Camping and Kiting from ~ Miami Southwards

[fng]

In a couple of weeks, my daughter and I will spend a few days camping from somewhere just north of Miami down to the Keys.

What would be suggested sites that have good, clean, safe campgrounds close to reasonably good, moderately attended kite boarding areas?

Going to relax and work on basic skills with the daughter so a high traffic/skill area is not as important as a less than perfect area lightly attended.

Restaurants, nightlife, tourism and shopping are not the priority for this trip.

Appreciate any input on this one.

[ricki]

In a couple of weeks, my daughter and I will spend a few days camping from somewhere just north of Miami down to the Keys.

What would be suggested sites that have good, clean, safe campgrounds close to reasonably good, moderately attended kite boarding areas?

Going to relax and work on basic skills with the daughter so a high traffic/skill area is not as important as a less than perfect area lightly attended.

Restaurants, nightlife, tourism and shopping are not the priority for this trip.

Appreciate any input on this one.

Some of the State Parks with camping are excellent in many respects. Unfortunately, I understand that they have a several month waiting list if not longer as a rule. Still you could check with some of them. Failing that there are a number of commercial campgrounds, KOA, etc. down through the Keys that should serve. Links to web resources for campgrounds appear in the Guide to Florida at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=2278

The guide also details viable wind directions for some of the launches.

Some of the well known areas that come to mind include Whale Harbor in Islamorada and Smathers Beach in Key West. Both have restrictions and I believe there is a nominal registration fee at Whale Harbor. Bahia Honda State Park offers some excellent riding conditions with the right winds off the north end of the park, well away from the swim areas. They have camping there but it could be sold out at this point. There are a number of municipal beaches at points through the Keys, i.e. Ann's Beach where you should be able to walk out into the shallows away from the swimming area to launch and land.

[fng]

Thanks Rick,
It's looking more and more like Jupiter.

[jimb]

Hey fng, I've been thinking along the same lines, my kids (6, 8, & 9 yrs) want to go camping and I'm also getting them involved in kiting with a trainer kite and a small bow kite. I would love to find a place we could camp on the beach, or a short walk to a beach, where the kids could do some body dragging (and maybe I could get in a session or two). I live in Fort Lauderdale, but wouldn't mind traveling up to 3-4 hours. Sounds like some good suugestions from Rick, any other kiters out there who have had good experiences at any camp sites like this?

Any other camping kiters with kids out there, well have a kitescout jamboree!

jim

[C. Moore]

I agree with Rick and go to Bahia Honda Key. Nice camp ground with warm showers too.

[ricki]

I prefer Jupiter to the Keys myself and perhaps Ft. Pierce even more than that for the waves. Still, with only one trick, jumping, waves are a lot more interesting than flat water to me. Still, the variety offered by the Keys is welcome at times, so don't get me wrong.

If I was trying to train someone just starting kiting though, particularly children, I wouldn't take them to Jupiter. The shore break there can be harsh and unforgiving, just getting out can be a bear and that is for experienced riders if there are larger waves running. NE is almost onshore there, a common direction this time of year. Also, they can have a strong longshore current to go with the rest of the factors. So, if you like waves as much as I do and aren't bothered by some adverse conditions in getting out, have at it and enjoy. If your goal is to bring your children into the sport, I would head to the calmer waters of the Florida Keys or the Miami Flats. You might hook up with Paul Menta of The Kitehouse for some prime time out on the Key West Flats or in Miami. It costs but the caliber of the instruction and learning environment might be well worth it.

[ricki]

Hey fng, I've been thinking along the same lines, my kids (6, 8, & 9 yrs) want to go camping and I'm also getting them involved in kiting with a trainer kite and a small bow kite. I would love to find a place we could camp on the beach, or a short walk to a beach, where the kids could do some body dragging (and maybe I could get in a session or two). I live in Fort Lauderdale, but wouldn't mind traveling up to 3-4 hours. Sounds like some good suugestions from Rick, any other kiters out there who have had good experiences at any camp sites like this?

Any other camping kiters with kids out there, well have a kitescout jamboree!

jim

Hello Jim,

I am not all that familiar with campgrounds in the Keys aside from just a couple. It is a bit of a homework project but I believe there are sites that show map locations for most commercial sites in the Keys. Today, some may even link to googleearth.com hybrid maps. If not, you would have to transfer the location info over. Anyway you could see if any have obvious launching conditions nearby. You would want to check it out in advance before the jamboree but it is one way to track down a location.

For the most part you will be in turtle grass and hard bottom communities, i.e. some irritants. Booties would be a must for the kids. You will have these sort of conditions even off Smathers in Key West and Bahia Honda SP to varying degrees (mainly sea grass there). Still, I imagine many kids might blow it off, just a word to the wise. It is different nearshore from your location and my former home town of Ft. Lauderdale as you probably know.

Of course further north, camping and driving on the beach is often no big deal. AJ is having an event in Melbourne with a private parcel of land opposite the launch on the calm waters of the wide ICW. I don't know if AJ has kids or not but it might be worth considering. More about this in the upcoming events section.

[BigR]

personally, I have never had any luck ( unless you sneak a spot ) camping in the keys since they are always booked 6 months in advance. I've always had much more success getting a cheap motel instead. It is great flatwater kiting there tho' , as Rick said.

In my old home, Miami area , I very much doubt you'll find any camping but the conditions are prolly best for learning with all the variety of launching spots.

between Jupiter and melbourne, my favorite place to camp/ kite is long point SP and Sebastain inlet because there is always an available spot and its more isolated/ rustic. Both right next to sebastian inlet within a mile of the bch. However, conditions will be tough for learning with lotsa waves to say the least, . I like that tho'

[fng]

The Keys are booked at least from online and calling. Had this been less than a spur of the moment - take advantage of the break situation, would have had better luck.

Jupiter was chosen because it was available, closer to Virginia and the Florida Guide said that Hobe Sound and Refuge would be good places to start.