Warm Place to Spend the Winter

[myway_1]

After living in SE Florida for the past 20 years, I can't tolerate the cold very well. Unfortunately, there's no place to boondock here. You have to go to central Florida which is a bit colder and boondocking there, though possible, isn't easy.  I'm afraid that SW Arizona will be way too cold for me. Any suggestions for a warm place (nighttime temperatures in the 50's daytime temperatures in the 70's) to boondock for the winter? I would be willing to pay a minimal amount for a primitive campsite if necessary. Has anyone spent the winter in the southern Baja peninsula or elsewhere in Mexico? What are the pros and cons of that?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

As a northerner - what you good old boys refer to as a "DamnYankee" -  I tend to think of most of the south as being warm in the winter, at least by MY standards.

On the USDA Forest Service website, I see three national forests in FL, two in GA, one in LA, and six in MS.  You sure none of those places are warm enough for you?

And that ain't even counting the various State Parks in those states and AL.

Regards
John

PS:  You boys DO mean "DamnYankee" in an AFFECTIONATE way, right?

PPS:  You know about the various FL Water Management District Campsites that LooRead was talking about, right?

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

I am also from Florida. Born there and lived there 30 plus years til about 11/12 years ago when I moved to TN. I am still not used to the cold here. I absolutely hate it. Not just the cold but the gloomy skies get to me here.

It is hard to boondock in FL and getting worse but MrLooReed?? (I think that's the name) on here, I believe, does it successfully. I am also from the East Coast (Vero Beach) and I dislike central FL. Too many bugs and snakes. FL is miserable without the ocean in my opinion.

The Baja Sur sounds great to me, but with all the problems in Mexico I just don't know if I would want to travel there. I think it's a relatively safe area around Loreto from what I have read but I don't know first hand. Maybe others will chime in with experience.

I really can't think of anywhere else. Even North FL and GA get cold plus are expensive. Maybe you could place an ad on CL in Florida to see if someone would rent you a cheap space for winter?? There are some workcamping jobs but usually work just for a space. Not sure if that is something you want to do and I imagine those spots are competitive.

Hopefully you will find something to your liking. I don't think AZ will be too bad for me after being in TN so long. If it is I may be looking at Mexico myself after I explore the West a bit. I am willing to brave the cold to see a few places on my bucket list.

Good luck to you. Sorry I am not much help.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

This may be a little off the wall, but has anyone looked into shipping a van to Puerto Rico and spending the winter down there?

Regards
John

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

As a northerner - what you good old boys refer to as a "DamnYankee" -  I tend to think of most of the south as being warm in the winter, at least by MY standards.

On the USDA Forest Service website, I see three national forests in FL, two in GA, one in LA, and six in MS.  You sure none of those places are warm enough for you?

And that ain't even counting the various State Parks in those states and AL.

Regards
John

PS:  You boys DO mean "DamnYankee" in an AFFECTIONATE way, right?

PPS:  You know about the various FL Water Management District Campsites that LooRead was talking about, right?

I don't know much about LA and MS but Alabama gets as cold or colder than Tennessee. By Southern standards anyway, and especially by Florida standards which does something to us Floridians to make cold weather (below 70) hard to handle

For me, I can handle the cold better with blue skies. I went to Kansas in January and it was really, really cold but the big blue skies just made it feel better than Tennessee in winter. It's so gloomy here in winter to me. All the rain we get doesn't make it any better.

And of course "Damn Yankee" is an a term of endearment! We love y'all

 

[karenishere]

DH was down in Baja last year on a motorcycle. They're in the process of paving the roads, not all of them are good yet. It's a lovely place to go but I have no idea what the rules are about freedom camping. Prices are ok if you stay out of the tourist areas, but they're not as low as you might expect. It's warmer than Arizona but it's not Florida hot. Baja's not really like the rest of Mexico, they're kinda politically neutral. I go to Sonora (Mex. State bordering the US) all the time and I've not had any trouble, but Sonora is really barely warmer than Arizona.

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

Link for travel advisories in Mexico https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html

Excerpts from above site:

Baja California Sur: Cabo San Lucas and La Paz are major cities/travel destinations in the state of Southern Baja California – Exercise caution in the state capital of La Paz. According to the Department of Interior of Mexico, in 2013 Baja California Sur registered its highest homicide rate since 1997. Many of these homicides occurred in La Paz, where there has been an increase in organized crime-related violence.

Sonora: Nogales, Puerto Peñasco, Hermosillo, and San Carlos are major cities/travel destinations in Sonora - Sonora is a key region in the international drug and human trafficking trades and can be extremely dangerous for travelers. Travelers throughout Sonora are encouraged to limit travel to main roads during daylight hours. The region west of Nogales, east of Sonoyta, and from Caborca north, including the towns of Saric, Tubutama, and Altar, and the eastern edge of Sonora bordering Chihuahua, are known centers of illegal activity, and non-essential travel between these cities should be avoided. Travelers should also defer non-essential travel to the eastern edge of the state of Sonora, which borders the state of Chihuahua (all points along that border east of the northern city of Agua Prieta and the southern town of Alamos), and defer non-essential travel within the city of Ciudad Obregon and south of the city of Navojoa. You should exercise caution while transiting Vicam in southern Sonora due to roadblocks that can be instituted ad hoc by local indigenous and environmental groups. U.S. citizens visiting Puerto Peñasco should use the Lukeville, Arizona/Sonoyta, Sonora border crossing, and limit driving to daylight hours.

