Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

[JoFlo]

Hi everyone. I'm a fairly new tent camper from Central FL. We've been to three or four parks in Central/Northeast FL, and the only disappointment I've had is that everywhere you go, they do not allow you to pitch your tent on the grass. You have to stay on the gravel or cement, which really takes away from that "back to nature" feel that I really am looking for.
Does anyone have any tips? Specifically, any Florida campsites that allow you to set up on grass? Less specifically, any tips on how to overcome this? I was thinking maybe taking some old carpet scraps, but that takes up quite a bit of room when you have a really large tent.
Thanks,
Jo / Florida

[hwc1954]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

The place I've been camping is too deep in tree cover for any grass. They have dirt tent pads, which I don't really mind. Grass would be great, but if a tent is pitched on grass day after day, there won't be any grass left!

One tip for dirt/gravel tent pads: No shoes in the tent. Wear slip ons or flip flops. Leave 'em at the door. Every time.

[Mike]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

Be glad that they do not allow you to camp on grass.

Grass is miserable to set your tent on. It traps moisture under your tent and draws moisture to the floor of your tent from the ground.

As the grass dies under your tent, it creates heat. It stinks.

Insects and vermin of all kind are more prominent when you camp on grass.

So, you ain't missing anything by not camping on grass.

The other obvious thing is that tenting on grass kills the grasss so if campgrounds allowed camping on the grasss it would not be long before there was no grass. A tent can seriously damage grasss within one hot day.

Camp for the weekend on your lawn and see for yourself.

[ppine]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

I am not sure what your other options are in FL. Maybe you could try camping in a place other than a park. The surface may be different in a USFS campground or a private campground.

[tplife]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

I've pitched in Florida, specifically, The Keys, and it was on grass...that said, it's over limestone and might as well be Decomposed Granite, the Cali Reg of hardscape. It doesn't sore the toes if you use an inside liner of thin microfiber, or a "pony blanket". > to the tune of Abbey Road. < That was a memorable trip...CIRCA 1971 :rolleyes:

[yogiyoda]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

Bill Fredrick Park is a city park in Orlando. It has primitive camping sites that are in a nice grassy area near the lake. The sites are at least 100 yards walk through a field from the parking area. It's a pretty area, but not sure if it will meet your "back to nature" feel as the camping site is close to a major highway. There are trees blocking most of the view of the highway, but you can see the traffic in the distance to the side of the lake. Also you can hear the steady background roar of traffic. Although it didn't bother me, I've heard some people complain about it. Also, there is a "barn" by the site that is used by the high school crew teams. Didn't bother me, but may detract from the back to nature feel. Also, a Disc Golf course runs nearby so during the day you'll be seeing and hearing the golfers. Fun to play though :^)

Juniper Springs is one my favorite "back to nature" sites in the area. It's in the middle of Ocala National Forest. I was in an RV at the time so don't recall if many tent sites had grass. A lot seemed to be under tree cover. But take a kayak ride down the river that starts at the spring and you'll think you stepped back in time.

[yogiyoda]

Re: Pitching tents on the grass? Florida?

Oh yea, for real "back to nature", the Ocala National Forest also allows free dispersed camping. I don't know much about it though. If you are interested, you may want to talk to a ranger. And here's a link:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/ocal...32295&actid=34