Monday, October 12 – We moved over to the Gulf Coast of Florida this morning, stopping at the W.P. Franklin Campground in Alva, FL, which is just outside of Fort Myers.
The driveway to the campground is lovely.
The campground is almost completely surrounded by the Caloosahatchee River with just a narrow stretch of land connecting it to the shore. This is a Corp of Engineering park with 50 amp electric and water. The streets and campsites are concrete with nice spacing between the sites. We have a nice patio, fire ring, grill and covered picnic table. There is also a dump station available. They accept the America the Beautiful discount card so with half off we are only paying $15 per night. :-)
Looking right.
Looking left.
Looking at the dam from our picnic table.
There are actually two camping areas. We are right on the water in Site #22 and feel this section has better spacing between the sites and is less crowded. We have one of two pull-thru sites. There are three pull-thru sites in the other loop, but they are not water front sites. So we recommend Site #22-30 if available. We talked to a neighbor and he said it is nearly impossible to get a site here in the winter.
There are even boat dockage sites. 50 amp electric is available. 
There is a boat ramp here, and it is very busy. People are boating, fishing for Mullet and Tilapia, kayaking, etc.
After getting set-up, we headed back into town to get groceries and to fuel the truck at $2.23/gallon. Upon returning to the CG, Marsha had some laundry to do so Paul relaxed along the shore. He had Bella, our cat, to keep him company and another friend stopped by to say hello......a Manatee!
How neat is that. He was enjoying lunch of lily pads. A fellow stopped by and said it is unusual for them to be here. We are up river of the lock and dam, and they usually are out closer to the Gulf.
We will be here for five days so stop back and see what adventures we find.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
Great park!! I like COE Parks better than State Parks because they seem to have level sites. You certainly got a super site! Love that the manatee came to visit. How cute:)
ReplyDeleteWe're hoping to head down to the Crystal River area so we can see the manatees too. What fun to find one lounging so close.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a great site being so close to the water .
ReplyDeleteManatees are generally out in the Gulf until the temperatures start getting cold. You got a real treat to see it so close to your site.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
That is a really nice campsite. And having a manatee join you. That just makes it more perfect. Doing laundry - not so much but necessary.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing campsite, gotta love the view. Enjoy your time there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find. Don't you just love COE parks?
ReplyDeleteWe really enjoyed this COE. Looks like you are well on your way to doing the same. 🌴
ReplyDeleteReally nice park
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention last time that I love your header.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about those manatees though!