Rivers of Florida Panhandle Nov. 6-12
Getting this posted so you can make campground reservations. I recommend St. Andrews State Park.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/St-Andrews
As of Sept. 10 there are 29 out of 158 campsites available. St. Andrews SP is on a peninsula at the east end of Panama City Beach (PCB,) with great sites next to the "lagoon" side, trails through the dunes and a big parking lot by the Gulf of Mexico beach, and easy access to city amenities such as seafood restaurants.
There are other state parks some 50 miles north - Falling Waters (with Florida's highest elevation) and Florida Caverns (with Florida's only dry caverns) as well as Camel Lake Campground in Apalachicola National Forest.
Spring-fed rivers within an hour of PCB include Holmes Creek, Econfina Creek, and Chipola River. They all have excellent access and good water quality - the blue springs themselves are a sight to behold. They wind through a forest of maple, cypress, palm, live oak, and magnolia. Sometimes the bank merges into a swamp, sometimes it is a limestone cliff covered with ferns.
In a week you could run a different section of these three each day, but there are even more streams to the east and west. I like smaller streams rather than big rivers like the Choctawhatchee and Apalachicola, but they are good too. If anyone wants to plan a camper rather than just day trips, I would be glad to set you up. November is a good time for comfortable air temps and fall colors.
PCB has a ton of vacation rentals that will be less costly and easily available in November.
Northwest Florida has more nature, better public access and smaller crowds than central or south Florida. The Gulf of Mexico seashore here (sometimes called the Emerald Coast) is unique - usually the water is clear and the fine light sand has a smooth sensual quality different from other beaches.
Distance from the Virginias is about 675 miles from I-77 at the VA-NC line, and 760 miles from I-85 at the VA-NC line. Going by way of I-95 to Jacksonville and then I-10 is maybe 50 miles longer, but you miss Atlanta traffic and it is almost all interstate.
Hope you can come check it out.
O.C.T. Rivers of the Florida Panhandle Nov. 6-12
Moderators: admins, GinnyN, mod1, mod3, Raymond, slo2rol, mod2
