Really Florida!

Posts Tagged ‘Everglades’

Florida vacationing in the Fall is really a nice time to be here.  The hot, humid weather is gone and the mornings are softly crisp.  The days are comfortably warm, and it feel wonderful to be outside.

Here are some vacations in Florida ideas for late September through mid November.

Central Florida Theme Parks

With the exception of the week leading up to Halloween, the big Central Florida theme parks — Disney, Universal and Sea World — are uncrowded.  The weather is gorgeous, making your stroll around the parks enjoyable.  And the lines, where they even exist, are short.  Oh, and the hotel rates are low as well!

Florida Panhandle

While not exactly beach weather, North Florida gets crisp starting in October most years.  It’s a great place to take advantage of the State Parks in the Panhandle.  Whether you are just spending a day on the trails or in the water, or have decided to add some camping fun, it’s lovely.  And yes, you’ll see some tree leaves changing color — just not as spectacularly as it does further north.

North Florida

It’s not quite beach weather here either, except maybe in September.  But if you love walking the beaches, searching for shells or just relaxing to the sound of the waves, Fall is a great time.  And if you like attractions, St. Augustine has plenty.  In fact, it’s about now that you want to start visiting the Alligator park (a little too, um, aromatic in the summer).

Florida Vacationing — South Florida and the Keys

Well, it’s pretty much beach weather down here, especially in the Florida Keys.  The hotel rates are still fairly low, but they will take an upward spike after about the second week in November.  The days tend to be warm (low 80′s), and the nights can get nippy at times (50′s).  Now is the time to visit the Shark Valley entrance to the Florida Everglades — the birds are migrating and the park is full of wildlife.  And better yet — the mosquitoes are pretty much gone!

Vacations in Florida

Obviously, these aren’t the only ideas for vacations in Florida in the fall.  I’ll be talking a little more about specific places in later entries, though.  Meanwhile, get set for some great Florida vacationing time!

The day before yesterday, David and I visited two of the three parts of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.  We took a look at the 20-Mile Bend entrance, as well as the Boynton Beach entrance.  It’s changed, yet stayed the same.

The LNWR is a pretty big place, and most of it is, alas, off-limits to people.  But the canal circling the refuge is available to the public, and the Boynton Beach entrance has more facilities, such as a boardwalk, visitor center, etc.

Now I didn’t bring my camera along with me (the trip was spur-of-the-moment, after I had left the camera at the house), so the photos I have on this post are from the last trip I made to the LNWR.

20-Mile Bend Entrance

This is fairly remote, at least for Palm Beach County.  You take Southern way out west to 20-Mile Bend, and follow the signs on the south side of the road.  This part is obviously not heavily used (no other people there on a Monday afternoon), and is the domain of the boat, both small powerboats and the canoe/kayak variety.

Really — there isn’t anything else to do here — no trails to walk, no visitor’s center, and only a portable outhouse for when nature calls.  But the payoff is that nature rules!  Because it’s lightly used, you might find yourself alone on the canal, which is bordered by grasses and wildlife.

If you go out boating (no matter what kind), take extra precautions — the water is deep and there are few shallow places along the banks where you might be able to get back into the boat if you take a spill. And because you may very well be alone on the water, there isn’t anyone else to help you — definitely bring a cell phone, and hope that it works (it’s a rather remote area and scanty cell coverage).

Oh yeah, and alligators are part of the wildlife experience.

Boynton Beach Entrance

This is a more widely used are of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and has a visitor’s center with a boardwalk behind it.  At the moment, the boardwalk is being re-built, so only portions are available for a stroll.  But even so, we saw signs of wild pigs, heard hawks and viewed some gorgeous scenery.  Hopefully the boardwalk will be fully completed by the end of the fall.

We went over to the boat ramp, to see what it looked like, and found that they rent canoes.  No one was around to tell me prices, though.  The ramp is steep to drive your automobile up and down, and not a big turn-around area at the ramp area itself; if you want to boat, you’re best off with a canoe or kayak; powerboats are better suited to the 20-Mile Bend entrance.

In addition to the boardwalk, there is a marsh trail, where you will see all manner of birds, large and small.  In the fall especially, I hear that this refuge is chock-full of them.  And if the marsh trail and boardwalk aren’t enough, there are 50+ miles of trails on the levy rimming the canal.

If you need a rest in the shade, there is a pavilion area near to the marsh trail (although on the other side of the marsh). It looks out over the marsh and there is plenty of wildlife to observe. Lovely area to rest and relax and enjoy nature.

So that’s it for the time being. See you later!