Our Gulf Coast RV Road Trip: Our First Winter as Full-Time RVers

Last updated October 21, 2026.

In December 2025, we emptied our house in Texas, tucked the furniture and the things we were keeping into storage, and drove away in the fifth wheel. No more pool to clean, no more yard to mow, and no more plants waiting for someone to water them. Mackenzie had just earned her private pilot license, and with nothing else holding us back, it was finally time to hit the road.

It was exciting, a little emotional, and honestly a bit surreal. Instead of easing into it, we spent our first four months on an over-and-back loop along the Gulf Coast: east to Florida, west to Texas, and east again to Florida. Here’s every stop, what we loved, and exactly what we spent.

Trip at a Glance

• Dates: December 31, 2025 – May 1, 2026
• Nights on the road: 121
• States: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas
• Campgrounds: 12 (some more than once)
• Miles driven: [X]
• Total campground cost: $11,106.43, an average of about $92 a night, or about $2,777 a month
• Our rig: 2024 Jayco Eagle HT 29DDB fifth wheel, towed by our 2025 Ford F-350 6.7L diesel

The Route at a Glance

*The nights column adds up to a little more than 121 because we sometimes keep a night of overlap on travel days so we can get a later start. Willis Hillside was a monthly rate we cut short. Costs are campground fees only, not fuel, food or activities.

Jump to a stop: Biloxi · Navarre · Ocala · Naples · Titusville · High Springs · Pensacola · Sam Houston Jones · Livingston · Willis & Onalaska · Mobile & Fairhope · FAQ

Leg One: Heading East Along the Gulf

Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi: Biloxi Bay RV Resort & Marina

Dates: Dec 31 – Jan 3 · Nights: 3 · Cost: $294.40 ($98/night) · Best for: a quiet, clean base near the beach

What a place to start a new chapter. We rang in the new year with a fireworks show over the bay, and the park turned out to be clean, friendly and peaceful. From there, it was easy to explore Biloxi’s beaches and lighthouse and the artsy little town of Ocean Springs, where we got in a long run along the water. We’d absolutely go back, whether winter or summer.

Our tip: We love going out for breakfast but found that after New Year’s Eve, much of Ocean Springs was closed after the late night parties. We had better luck in Biloxi that morning.

→ Read our full Biloxi Bay RV Resort & Marina campground review

Navarre, Florida: Emerald Beach RV Park

Dates: Jan 3 – Jan 17 · Nights: 14 · Cost: $1,436.88 ($103/night) · Best for: a quiet beach base on the Panhandle

Sugar-white sand, turquoise water, and a quieter alternative to the bigger beach towns along the Panhandle. It quickly became one of our favorite stretches of Florida coast. We loved visiting the turtle sanctuary and running along the national shoreline during this quiet off-season. We also did some shelling even though the Gulf waters were pretty chilly.

Our tip: Navarre has good availability to a wide range of retail locations including Publix and Wal-Mart within 10 minutes and a Camping World to refill those gas tanks about 30 minutes away.

Ocala, Florida: Champion’s Run RV Park

Dates: Jan 16 – Jan 18, and again Apr 5 – Apr 11 · Nights: 8 · Cost: $662.02 · Best for: pool-side relaxation and big rigs

Horse country! Rolling pastures, grand oak trees, and the crystal-clear water of Silver Springs, where the glass-bottom boats have been running for well over a century. Champions Run is a nice, big-rig friendly RV park with nice hookups and a beautiful pool. It’s also a practical stop for us as we head north and south through Florida from Naples.

Our tip: Silver Springs State Park has water and electric RV sites available as well for up to 50 foot rigs. Try Live Fire Chefs in Ocala for a special dinner treat.

Naples, Florida: Crystal Lake RV Resort

Dates: Jan 18 – Feb 1, and again Apr 11 – May 1 · Nights: 34 · Cost: $4,483.47 · Best for: a warm winter base with resort amenities

Gulf sunsets, the Naples Pier, and a warm winter base that’s become a bit of a home away from home for us. Peak season isn’t cheap: our January nights here cost about $179 each, the most of the whole trip. When we came back in April, the price per night dropped by almost half.

