camping in flordia

[thumper]

finding a good place to camp in Flordia  while cycling is a problem? i was told by the police it not legal to camp anywhere in the state. unless it a camp ground. is this true?

[Westinghouse]

It might be true but I would find a book of statutes and look it up. I asked advice from a police officer, and then looked up the law myself. There was quite a bit of difference. I do know that many people free camp in Florida and the police know it and they don't arrest them for it. I think the land has to be posted or fenced or the owner or caretaker has to tell you to leave first or something like that. It's a question asking for legal advice. There are statutes pertaining to it.

[Westinghouse]

There are many places in FL that are good for a free night of sleep. I call it camping but that might be a bit of an exaggeration. I just get off into a wooded area, string up and stake out a 10 by 12 tarp, and get in the bag for sleeping. The next morning I pack and leave. Anyone walking through my sleep-site the same day would not know I had even been there. DO NOT go over a fence or open a gate to get on the land. If "no-tresspassing" signs are posted, don't go on the land. IMO very few people are going to get up in arms about a cyclist using a few square yards of woodland to get some shuteye. On Highway 90 in N FL you will notice that vacant wooded areas in towns and near them are often surrounded by steep, man-made swale ditches, often with water in them, making it nearly impossible to get onto the land with a bike anyway. I looked up the tresspassing laws in Florida a long time ago, but I don't remember the details anymore. If people really do not want you on their land it will usually be posted and-or fenced, and you have to respect that. I do. As for the police, I don't think they really care about it unless they get a real complaint from a land owner. They have other things to do.  You have to use your own judgement, and respect the rights of others and you should not have any problems.

[fiddler4060]

From the Florida Fence and Property Law Handbook: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe111
Who is a trespasser?A trespasser is a person who intrudes upon another person's property for his own reasons without invitation or license and without any purpose other than self-interest (Lukancich v. Tampa, 583 So.2d 1070 [Fla. 2d DCA 1991]; 41 Florida Jurisprudence 2d Premises Liability section 60). An action against trespassers may recover both compensatory and punitive damages (Wishman v. Foster & Curry Industries, Inc., 145 So.2d 278 [Fla. 3d DCA 1962]).

What notice must be provided to a trespasser?As previously mentioned, under Florida Statutes section 588.10, a property owner must provide proper notice to all parties that may enter the property. All gates, fence corners, and all boundaries that lay along waterways must have posted notices of proper size and composition. The postings can be no more than 500 feet apart. If no notice of trespassing is posted on a piece of property and the party cannot know who owns the land, the party may not be able to be assumed to be a trespasser. This may change the party's status in liability for damages for harm that may befall that individual. Certain facilities require different wording in the posted notices, and a different penalty for the person caught trespassing.

[Westinghouse]

In Florida there was this strip of woodland right next to the RR tracks. A number of homeless people took to setting up tents there as a sort of semi-permenent little colony. They hadn't asked for permission to stay there. They set set up and stayed for a long time. The police knew they were there but left them alone. The land was neither posted nor fenced and the owner had not complained. However, in a short space of time, three women who had lived there or been hanging around with people living there were found murdered. During the investigation there were so many no-trespassing signs put up all around that woodland you cold barely see the trees for them being in the way. A bit of an exaggeration, but there were signs all over the place. They caught the guy who killed the women. His name is Eugene Wayman McWatters. He is on death row in Florida. I had met him once only very briefly at a church.

In that case they had the courtesy to let the unfortunates stay. When something really bad happened they said everybody out and stay out.

If you are cross-country cycling and you come across a homeless colony in the woods during your search for a place to lay it down for the night, my general suggestion is to avoid it.