Oscar Scherer State Park



Oscar Scherer State Park Campground

Oscar Scherer State Park is located in Osprey, FL or north of Venice. We have stayed here many times in our rv travels.  The campsites in Oscar Scherer State Park are nestled among trees and spaced out suitably. There are hiking trails to explore (mostly not shaded) and a bike path adjoins the park. The Legacy Trail/multi use trail extends from Sarasota to Venice where it ends at the restored venice Train Station (no trains but restrooms and bus service).




The Legacy Trail. Notice Patented seat cushion!

 The Venetian Waterway Trail extends south beyond the Legacy Trail. The VenetianWaterway trail follows the canal where you can see dolphins or boats going by.  The Venetian waterway trail has a senior residence trailside that offers snack items for a reasonable fee.  The Legacy trail has Nokomis park for restrooms or The Legacy Trail Grocery store which offers snacks/drinks. This is a well used trail and you will never be alone.
Our daily bike ride took us from our Oscar Scherer campsite to the end of the VenetianWaterway Trail....just a titch above 10 miles...so 20 miles round trip...done in the cool of the morning.  Lovely!



An Oscar Spider story: I hate spiders…they are things nightmares are made of! Periodically, while travelling in our trailer I have discovered a spider here and there in our trailer and always dispatched David to get it (or I wouldn’t be able to sleep!)…He excels at spider hunting.



Venetian Waterway Trail

So one night I get up to go to the bathroom and turn around to flush. There behind the toilet is the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen in my life (the kind that would mess up your shoes if you stepped on it…which I wasn’t about to do). It easily had a wing span of 2” (no kidding). So I quickly leave the little bathroom and do a quick ponder what to do? I wake David out of dead sleep to get this big spider for me (I didn’t elaborate)…so he is thinking it is what maybe ¼”.  I retreat to the opposite end of our 20 foot trailer.   He gets in there and sees the size, asks for a paper towel, and I hear all this scuffling around in the bathroom (I guess he had some waking up to do). Apparently when you have eight legs and are BIG you are really FAST! After a few tries he got it. But I did ask him several times are you SURE you got it and he assured me. I knew there wasn’t enough room in that trailer for BOTH of us. I was prepared to sleep in the HOT van even. PHEW! We believe he came in on our towels…crawling up the wooden towel rack outside. ALWAYS check your towels!



Outside Oscar Scherer there are plenty stores for shopping (including Walmart to the north).
 We spent just 6 nights here this time around…biking, relaxing, and working.


This park has spaces to accommodate all size rv's so when you are travelling in your rv stop by and enjoy!


 

Jonathan Dickenson State Park

Jonathan Dickenson State Park is one of our favorite places to travel in our rv for the winter.

Sun Set From The Campsite



view of campground from our site

We have stayed in this park numerous times and will be here two weeks this time. It has two separate campgrounds. One newly renovated campground/Pine Grove and an older one by the visitors center/River Campground (a few miles into the park). I am a sucker for new/modern conveniences so that is the one we stay at. This newly renovated park is wide open…hardly a tree in site but the sites are very well spaced AND it has sewer hook up for those that care about that
sort of thing.   The Pine Grove campground will
accommodate any size RV as the spaces are huge.


bike path in Jonathan Dickinson SP

The only thing that is missing is washers and dryers (assuming you have your own wifi). Biking to the visitors center/river campground is done partially on a bike bath and partially on park roads so either way, it is pretty nice and paved….roughly 5.5 miles from our campsite to the vistors center. Other activities include kayaking and a river tour.



3 picture panoramic from Hobe Tower/David trying out his new camera



view from Hobe Tower

We (David, Patty & Ed...donna down with back issues) kayaked up river from the Park to Trapper John's cabin.  Nice lazy kayaking up a very winding river. We saw many varieties of birds, lots of jumping fish, a large manatee with its baby, a few larger alligators, and 18 baby alligators (less than a foot long...have never seen babies before).  When we arrived at Trapper John's there was a ranger awaiting the boat tour who answered many of our questions.



Gopher Tortoise

One night we sat out in our old chairs (chairs dating back to when kaete did field hockey and graham did Lacrosse and believe me they look it)…and had a beer. We notice a dragonfly or two (nice sized ones) flying about, then we noticed more and more. When we looked up they were dancing all around the sky and there Were lots of them…more than I’ve ever seen in my life. A pleasant site as you don’t see many of them and especially not the big ones in New York.



sunset view in park

Thanks Ed for the Photos while on the water.




