Our sweet (FREE!) spot in Florida...

We found a really nice spot to camp for up to 14 days in the Osceola National Forest. There are several different free camping opportunities in this forest. We chose the camp closest to the edge, just in case the roads to get in or out were dicey. Both Mike and I came across the same camp using different tools.

Mike Googled "free camping Florida" and found this great hunting camp just west of Jacksonville using Google Maps. Side note...Val is Googley-challenged and rarely finds anything she wants when she goes looking... so I used (you guessed it) Campendium. It showed a few spots inside the national forest on the map, so I zoomed in and there was the same site Mike had found.

This particular location does not require a permit to stay (other Florida free camping spots do, more about that when we get to one). This location appears to be on the honor system, though all the Florida websites speak to a a 14 night maximum stay per visit and a 30 night maximum stay per year. There are different rules during hunting season, which I interpretted to mean we should not be there at all during hunting season, but Mike interpretted to mean the hunters can set up and stay for as long as they want during the season. Take your pick based on what feels safest to you.

The location has centrally located bear-safe trash bins (emptied by the forest ranger in the morning), and a giant tower in the field area. Mike scoped out the tower, and it is not safe to climb. The treads on the first flight of stairs have been removed, and the other steps and platforms are dry rotting (yes, he climbed up twice, once just to check it out, the second time to check cell and wifi service at a higher elevation). There are so many sweet places you can stay in this little camp area. We chose a spot where the camper was under an arch of trees because we wanted to give the pugs plenty of outdoor time in the shade.

We walked the dirt roads that spurred off of the central field and found many more tent appropriate sites. Interesting fact, all of this area is on beach sand. The grass, the trees, deep into the woods... all of it is beach sand, not typical ground soil. There are big ant hills in one area (I assumed fire ants, but I didn't kick them to find out), in another area there were a lot of fallen trees that had clear animal markings (I thought possibly a beaver, or that's what I told myself for my own sanity). I walked out quite a ways with Lady Bird. After a long walk out into the woods, she stopped short, listened carfully, sniffed the air, then turn around and led me back towards the field. I thought I should trust her instincts and didn't question her.

The roads into the national forest area are level and well paved. The road this camp is on is a tightly packed beach sand. There is human life around us, we see cars coming and going and even a school bus twice a day, so this is not a hideaway untouched by society. But the traffic is gone by nightfall, and there is a gorgeous splay of stars overhead with no light pollution.

There is no electric, water, or sewer service here. There is also no cell service (AT&T or Verizon). Our wifi server worked for 2 nights when there was no cloud cover, but once the rain rolled in on Tuesday, we were completely off grid. There is definitely wildlife out there around us, but we have only seen birds. No gators, spiders, or snakes oh my!

We brought in 12 gallons of water in our tanks and 5 gallons of water in jugs. We have been able to flush the toilet, take 1 shower, and water the dogs, and have not run out. Mike got to try out his solar set up, and was very pleased with the amount of energy he was able to recapture to charge our battery during both the overcast day and the sunny day. During our day of rain, we ran off the battery until about 3pm then hooked up our generator to recharge the main battery and all the devices.

All of us agree that this has been our best site to stay at to date and encourage you to try it out if you are in the area!