Summer camp in Florida
Last summer, my wife and I decided we wanted to spend a couple of weeks on the Florida panhandle camping on the beach. The beaches of the Florida Panhandle are well known for their beautiful white sand beaches and emerald green waters. Ten months in advance we booked a two-week camping vacation starting at Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon for three nights, then St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach for six nights, and ending at St. George State Park. Island for five nights. The disaster in the Gulf occurred six weeks before we left on this trip. We watched the news every day to see if the oil would reach the peninsula before our trip or even during the trip. Never mind, as the time drew near, we decided to go anyway.
Rainbow Springs State Park is located on the Rainbow River and offers visitors a natural setting to simply relax, enjoy a picnic or swim in the cool spring. Since it was the first of July and the temperature was in the nineties, we decided to take the inner tube ride down the river. The metro ride took a little over two hours and features spectacular scenery along the riverbanks. A short bus ride through the park will bring you back to camp.
Getting to Spring Head by road is seven miles, making for a great bike ride. However, when the temperature is above ninety and there is no shade along the road, this trip can become quite difficult. However, the trip was worth it. Spring Head Park has a botanical garden with beautiful flowers, trees as old as Florida, and small waterfalls throughout the gardens. There is a dock at the spring for people to jump into the crystal clear water. Of course, the cold water will leave you breathless and is deeper than it seems. After the bike ride back, he went straight to the river to take a dip and cool off.
St Andrews State Park is nestled in the pine forests near the Grand Lagoon on a former military reservation that has more than a mile and a half of beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. The weather was not so good when we first arrived at St Andrews State Park, little rain, just wind and very cloudy; however, for the first few days we made the most of it. Due to the offshore winds the currents were really bad in the gulf and people were advised to stay away due to strong currents. Staying out of the water had nothing to do with the oil spill. In fact, we spent about half of our day enjoying the beautiful white sand beaches with many of the local residents and other campers. The National Guardsmen patrolling the beach for signs of oil were very friendly and informative about the conditions of the beaches and the water. We were told there were signs of oil 20 miles offshore, but no closer was expected and no tar balls had been found on the beach.
The first few days of cloudy skies and cooler weather were great for leisurely biking through the park on the two miles of paved trail. One afternoon we decided to ride our bikes along the strip of Panama City Beach. This is where reality really sets in. On the 4th of July weekend, when this city should have been swarming with people, almost every hotel we passed had vacancy signs. A city that depends on tourism had very little due to the tragedy on the high seas and the media. Enough saying about that. One afternoon we took time to explore the two nature trails: Heron Pond Trail, which takes you on a hike through flatwood pine forest, and past Trementine Still and the trail at Gator Lake, which takes you to a panoramic view of Gator. Lake. No, we did not see alligators.
The last two full days at St Andrews Park had perfect weather. The temperature had returned to ninety degrees, not a cloud in the sky with a little breeze from the ocean. The ocean was calm and clear with little ripples of waves. The beaches were packed with campers and local residents.
St. George Island State Park has 9 miles of undeveloped beaches and dunes, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Apalachicola Bay. The first four miles can be assessed by car along the main park road and the last five miles are on foot only. If you want to take a nice walk, I suggest you walk along the beach that can be assessed on foot only as my wife and I did; however, the landscape does not change, but it is very likely that you will find some large conch shells, especially during low tide. From the campground to the beach it’s only a quarter of a mile, unless you want to go to the public areas of the beach that have restrooms and showers then it’s about a mile to the nearest one.
There are two nature trails located within the park. The 2.5-mile trail to Gap Point begins at the campground and winds through pine forest to the bay. If you’re feeling adventurous like us, turn south when you reach the bay and work your way along the water’s edge. Our intention was to try to reach the gulf, believe me it is not easy and much further than it seems. After about four hours and traveling an uneventful distance, it seemed no closer than when we started. Of course, we continue stopping and collecting shells along the way. After about 30 more minutes, we reached a trail that led into the woods. We decided to take the trail not knowing where it would take us and to our luck it took us close to the public beach area. What a thrill.
No matter what campsite we were at, it was always a joy to get out of the grill to camp outside in the late afternoon and fill the air with the aroma of grilled food.