Cute alligator on his thrown

We saw 18 baby gators about 10" long



Kayaking upstream through mangroves

   




David kayaking near Jupiter

Highlands Hammock State Park

packed dirt bike trail

Highlands Hammock State Park/Florida:
This is a first visit for us…and inland park in the center of Florida near Sebring. My first impression…wow the campers are really crammed in…get me out of here! That was the same impression I got from Collier Seminole State Park and left the next day. We are here for two nights (it was supposed to be four….  I’m a country girl/former backpacker so this packed in camping is not for me…kind of like an apartment house for campers? I should have stayed at Walmart/free like we planned. That said, it is near any/all conveniences as it is off route 27.







paved bike/car road in park

They supposedly have free wifi but we couldn’t get it to work and didn’t push it as we have MIFI and we were only going to be here for two nights. There is a newer bath house and three old ones. There is are washers/dryers that cost $2.00 to do a load of laundry. There is one (yes, only one) dump station for those 138 campsites which equals lineup at the dump station if you don't time it right.












biking within park

Highlands Hammock has a biking trail for those with fatter tires. It is about 5 miles (as per ranger) and out in the palm tree forest. The surface is hard packed sand and it was easy to bike. We connected that with a paved park road to get 8 miles. We will do it again tonight to get more mileage in. There are short 25 – 35 minutes walk off of the paved park circular road. So you can bike to the trails, walk, and repeat that until they are all done!





Cyprus Swamp trail

  The paved park road is in the hammock (rather dense forrest of huge palms, oaks and such…very old trees).  The paved bike path also extends beyond the boundaries of the park and heads east on 634 until it runs into route 27.















Cyprus Swamp Trail

We walked a few of the little walks within the park.  The Cypress Swamp Trail proved to be a nice
walk through a grove of cyprus trees with a creek running through it.  There were some great photo ops that my Coolpix just didn't do justice...reflective views, an alligator, lily pads.


In the end, I liked the park but the sites were just crammed too close together to get good grades from me.


We had friends that also camped here another time and their impression was the same.  Still if you are rving in Florida this is a good place to stop for the night...most times you won't need a reservation
either.

Kissimmee Prairie State Preserve

Dry Prairie

Kissimmee Prairie State Preserve/Florida:

This park is out in the middle of nowhere…but we like it. It is located north of Lake Okeechobee. It is QUIET and has hiking trails and if you are creative a biking trail. We bike out to paved road and back (8.6 miles) or on some of the paths as we have mountain bikes.








My man biking the road

Heck, bring your horse because this is one of those places you can camp with your horse (NO KIDDING…the first time I saw this I had a good chuckle…an unusual concept for a former Jersey Girl). It is a small park and boasts cheap washers and dryers…for a whopping $2.00 you can wash and dry a load of laundry. Bring all food in with you because Lord knows you don’t want to run out to get bread or milk or beer as it is way too far (at least thirty miles)! I am not sure that I would book in here for two weeks as you would have to go out at some point to get provisions and for me that is might be too far. They do sell ice at the park office.


Raising cattle on the dry prairie

  Cell phone and Mifi service is spotty, you better be prepared with things to do when it gets dark…break out the cards, read aloud books/kindle…or perhaps you are one of those lucky ducks with satellite?









Local fauna/he looks plastic!
 

Our time is usually spent biking up 12 to 20 miles (we get creative) or walking a trail. The last time we were here, David took me on a walk. I mentioned it looked like it was going to rain, he swore it wasn’t. Off we went. We were out there a couple of miles when it began raining. As luck would have it (for him), we saw the ONLY shelter up ahead. There we sat for at least an hour chatting waiting for it to stop. When it pretty much stopped, off we went without incident…lucky us as we were not prepared with rain gear and we were a few miles out.

Funky Prairie Buggy

In previous years, we had wanted to take the Guided Prairie Buggy tour but it seemed to always be getting repaired. Lucky for us, this time it was running. $17 for each Adult (plus tax) and the tour runs 2 – 2.5 hours long. We chose the 8:30 am tour as 2 pm sounded like it could be hot (even in February).


We've seen rv's of every shape and size here so camping here is for everyone. 















Blue Springs State Park/Florida

Blue Springs State Park/Florida:


Most every winter while camping in Florida we travel to Blue Springs State Park.  Our rv just seems to go there automatically.


