Are there Gators at Topsail Hill - Montana Owners Club

tweber502 · 02-02-2015, 11:56 AM

Hi all, Dea and I have made reservations to spend Thanksgiving this year at Topsail Hill Preserve in Florida. I believe we have a pretty nice site (74) which backs up to a small lake/pond. I was wondering if I should be concerned with alligators at the site. We will have our boxadore JoJo with us and wouldn't want anything to happen to her. This is my only concern, and we are REALLY excited about this trip. We have never camped this late in the year and have never spent the holiday in the camper. Dea's brother and his wife will be towing their new SOB from Dallas and meeting us there. Any recommendations on places to visit and eat at would be appreciated. Also wondering if any other MOC'ers will be down there at the same time, 11/20 to 11/28. Tim

pineranch · 02-02-2015, 12:09 PM

Gators inhabit most fresh water in this part of Florida. Pets are lost every year, keep them away from water edge.
Mike

cdaniels · 02-02-2015, 12:52 PM

Donut Hole for breakfast and donuts!!! You will love the park.

K0LCB · 02-02-2015, 04:44 PM

Seminoles too

leemedic · 02-03-2015, 06:07 AM

Not on the beach. On the beach just worry about sharks, jelly fish and stingrays.

bncinwv · 02-03-2015, 06:45 AM

In the times we have been there, we have seen gators at Campbell Lake which is removed from the campground. Our first visit there, we heard of an alligator being in the small pond near the campground, but also heard that it had been captured and relocated to another lake in the park. We have not seen a gator near the campground in the times we were there, but obviously it is Florida so there is always a chance. As a precaution, just keep your dog in sight and you should be okay. We second the Donut Hole as a must visit! Our other favorite is FudPucker's in Destin (you can't miss it, there is a VW bus hanging out of it). It has live gators beneath the restaurant that you can feed and you can even pay for a photo session holding a small one. The food is primarily deep fried and the gator bite appetizer is great! The other thing to watch for is the pygmy rattlesnakes which we have come across on the trails. We have been there for Thanksgiving a few times and it is great at that time of year. We will be there at the end of July! You will love the park, it is our favorite campground.
Bingo

tweber502 · 02-03-2015, 01:06 PM

Thanks to everyone for your information and thank you Bingo and cdaniels for your recommendations on places to eat. I love donuts so the Donut Hole WILL be one of the places visited for eats. Bingo glad you reminded me of the rattle snakes as I had forgotten about those in that area so we will be keeping JoJo on her leash at all times. We are super excited about visiting this park since we have heard great things of it. Bingo, what temps could we expect during the Thanksgiving season there? Pineranch thanks too for the heads up, we will not be letting her swim in any of the ponds or lakes. Tim

bncinwv · 02-03-2015, 01:31 PM

Temps when we have been there at Thanksgiving ranged from 50 degrees on some rainy days to the 70's on sunny days. Night time temperatures usually are in the upper 50's to low 60's. Perfect campfire weather in the evenings (for us anyway). If you do plan on campfires, you will have to have a firebowl that can be placed on the concrete pad somewhere. We always do and placed the rig on the pad to allow for campfire room. You will have a good time there, it is a great area for biking and hiking!
Bingo

tweber502 · 02-03-2015, 01:43 PM

Bingo thanks for the info. Those temps sound good to me, really anything above our normal 30's and 40's sound great. We are planning on taking our bikes as we love biking in new places. We too like to have campfires but unfortunately do not have a firebowl but will plan on getting one for this trip. Hope you have a great time on your trip there in July. Happy trails and hope to meet on the road sometime. Tim

washley1 · 02-03-2015, 05:15 PM

A couple of things to add on the gator issue. Yes, there may be a gator in the small pond near the campground, but it might be likely that the rangers will move out any they can catch in there, mainly to protect the gators! However, your best bet is to ask when you check in. Of course, since your dog is not allowed off leash in a state park in Florida, chances are good that you will have your eyes on him whenever he's outside. As a life long Florida resident, I can assure you that gators love dogs and small people, so hold 'em close and enjoy a great park!

trlrboy · 02-09-2015, 01:09 PM

Yes there are gators in the ponds in the park. Here's a picture of one from my Topsail album. This was right behind our camper near the pond by the park entrance. It was only about 4' long.

https://plus.google.com/photos/11455...95213279717783

**Rondo** · 02-09-2015, 02:20 PM

Tim and Dea-- IF you have a Home Depot or a Lowes near you, you a pick up a fire pit made from a piece of galvanized road or ditch culvert and use it as a fire pit. Now I don't know the regs at Topsail for the fire pits as in the way of a cover or whatever but this is what we throw into the truck in front of the hitch and we can use it where ever they allow a campfire. It does get hot to the touch but all pits do that and it darkens but it works great. We let the ashes cool and usually spread them on the graveled or rocked roadways in the parks. Maybe Bingo can give us all some regs on the fire pits down there!

bncinwv · 02-09-2015, 02:50 PM

I use a portable fire pit (actually in a carrying case) that I purchased at Target for around $50 on sale. I do carry a cover from a large grill to place over the fire when we retire for the night in the event that winds arise (they usually do in coastal areas). The only requirement that I know of at Topsail is that you cannot have the fire pit on the grass, it has to be on the concrete pad. Here is something similar to what we have:

Portable Fire Pit

Bingo

tweber502 · 02-09-2015, 03:41 PM

trlrboy thanks for the pic of the alligator. We will definitely be keeping a close eye on our JoJo and I will pass this information on to my BIL as they have two small dogs that will be there as well. Rondo and Bingo thanks for the suggestions for the fire pit. I actually ordered this one the other day.
http://www.amazon.com/Uniflame-WAD99...B0026S7YXK/ref
I believe the temps will be perfect for a campfire and I can't imagine camping without one. This will be our first camping trip in Florida and the longest trip with the Montana and we are super excited! Hopefully we will see some MOC members while there. Tim

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