There are lots of places to go within Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, all within driving distance, to have an adventure off campus. Between camping in the Everglades and getting plastered in Miami or Atlanta, this is a rough guide to prices and distances to help jog some desire to go and try something new.
Camping:
Camping is cheap, you get to sleep outdoors, see the stars away from the city and make fires without getting in trouble. In flat Florida, it’s an easy hike to get to your campsite, but it’s also hotter, filled with mosquitoes and there are alligators and crocodiles …. the modern dinosaurs that can eat you.
Tennessee is beautiful, mountainous and has hiking as it’s meant to be. If you’ve lived in Florida your whole life, Tennessee will be an incredible revelation as it has real Southern food and opportunities for rock climbing everywhere. Along with all of this, there are actual forests here, not grass that has “saw” in its name and giant spiders.
Georgia is where the movie “Deliverance” takes place, so if you’ve seen the movie, then take that as you will going into the woods. Ignoring hillbilly rapist murderers, Georgia has a distinct lack of light pollution with it being so rural, so you’ll see more stars on the way to Atlanta than you’ve probably ever seen anywhere in Florida.
Gear:
If not having a sleeping bag and a tent is what’s stopping you, FAU’s Outdoor Adventures in the recreation center has camping gear for rent at a discount to students.
Tents
Price
Two-person tent
$15/week
Three-person tent
$18/week
Four-person tent
$20/week
Six-person
$25/week
Eight-person
$40/week
Places:
All of these suggested campgrounds I have either camped at myself or a close friend has. No generic bullshit. Each place is within 12 hours driving distance from Boca Raton, so you can go on an adventure without breaking the bank.
Name
Where
Price
Flamingo Campground
Southern tip of the Everglades (3 Hours)
$20/night
Bahia Honda
About an hour from Key West (4 Hours)
$36/night
Big Cypress National Preserve
West side of the Everglades (2 Hours)
$10-$24/night
Foster Falls
Chattanooga
TN (11 Hours) $12/night
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hours southeast of Knoxville
TN (11 Hours) $14/night
Drinking:
I don’t drink. But, I have a lot of friends who do. So, if you’re stuck in South Florida, and need a way to forget you’re not far away from home, these little spots will help.
Name
Where
Why
Cash Only
Fort Lauderdale
Beers are from local distilleries
Lauder Ale
Near Fort Lauderdale airport
A warehouse converted to bar and lounge
Laser Wolf
Fort Lauderdale
A hipster dive bar with retro video games
The Green Parrot
Key West
Live music
Gramps
Miami
Local artists play live every week
Funky Buddha Lounge
Boca Raton
Local musicians and open mic Monday nights
Florida:
Flamingo campground is at the southern tip of the Everglades at $20/night, Bahia Honda is about an hour away from Key West at $36/night, and Big Cypress which has camping at the southern end of the park from $10-$24/night depending on which part of the campground you go to. Going with even just three people and splitting the costs, with a tent rental from FAU (see sidebar) it would only cost $12 a night per person to camp. If drinking in a club with loud music rather than by a fire surrounded by alligators is more your thing, it’s only $5.65 to take the Tri-Rail from FAU to Miami Airport or an hour and 25 minutes to Miami Beach by car. The lowest cost hotel on Kayak.com that didn’t sound like Bates Motel in disguise was about $120, with $20 a night for a 12 bed dorm at Miami Hostel on the west side of South Beach.
Tennessee:
Tennessee has a lot of cheap camping as well, with $12/night at Foster Falls in Chattanooga and an average of $14/night in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rock climbing is also everywhere with Foster Falls having lead-climbing a 20 minute hike from where you’d be sleeping, and a bouldering park called Stone Fort next to Montfort Golf club about 30 minutes north of Chattanooga.
Andrew Fraieli is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email him at fraieli.sci@gmail.com.