I'll be in Orlando from January 3rd-5th and driving home on the 6th once I wake up (no stops, classes start back up that evening). I'm going down there with my family who wants to visit parks. One of those days I'll be driving west to busch gardens. Another day I'll likely be at parks, but the third of the days (I don't know which yet) I'll be trying to do some herping.
Are there any good areas around Orlando for herping in January? In the past I've just poked around lakes, but this time I'll have my own vehicle with me to get out and actually find something, weather permitting.
Thanks!
Orlando in January
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- Josh Holbrook
- Posts: 2196
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:11 am
- Location: Western North Carolina
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Re: Orlando in January
January is Inidigo season. Look on the Atlas and find some open land and start cruising! Ocala isn't too shabby a choice.
Re: Orlando in January
I'll be restricted to paved roads. I looked at Ocala and it looks like most of everything cutting through good habitat is unpaved or a highway (likely busy ones at that). I've only got a low-to-ground 2WD car .
Re: Orlando in January
The main Ocala Nat'l Forest roads (the unpaved ones) are graded and decently maintained. Even the paved roads - and there are a couple of quiet ones - go through some great habitat. A short walk off the road will get you into tortoise burrows and everything that hangs around them in winter. That said, there are better spots than ONF, still near Orlando, for seeing the xeric-upland snakes, IMO. Access isn't always as good though - deep sand or long walks in the places I'm thinking of. Ocala's cool (and hard...) 'cause it's huge - definitely worth some trips.I'll be restricted to paved roads. I looked at Ocala and it looks like most of everything cutting through good habitat is unpaved or a highway (likely busy ones at that). I've only got a low-to-ground 2WD car .
As you know from the panhandle, there's lots of sand in Florida...for your non-work exploits I think you need some moves other than "just avoid sand". For fairly flat sand try airing way down - reduce your tire pressure to 10psi or a little less. You'll be amazed, possibly to the point of getting cocky, but don't go down anything really steep where there isn't another way out. Get yourself a 12-v tire inflator, for your "cigarette lighter" or straight to battery, to air back up when you get to pavement. Better yet, get yourself one of those backup car jumpers with a built-in compressor. Great piece of mind when you drive yourself out to the boonies on squishy tires, and shut off your car. There are reviews online, lots of options, quite a spread in price and performance (e.g., how long it takes to inflate a tire).
Don't drive on those flat tires on pavement, or at much speed (say, 30 mph or less), and don't go nuts with Brodies on the beach. You can "break the bead" and have instant dead-flat. Much more time & work to re-inflate.
cheers
Re: Orlando in January
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- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
- Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
- Location: Mt Laurel, NJ
Re: Orlando in January
For walking on trails, I can recommend Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, although you probably won't turn up anything too fancy there. The Green Swamp/Richloam Tract (Withlacoochee State Forest) have some dirt roads that go deep into the woods that aren't in too bad of shape. I've gone back in there in a Prius after rains. You could probably turn up a lot of frogs at night after a decent rain. There's a paved road that bisects the swamp, running North/South, but it's not very good for roadcruising due to the amount of traffic, which is surprisingly heavy for a remote place.
There's also Gator's Creek north of Lakeland, which has trails. There's a herper here who's been there, but I haven't been myself.
There's also Gator's Creek north of Lakeland, which has trails. There's a herper here who's been there, but I haven't been myself.