sometimes when we're looking for a private property, we're getting results for campgrounds that we've already seen and that have no availabilities anyway. Worse yet are people who own an RV site and then rent it out on HipCamp for an insane amount of money. We hope that these practices don't end up clouding what's so great about HipCamp: The ability to support small businesses and camp local.