Outdoors & Nature Insider

Welcome to Florida!

That's what you'll hear when you stop in at any of the five official Florida Welcome Centers, and during the month of October, there's a special treat for us outdoorsy types! A cool campsite display is set up in the lobby, and right there you can gather up some great information to help plan out your next outdoors adventure.

October is the perfect time to gather up the family, pack up your tent and gear, and head to one of Florida's fabulous state parks. There are 160 of them, so I'm sure you'll have an easy time finding one that offers camping near you. Located at the camping display, there's a Florida State Parks magazine for you to pick up -- complete with park information and amenities. For folks with recreational vehicles, you can pick up the Official Florida Camping Directory -- it's 56 pages chock-full of everything needed to find the perfect site for your RV. Bringing pets? With the Official Florida Camping Directory you'll be able to tell at a glance which parks are pet-friendly.

I stopped at the Interstate 75 Florida Welcome Center, where a four-man tent, faux fire, chairs and propane stove were set up to inspire visitors to get outside and enjoy the natural side of Florida! Doreen Goolsby, Assistant Manager of the I-75 Welcome Center, let me relax at the campsite display for a few minutes -- and it was all I could do to not crawl in the tent, zip it shut and take a nap. Now there's something I haven't done -- camp out in a Florida Welcome Center! I'll put it on my list.

So, where are these official Florida Welcome Centers, anyway? Here's an article on Florida's five Official Welcome Centers. Read it over and make sure you stop in any time you are nearby. The free Florida citrus juice is fantastic!