Santos Trailhead & Campground

    The campground and trailhead provides an entry point for mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians. Each sport has a separate trail but mountain biking seems to have the largest draw. The trails aren’t accessible for wheelchair use due to roots and rocks.

  The campground fills on weekends and is closed occasionally for special events so reservations may be necessary. Two sites are paved and have paved paths leading to the restrooms. The restrooms have large roll in showers with fold up seating and a large accessible toilet room with grab bars and a sink. All of the tables have a long overhang.  Campground
29.1037, -82.09334
                  
                 

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park

   During the 1800s, as unclaimed land in the eastern US became scarce, Native Americans of various tribes were forced south into Florida. These scattered tribes, along with runaway slaves, gathered into communities and became known as Seminoles. Eventually even Florida land became desirable to white settlers and the Seminole were moved onto a reservation in the middle of the state but soon afterwards the decision was made to relocate them to Oklahoma.This decision was not favored by the Seminole and both sides prepared for battle. In 1835 Major Dade and two companies of soldiers were marching from Fort Brooke to reinforce Fort King when they were ambushed by the Seminoles. Only two of the 110 men made it back to Fort Brooke. The park preserves the battle site and also has a small museum with displays and a short video.

  The museum and video are accessible. The ground along a short trail through the battlefield is fairly hard but a little uneven. Most wheelchair users will need to have some help. Part of the paved loop road in the park is blocked to traffic. Follow this for a peaceful, shady roll under old live oaks.

  Parking for oversized vehicles is located in the picnic grounds. Park lengthwise across the spaces. Van and cars will fit in the small parking lot at the museum. There isn’t a turn around for large vehicles so don’t attempt to drive a RV to the museum.  Museum
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Highlands Hammock State Park Tram Tour

   The tram tour is about an hour long and travels through sections of the park that are closed to other visitors. It follows along a canal, a good habitat for alligators, turtles and birds.

   The tram is accessible by a movable ramp. Wheelchairs fit sideways on the tram facing the canal for a good view while on the tour. No tie downs are provided but the ride is fairly smooth. Tickets ($5.00 ) sell out quickly so it’s best to buy them when the park opens in the morning even though the tour isn’t until afternoon. Be sure to tell them that wheelchair accessible seating is required because a bench must be folded up eliminating five seating spaces.

  The tram loads near the visitor center which has a short video and a small museum about the CCC in Florida and other areas of the country. The museum is accessible but to get to the room where the video is shown people using wheelchairs must exit out the back door, go up a ramp and in the door to the video room. This door opens from the inside only.
      
  The parking lot is large enough for RVs parked parallel to the road in the sandy section.  Park
27.47478, -81.53078
 

Pioneer Park Wildlife Refuge

  
    An elevated boardwalk winds through the refuge allowing visitors to look down into the animal enclosures. All the animals except for two ostriches are native to Florida and can not be released back into the wild. There are alligators, turtles, a bear, panthers, fox, deer and otters. The refuge isn’t very big but it’s nice. The animals look very healthy and have a lot of room in their enclosures.

  The refuge is accessible. The sections of the boardwalk that have an uphill slope do not have level spots but the slope is slight enough that stopping isn’t a problem. The newer interpretive signs are at a height that is easy to see. Older signs are too high to be easily read.

  The parking area is large enough for RVs.  Refuge
27.50233, -81.80637

 

Kentucky and Tennessee

    Number 23 and 24! Halfway through the states–now we just have to visit all of the places that I’ve marked on the maps. I hope that everyone is finding them useful. Remember you can save any of the maps to “My Places” on your Google map account then add and subtract placemarks to personalize them to your interests.

View Kentucky attractions in a larger map

   

View Tennessee attractions in a larger map

Cracker Trail Museum

   This small museum is along the trail of the early cattle drives in Florida. The term “cracker” comes from the crack of the whips that the cowboys use to keep that cattle moving. The museum is filled with articles donated by local families so there’s a little of everything including an eleven foot alligator skin and mastodon teeth.

  The museum is accessible but the entrance door is a little heavy.

  The parking area is large enough for RVs.  Museum
27.50089, -81.79954
 

Paynes Creek Historic State Park

   Paynes Creek is the site of a trading post established in the 1800s for the Seminole Indians. In 1849, after the trading post was attacked and destroyed, Fort Chokonikla was built to settle tensions in the area. No trace of the buildings still exist but hiking trails lead to both sites and along Paynes Creek. A very small museum houses displays and artifacts.

  This type of site is one of the reasons that I decided to start a blog about accessibility. The only information about accessibility on the park’s web page concerns the restrooms which are accessible. Only by actually visiting could we determine the degree of accessibility for the rest of the park. The museum is completely accessible as are the picnic grounds, however, all of the trails are composed of soft sand and are completely inaccessible. For people who use wheelchairs this is an okay stop if you’re in the area but it’s not worth going out of your way to see.

There are some parking spaces long enough to accommodate RVs and it’s possible to park lengthwise across several spaces. Park
27.6254, -81.80883
 

Pioneer Park Campground

   This is a county park, popular with snowbirds because of the very reasonable monthly rates. The drawbacks are no sewer hookups and the location – pretty much in the middle-of-nowhere central Florida. The city of Wauchula, just a few miles north, has all the major services.

   Camping choices are varied – electric sites in a large field with  RVs in rows, electric sites located haphazardly under the trees or where we camped, in the no hookup sites facing a little pond. We have a nice view of the pond which attracts many different birds.

  None of the sites are accessible. The tables are concrete, set above ground level on concrete pads with no overhang on the ends. The ground is uneven which makes pushing around somewhat difficult. The restrooms are few and inconveniently located.  Campground
27.50353, -81.80401
      
    

Florida Botanical Gardens and Heritage Village

   These two are connected by a shared parking lot (RVs may have to park lengthwise) and trail system. The main paths in the garden and the village are wide, paved and very easy to roll along.

     The village consists of a couple dozen relocated buildings in a pine forest setting. The visitor center ,gift shop, school, church and general store are accessible. Some of the other buildings have displays but don’t have ramps. Some buildings are not opened to the public and some are only opened for timed tours. The informative signs along the paths are all easy to view. Both sites are  meticulously maintained and free for everyone.   Garden    Village
27.88399, -82.81039

St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market

    Crafts, homemade goodies to eat there or take home, organic produce, fresh seafood, grass fed beef and even live music -  a really nice market!

    The market is held in a parking lot so rolling is easy.

    Parking is available at the lot next to the market – $4.00 a day or at the pier lot, four blocks north,which is large enough for RVs.  Market
27.76974, -82.63345