Driving from New Orleans help.....

[Princess_Michelle]

OK, so my aunts LOVE camping at Fort Wilderness and will be again in October for our trip. She was wanting me to help her find a place on the way where they could pull over and sleep, if they needed to. So...does anyone know of a guarded rest area, or a campground on the way to Disney, well after Pensacola, off I-10 (or after) where they could stop??? They are bringing their pop-up camper. Any help would be much appreciated Thanks!!

 

[becky1960]

There are quite a few good rest stops that have guards in Fla along I 10, but I dont know if they will let you set up a camper. There also a lot of Koa's along the way and you might checkout Passport America's site even if you are not a member you can check lots of campgrounds.

 

[Shorty82]

There are quite a few good rest stops that have guards in Fla along I 10, but I dont know if they will let you set up a camper. There also a lot of Koa's along the way and you might checkout Passport America's site even if you are not a member you can check lots of campgrounds.

I'm pretty certain you can't camp overnight in Florida rest areas. If I recall correctly there are signs telling people they can't stay all night there. All Florida rest areas have restrooms and night time armed security. There MAY be maintenance people around during the day but only at night are security people there.

Florida rest areas are safe, I've never felt any danger in any of the ones I've been too. They are all (AFAIK) very wel lit at night. Not so for a few others out of state I've stopped at. There was one on I-10 in Alabama my aunt and I stopped at one time at night. That place was dark and we felt a little uneasy there. I've never felt uneasy in a Florida rest area.

 

[mamaloya]

We will be camping one night in Lake City, FL. It is where I-10 meets I-75. There are several listings in my AAA campbook. Here they are:

Lake City KOA North - 386-752-9131 or www.koa.com it shows it at I-10 exit 303 and then 1 mile north.

Casey Jones' CG - 386-755-0471. It is shown on I-75 exit 423.

There are 2 others listed, but not rated as high as these 2. If you need them, let me know.

When we are en route somewhere, I like to stay at KOAs simply because the quality of them is relatively predictable. They have a lot of pull thrus, we don't have to disconnect, and the roads are well maintained and easy to navigate. You can also book them online.

That said, if it is listed in the AAA book, it is at least acceptable. We made the mistake once of pulling into one not listed, and it was BAD!!! I don't think I will do that again.

Happy Camping!

 

[Princess_Michelle]

Wow, thanks guys!!

 

[aLitlGoofy]

We have stayed at both the Tallahassee-West KOA and the Tallhassee-East KOA. Of the 2, I liked the T-West KOA better because it was a little easier to get in and out of. The drawback was that it was not quite far enough to stop. T-East KOA was very sandy other wise it was just fine. Next trip, we plan on going at least as far as Lake City.

 

[mickeymouse1017]

We always stay at Travelers Campground in Alachua which is about 30 miles down I-75 once you turn off of I-10. They have animals that the kids can pet and are EXTREMELY friendly and accomodating. We have stayed over night in the rest areas with not problems. We did not push out the sides or do any set up except for the jacks but we still had no problems with that.

 

[becky1960]

We stop at most of the rest stops (pets) and they do have armed security during the day at some of the stops. This was just in June 07 and Dec 06. Like someone else said no overnight camping, but you can sleep for a few hours.

 

[Shorty82]

We stop at most of the rest stops (pets) and they do have armed security during the day at some of the stops.

I do not believe any of the stops have daytime security people fulltime. I believe security occasionally stops in to check on the rest areas during the day and may stay around a while but won't be there all day. I've seen security at rest areas during the day just hanging around but stopping at the same rest area a few days later there is no security around. I'm talking about the rest areas shared by both sides of the Interstate, like the Ponce de Leon and (I believe) the Apalachicola stops