Babe w/prop damaged mom (white marks)

Blue Springs State Park is just west of  Orange City, FL. This is a small park in central Florida with 40+ campsites.  The sites are well spaced and well treed which is really nice and private. The showers need upgrading but do the job.

What to do???  Just outside the park is a bike path that is treed and paved and for Florida not REAL flat biking….10 miles from site to site if you include Beresford Park.  Want more than ten miles...go around again.




Little day old Manatee w/mom

Blue Springs claim to fame is that it is the winter home to the West Indian Manatee. The spring is a first magnitude spring; it sends out 101 MILLION gallons of water per day. The temperature of the spring year around is 72 degrees. In the summer you can swim in the spring run but not in winter while the Manatees are here.  If the night time temps cool down, the manatees usually come into the spring run; if it is warm, they will stay in the river to feed.  There is no food for the Manatees in the spring run so during the day they have to leave it to feed...returning at night if it is cold in the river.  We have been lucky to see Manatees up close when we’ve been here during colder weather. The two of us would be standing on a floating dock and there would be manatees gently floating around the dock.  This year there was a newborn (one day old when we spotted it) with its mother and so far no  propellor markson its back.  (most manatees have such markings...rather sad).  They are such docile, peaceful creatures with sweet, happy faces!



Manatees frolicking

The park can be crowded...meaning the public area where the manatees are by the spring run.  The park also runs a river boat tour $22 for adults (didn't do it but it is 2 hours long).  School buses come with children (we counted 7 buses one day)...BUT if you are staying in the campground, it is quiet
when the park closes (currently 6 pm) or before it opens at 8 am....so you can enjoy a nice walk to see the manatees.  A nice perk!

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Our campsite at Blue Springs State Park and the funmobile.  There were limited tv stations with our antenna.  Internet was good.  Cell phone receptions was good.

Sebastian River Inlet State Recreation Area/Florida







Sebastian River Inlet State Recreation/FLorida:
Rving in Florida is one of our favorite things to do...especially in the winter.  It gets us out of the NY winters and we work along the way.


Sebastian River Inlet State Recreation Areas is one of our favorite camping spots. It is a much desired location for fisherfolk, beach goers, and bird watchers as well.  

Campground

What is there to do???  Outside the park is a bike path/walking path that measures about 12 – 14 miles round trip from campsite to campsite.  The path also goes north some as well.  We did a daily bike ride (it was my first time on bike in many months...too many so I paid dearly the first day when I rode too far and had to ride back against the wind).  Beach combing, beach bathing, fishing (off the piers or from the shore or bring your boat), bird watching, dolphin watching, Ranger programs. They sometimes also have music out on the point (free, I believe).  Don't forget to relax.







                                                                                                                                                           



View of Bridge with Pelicans
 

 Cell phone reception is good. TV stations without satellite...are wanting (using only our antenna)...bring your dish, dvd's or Kindle!   Hubby and I like books on Kindle that it reads aloud to us while we sometimes do other things...multitasking.  The showers are good and the wonderful volunteers keep them clean for us.  (Volunteers... that is a job that I wouldn't want.)  The no-see-ums can be ferocious so bring a lot of bug juice of your choosing.  The Park also has a nice little museum that tells about the building of the Inlet.


You can select from campsites near the water or not.  Your rv will fit in most sites as they are pretty roomy.





Endangered Wood Stork

We’ve thought about taking up fishing next year! Even though David doesn’t like fish, when he dined on fish (grouper, puffer, and one other) caught and cooked by Fisherman, Dick Champion, he liked it…not fishy tasting at all and FRESHLY caught. So I might be able to convert him. Also, he watched some experts filet a fish (no gutting, just slicing off layers) so this might be doable for us. I used to fish a lot with Dad until I turned into a girl (worms and all!). Walmart is about 15 miles away...so shop before you arrive.  Publix might be 6 or 7 miles away.




 



Long Pond Park Campground:


More Pelicans

North of the Sebastian park (guessing one – two miles is a nice little breakfast/lunch/dinner joint) Long Pond Café with reasonable prices.  The bait shop is located next door to the Cafe'.  David was desparate for pancakes so they had mix...the world's most expensive pancake mix for $5.25!!!  But in the end he got his pancakes.  Coincidentally, Long Pond Park Campground is right down the side road by the café. It is a county park, reasonably priced and you can stay for longer than two weeks. We did stay there once. Sights are wide open, closely spaced and they give you whatever spot they feel like giving you. Bathrooms are okay.

GPS:N 27 degrees, 51.523 minutes x W 080 degrees, 26.884 minutes