Questions about Camping....

[plummer925]

Hello!

My DH and I are thinking of tenting at Fort Wilderness in an upcoming trip, and I have a couple of questions.

I read through these posts...I saw someone said no campfires are allowed at individual sites - is this true????? If so, it kind of defeats one major point of camping (we don't have kids, and we like to keep to ourselves, so the group campfire isn't an option for us).

Also, we are thinking of camping in January. We're from Maine, so "cool" weather doesn't bother us...but how cool/cold does it get in January in Florida? I don't mind 40's as we have really good LL Bean sleeping bags, but anything less would not be good!

Thanks!!

 

[Disney Campers]

I saw someone said no campfires are allowed at individual sites - is this true????? If so, it kind of defeats one major point of camping

most campgrounds in Florida do not allow campfires, just to dangerous most of the time with our history on wildfires.

 

[VAN]

Each site has a grill, similar to what you find in public picnic areas. That is it.

Since you have access to electricity, you might want to look for a portable heater - one that has a safety shut-off in case it gets knocked over - in the event you have a really cold night. We have one that was fairly inexpensive and small that worked great with our old pop-up. I think we found it at a home improvement type store for $15. The key though, is the safety shut-off feature!
Make sure you thoroughly read the box before you purchase.

 

[clkelley]

Also, since you have electricity, an electric blanket is feasible.

I have tent camped at Ft. Wilderness in December and it got pretty cold this year. My bag is rated to 20 and I was quite comfortable.

The comfort stations have good hot showers and are heated and air conditioned.

 

[auntie]

What about one of the portable fire rings...one that is enclosed with the wire mesh...saw them at Target. Would you be able to use one of those..or are you prohibited from bringing those also?
Is it the policy of no fires at your campsite..or that there aren't any fire rings to make a fire in?...Therefore discouraging campfires of course.

We plan to go in August...so I don't think I'd miss not having a ring at that time of year...however I can certainly see your point in wanting a fire in the January type of weather even in Florida.We would miss that too, a big part of camping is sitting around the campfire. I can understand the concern with the wildfires so common in Florida though.

 

[clkelley]

Nope, those aren't allowed either. They even won't allow Tiki Torches.

They are really strict on this issue.

You can build a fire in your grill, or you can use one of those propane heater things for heat outside your camper or tent, but that's all that is allowed.

Carol

 

[VAN]

Here is the OFFICIAL word direct from the Ft. Wilderness Gazette which you are given at check-in ....


Fires: Limit charcoal fires to the charcoal grills. Open wood fires are not permitted anywhere in Ft. Wilderness.

Torches and other burning devices are not permitted.


End of story.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Thanks, Van.

 

[plummer925]

Thanks everyone for the information!!

 

[fsufandis]

Plummer...

We tent camp during the winter here in Florida. You can expect a range of lows in the 50's or sometimes even in the teens in January. Actually we go from October until March, then it is over for us.

We use a great little electric ceramic heater that has the safety tip over switch. We toss a couple of blankets over the top of our tent (it has ceiling screens meant for summertime cooling) and keep the rain fly on. That should do the trick.

Generallly the days are warm and it is one of the best times to be in Florida.

 

[DJBounce]

We were just there this past January at Pop Century and it got down to the low to mid 30's the first couple of nights.

 

[auntie]

No tiki torches either...what about citronella candles..you know the larger ones in the big cans? I mean does anyone actually say anything about those..it's not like we'd have them lit if we weren't on the site.