Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I'm going to be starting a 6 x 12 cargo conversion pretty much for 2 to 4 day trips to the keys to go diving. The cost of diving plus motel just makes it too expensive. I'm only a 2 1/2 hour drive to Key Largo and I suppose I could come back home at night, but come on. Really? I need to spend the night down there in order to have any fun. So I got this crazy idea that I would build a stealth camper and park in the lot of the dive shop with which I am doing business. Now . . . here's what I've heard -

Key West has a strict prohibition against overnighting in anything other than a house or hotel. Big deal. I don't dig Key West all that much anyway. I'm an Islamorada, Marathon, Largo, Big Pine area kind of guy. I hear the Monroe County Sheriff's Dept tends to frown on campers anywhere but in a campground (which are all over priced because - Fla. Keys!), but I'm not sure there is a carved in stone law.

So I'm wondering - any of you ever go down into the keys? What have you heard or done or seen?


Dave Mann

We go down fairly often. The various State Parks are great but often almost impossible to get a site. HOWEVER, if you go mid week anytime other than the dead of winter or pretty much anytime during August, many of them allow for walk-ins and have a fair number of open spots for a night or two. Our favorite is Long Key SP, as every site is right on the ocean, I mean right on it, like 2 feet way. Bahia Honda, for trailers, is ok, but is a bit crowded, but you can put a teardrop in the tent sites (no electricity). Curry Hammock often has a decent number of open sites, but you have to get there before say 10am to have a good chance at one. Go to the below link to find the parks in the keys, there are a lot of them. The costs are pretty decent for the location - about $35-40 per night at full cost, but they all have electric and water at most sites and numerous shower houses.

https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks ... /southeast

dave

Long Key SP sounds perfect - halfway between Islamorada and Marathon, ocean front views, and not bad prices. For all that I could put up with the heat, humidity, and smell of rotting sea grass in August

Now what's this business about hours: 8 to sunset? Are you locked in at night? How's that work?


Dave

That's the official opening hours of the park. Campers are given the access code for both the park and campground.

dave

Thanks, Dave. Good to know.