Day One: Collier-Seminole Camping Trip

Naples, Florida: During our long drive to Homestead last month, we noticed the hidden natural wonders that lie along Tamiami Trail through South Florida. While we didn’t stop off during that trip, we vowed to get back there to enjoy some of these attractions. That time came this weekend as we decided to take a weekend camping excursion to Collier-Seminole State Park. 

We had our eyes on a tent site at Collier-Seminole since our November trip, but it wasn’t until last week that we saw an opening. I jumped on the vacant site and booked it. We came close to losing our site due to a glitch in the system, but luckily I confirmed the reservation and was able to correct it before we lost the site to someone else.

To make a long story short, we booked the site with a prepaid card, the site did not process the payment and our site was released for non-payment. Lucky enough, I logged on to print our reservation and saw it was cancelled. What was even luckier is that the site was still available so I re-booked it and paid with our bank card and saved the reservations. I am still a little confused as to why the park wouldn’t call and give the opportunity to correct it before releasing the site however an e-mail to customer service with Reserve America has gone unanswered so that question will remain a mystery for now.

Since check-in at the park wasn’t until 3, we didn’t leave the house until noon on Saturday. The two-hour southbound drive was uneventful.

We arrived at the park and quickly began to work on our campsite. We booked site number 2. It was a tent only campsite and had great foliage that buffered the site from neighboring sites. We quickly assembled the campsite and then headed off to explore. We took a drive through the park. While driving through the boat basin area, we encounter a bald eagle on a tree near the water, hopefully a sign of great animal encounters to come.

After driving through the park, we decided to head out and get something to eat. While there are plenty of mom and pop swamp food restaurants nearby, the reality of the closest restroom from our site was a 5-10 minute walk away kept us taking a safe route. We chose Sonic for dinner. This was a welcome surprise since it has long been a family favorite but the ones close to our house have been closed for well over a year now.

Once we finished dinner, we took a drive to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Located about 15-20 minutes from our campground, the park is actually two separate attractions, a hiking and driving adventure. With nightfall quickly approaching, we chose the driving adventure. Near the park office in Copeland, you can take a ride through the park on Jane’s Scenic Road. The 11 mile road cuts through the park and allows you to get up close and personal with the wildlife without leaving the safety or comfort of your vehicle.

With the sun quickly setting, we did not complete the entire scenic road before having to turn around and head back to the camp. On the way out, we got to witness a beautiful sunset over the swamp. The colors were so vibrant over the swamp, rivaling any Gulf beach sunset we have seen at home.

When we got back to the campsite, we started our campfire and sat by the fire before mosquitoes forces us to seek refuge in our tent. Who would have thought that we would still be dealing with mosquitoes in December.

Enjoy the slideshow of photos from day one.

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