 

[masterplumber]

If you're willing to go much further into Mexico, there is a large expat community around Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. I can't remember the member here's screen name, but I know they spent some time there in a motorhome. My wife and I flew there in January one year and it was really plesant, 70s every day.

 

[USExplorer]

I'm sure you can find a place in South Florida to camp for free. 16000000 acres, and you only need 0.0075 acres to park your van on.

 

[PatsyG]

If you're willing to go much further into Mexico, there is a large expat community around Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. I can't remember the member here's screen name, but I know they spent some time there in a motorhome. My wife and I flew there in January one year and it was really plesant, 70s every day.

Unfortunately that area is experiencing some violence as well. Murder/kidnapping, thefts, burglary. Guadalajara has become much more dangerous in the last 2 - 3 years, too. I thought I might live there and changed my mind after getting updated information.
Brownsville, TX is 67d right now, then highs in the 70's with lows in the 50's.
I like it warmer too. Just because of my age, I think.

 

[myway_1]

"I'm sure you can find a place in South Florida to camp for free. 16000000 acres, and you only need 0.0075 acres to park your van on."

I would want a place where I could park with no fear of an unexpected request to move on. There is no disbursed or free campsite camping or Walmart parking anywhere in southeast Florida and there is only one spot in all of south Florida.

 

[myway_1]

Unfortunately that area is experiencing some violence as well.  Murder/kidnapping, thefts, burglary.  Guadalajara has become much more dangerous in the last 2 - 3 years, too.  I thought I might live there and changed my mind after getting updated information.
Brownsville, TX is 67d right now, then highs in the 70's with lows in the 50's.
I like it warmer too.  Just because of my age, I think.

Is there any government land with free dispersed or very-low-cost campsite camping in the Brownsville area?

 

[PatsyG]

Is there any government land with free dispersed or very-low-cost campsite camping in the Brownsville area?

Boca Chica free dispersed camping. Listed as 4x4 but many others drive it without a problem,
https://freecampsites.net/#!Texas&query=region

 

[getagripgreg]

"I'm sure you can find a place in South Florida to camp for free. 16000000 acres, and you only need 0.0075 acres to park your van on."

I would want a place where I could park with no fear of an unexpected request to move on. There is no disbursed or free campsite camping or Walmart parking anywhere in southeast Florida and there is only one spot in all of south Florida.

I'm currently at the SFWD Hickory Hammock equestrian camp site (very nice, but far from anything.)

I have found 2 Walmarts that allow overnights... Okechobee and Arcadia, both on hwy 70.

I know that's not south east, but is it south?

The only place I was able to find in SE Florida was the Miccosukke Indian Casino at the start of the Tamiami Trail. I stayed there 4 nights.

2 months in Florida has has cost me more than the previous six months!

It was 40 degrees here yesterday morning, but that's far better than -10, which it was in Wyoming.

 

[myway_1]

I'm currently at the SFWD Hickory Hammock equestrian camp site (very nice, but far from anything.)

I have found 2 Walmarts that allow overnights... Okechobee and Arcadia, both on hwy 70.

I know that's not south east, but is it south?

The only place I was able to find in SE Florida was the Miccosukke Indian Casino at the start of the Tamiami Trail. I stayed there 4 nights.

2 months in Florida has has cost me more than the previous six months!

It was 40 degrees here yesterday morning, but that's far better than -10, which it was in Wyoming.

I consider anything south of a line from Ft. Myers to Stuart (inclusive) to be south Florida. It hasn't gotten below 55 here in the Ft. Lauderdale area this winter. You might try DuPuis. It's also part of the South Florida Water Management District.

 

[WriterMs]

Has anyone spent the winter in the southern Baja peninsula or elsewhere in Mexico? What are the pros and cons of that?

I think a search within this forum on the term Baja would yield a lot of info for you. Also, you may want to look at a blog called Winnie Views -- last winter she drove her nice rig to Baja with a couple of friends. She has lots of pics of her campsites, etc.

I think this link should take you to her first Baja post and there are many that follow:

http://winnieviews.blogspot.com/2014/12/bienvenidos-baja.html#more

 

[becida]

i'm down in Ehrenberg Arizona looking at the tempeture contour map, looking for some place warm!  Looks like Mexico would be the place this morning, even Key West is in the 60's.
I'm hoping Florida warms up before i get there next month....

 

[myway_1]

i'm down in Ehrenberg Arizona looking at the tempeture contour map, looking for some place warm!  Looks like Mexico would be the place this morning, even Key West is in the 60's.
I'm hoping Florida warms up before i get there next month....

It got down to 45 last night here in the Ft. Lauderdale area.

 

[akrvbob]

Maybe you need more insulation. My trailer was 59 degrees this morning at 8:00 am here in Ehrenberg and i never ran any heat in the last week. Right now my door is open and I'm completely comfortable at 2:30 pm. It's 72 degrees in my trailer.

Temperatures start changing pretty fast now. Unless a storm is blowing through, a month from now it will be in the mid to high 80s by March it will be in the mid to high 90s.
Bob

 

[becida]

Maybe you need more insulation. My trailer was 59 degrees this morning at 8:00 am here in Ehrenberg and i never ran any heat in the last week. Right now my door is open and I'm completely comfortable at 2:30 pm. It's 72 degrees in my trailer.

Temperatures start changing pretty fast now. Unless a storm is blowing through, a month from now it will be in the mid to high 80s by March it will be in the mid to high 90s.
Bob

More insulation would help, no doubt about that!