My goal was to explore Florida along the states 1,350 miles (2,170 km) coastline. I started my journey travelling down the eastern coastline on the scenic A1A from Fernandina Beach to Key West. I am now travelling up the western coastline. The beaches were beautiful along the east coast, however I was told they were even more so along the western coast. I am testing this out for myself.
I have travelled in the western states where BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land is plentiful, however when I explore Florida this is not an option. Reserving a free campsite at one of the 5 water management districts was a great opportunity for resting for a week or two. I enjoyed a lovely campsite at Dupuis Campground, near Indiantown on my roadtrip travelling in eastern Florida.
My days travelling along the western Florida coastline were spent exploring, walking beaches, hunting for shells and then finding a place to stay for the night. As a solo female traveller I am always careful where I choose to stay. I found Cracker Barrel, Planet Fitness and Walmart parking available in the larger cities. I also stayed at two Florida water management campsites and with two harvest hosts on this roadtrip.
Everglades Alligator Farm
My first stop after coming back to the mainland from Key West was in Everglades National Park at the Everglades Alligator Farm. This is where I experienced my first airboat ride which was so much fun I could have done it a few more times. Alas my budget curbed this desire. I learned tonnes about alligators during the park tour.
Alligators average life span is 85 years, they do not need a lot of food, they only eat 2 pounds of meat every 2 months. They do not have good eyesight so hunt by sound and vibration. The summer sun is necessary for them to stay warm in the cooler months.
Their skin is like thick rubber and feels like dull tires with spokes and gets smoother as they age. They can stay absolutely still for days with the only movement being an eye blink every 30 minutes or so. It was a very informative and enjoyable few hours for $30 USD ($41 CAN).
Devastation after Hurricane
Travelling further up the western coast I stopped off in Naples. Here I watched a beautiful sunset where the sun seemed to drop off the edge of the earth. The next day I drove through Fort Myers, which was 20 miles of rubble, damaged houses, no stores or gas stations open due to Hurricane Ian. I was totally shocked by the devastation along this coastal area. Clean up had started but I am sure it will take a long time to get back to normal, if they ever do.
Explore Florida Western Beaches
Siesta Key Beach near Sarasota was one of the most beautiful white sandy beaches I have ever seen. The beach is white quartz sand, which always stays cool (no burning my feet on hot sand) and the stunning turquoise water made for a perfect spot to spend my day. It was now December so the water was cool but it was still absolutely wonderful to wade into the clear blue water.
Coquina Beach in Bradenton was the beach I kept going back to. Free parking, beautiful white sand and beach combing made for many pleasant days on this beach. I spent nearly a week in this area, spending my days exploring beaches or having quiet time parked on Cortez Road causeway. I parked at the Bradenton Cracker Barrel or Walmart to sleep. I loved this area with the only downside being I could not park overnight at any beaches.
Honeymoon Island State Park was another great find and a stunningly beautiful place. This was where I collected some of my most fabulous shells. For a $5.00 USD state park fee I had quiet beaches to wander along, big parking lots to relax at and water to wash my shells. I spent several days from sunrise to sunset in this park.
Camping as I Explore Florida
The water management free campsite I reserved in Central Florida was at Ashley Campground near Dade City. This campground did not work for me. It was difficult to get into as my code was not working, too shaded for my solar and it was not “the feel” I wanted. I stayed one night and headed back to Bradenton for another few days enjoying the white sandy beaches.
Travelling further up the coast I decided to stay with two Harvest Hosts. First was a cat, dog and horse rescue farm. The weather was colder than normal so the evening I arrived they were in a flurry making sure all the animals were protected from the proposed below freezing weather predicted that night. It did get really cold but happy to say everyone was okay the next morning.
The second Harvest Host was at a lavender farm. I found dedicated cement pads for their travelling guests along with beautiful gardens to wander around and a shop selling wonderfully scented lavender products. It was a quiet peaceful night spent here.
Florida Panhandle and Emerald Coast
The Florida Panhandle is the northwestern part of the state and is roughly 200 miles (321 kms) long, bordered by Alabama, Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico. It is renowned for sparkling white sands and emerald waters stretching from Cedar Key along the Gulf of Mexico to Pensacola.
The Emerald Coast, also call Miracle strip, is in the Florida Panhandle and consists of 5 coast areas, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Oakaloos, Walton and Bay counties. It is known for the clear emerald-green water and sugar-white sand. Travelling through Panama City and Destin areas with the gorgeous white sandy beaches and big blue coloured ocean views I could see why it was called the Emerald Coast.
This area felt more wild than the Sarasota/Bradenton areas. My days here had beautiful blue skies with just enough of a chill in the air to put on a sweater. I explored and walked through St Andrews State Park, Camp Helen State Park (probably my favourite), Henderson Beach State Park and Santa Rosa island. All stunningly beautiful in their own way.
My final stop on my roadtrip to explore Florida was at Mystic Springs Campground, another water management free campsite along the Escambia River. It was quite remote but the spot had just enough sunlight for my solar and I was tired of driving every day so stayed the week. I spent my time biking, listening to the birds, catching up on my Amazon prime shows, and just relaxing.
What did I think of Florida?
I loved my time along the coastal areas of Florida and would recommend any traveller to visit this beautiful state. The big question I started with when I first arrived in northeastern Florida over a month ago was, were the western beaches more beautiful than on the east?
The white sand and turquoise water on the western beaches are visually more stunning, however the eastern coast had a wildness I truly enjoyed as well. Each were so different, but beauty wise the western coast definitely won. For the beaches alone I will definitely travel back to the Bradenton and Panama City areas.
The Florida water management areas offered me free camping where I could put down roots for a week or so, which was great. I will do another post on the pros and cons to the three water management sites I stayed at. There are tonnes more campsites I could explore so will be back to this beautiful state.
Please take the time to enjoy my previous post Travelling in Beautiful Eastern Florida.
Where I stayed:
- Dec 10 Naples Planet Fitness
- Dec 11 Port Charlotte Planet Fitness
- Dec 12 Sarasota Planet Fitness
- Dec 13 Bradenton Walmart
- Dec 14, 15, 16 Bradenton Cracker Barrel
- Dec 17 Largo Walmart
- Dec 18 Oldsmar Cracker Barrel
- Dec 19 Ashley free campground near Dade City
- Dec 20, 21 Bradenton Cracker Barrel
- Dec 22 Largo Walmart
- Dec 23 Golden Oldies Retirement Home for Cats, Dogs and Horses Harvest Host near Trenton
- Dec 24 Southern Grace Lavender Farm Harvest Host near Southport
- Dec 25 Panama City Cracker Barrel
- Dec 26 Destin Cracker Barrel
- Dec 27 Pensacola Planet Fitness
- Dec 28 – Jan 3 Mystic Springs free campground north of Pensacola