Our tip: If you can be flexible, book Southwest Florida after peak season or ask about monthly rates. It makes a huge difference.

Titusville, Florida: The Great Outdoors RV & Golf Resort

Dates: Feb 1 – Feb 7 · Nights: 6 · Cost: $781.76 ($130/night) · Best for: rocket launches and wildlife

The Space Coast! Titusville sits right across the water from Kennedy Space Center, which makes it one of the best places to watch a rocket launch. We also loved the wildlife at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We almost got to see the Artemis 2 launch but it was unfortunately delayed until after our departure.

Our tip: The Great Outdoors RV & Golf Resort is a huge park that’s centrally located and full of wildlife. 

High Springs, Florida: High Springs RV Resort

Dates: Feb 6 – Feb 7 · Nights: 1 · Cost: $72.00 · Best for: an overnight stop in springs country

A quick overnight in the heart of Florida’s springs country, where the water is so clear it barely looks real.

Pensacola, Florida: Avalon Landing RV Park

Dates: Feb 7 – Feb 14 · Nights: 7 · Cost: $823.36 ($118/night) · Best for: aviation-loving families

Home of the Blue Angels and the National Naval Aviation Museum, plus beautiful beaches and a historic downtown. For an aviation-loving family, Pensacola has a lot of options and we wished we’d stayed a bit closer to the action.

Our tip: If you want to see the Blue Angels in practice mode, visit March – October.

Leg Two: Texas

Sam Houston Jones State Park, Louisiana

Dates: Feb 14 – Feb 15, and again Mar 27 – Mar 29 · Nights: 3 · Cost: $138.55 · Best for: an easy, affordable overnight

A peaceful stop in southwest Louisiana that broke up the long drive to Texas. We enjoy this location as a stopover because it has great pull-through sites with full hookups and is absolutely beautiful.

Our tip: At under $60 a night, state parks were by far the best value of our trip.

Livingston, Texas: Blue Sky RV Park

Dates: Feb 15 – Mar 1 · Nights: 14 · Cost: $668.00 ($48/night)

Close to family and our storage unit with all our worldly belongings, we used this as an opportunity to catch up with family, get some work done, and declutter items from the RV that we no longer needed as well as pick up a few things we were missing for the kitchen or could restock on (like toiletries).

Our tip: If you enjoy fishing, boating, or water sports, Lake Livingston has a lot to offer visitors. Livingston itself has a cute little downtown area with a few shops and restaurants, plus all the essentials retailers.

The Woodlands Area, Texas: Willis and Onalaska

Dates: Mar 1 – Mar 27 · Nights: 26 · Cost: $1,413.00

A return to where it all started. It was strange (and nice) to roll back into our old hometown area, this time as visitors in the RV.

We’d booked a month in Willis because it was close-ish to the Conroe airport, and we figured it would save Mackenzie from driving I-45 all the time. We were wrong. The park had a lot of long-term residents. About two weeks in, police were called to a neighboring site, and we’d seen enough. We packed up early, wrote off the rest of the monthly rate, and headed to On the Lake RV Resort in Onalaska, close to family. Mackenzie wasn’t flying out of Conroe after all, so the reason for being in Willis had gone away anyway. And the pollen at that campsite was horrendous at that time as well, so we were glad for a reprieve on beautiful Lake Livingston.

Our tip: A cheap monthly rate isn’t a bargain if you don’t want to stay. Read recent reviews, drive through before you commit to a long stay if you can, and trust your gut.

Leg Three: Back East to Florida

Mobile and Fairhope, Alabama: Meaher State Park

Dates: Mar 29 – Apr 5 · Nights: 7 · Cost: $332.99 ($48/night) · Best for: waterfront camping on a budget

Right on Mobile Bay, Meaher State Park was the perfect base for exploring Mobile, the birthplace of America’s Mardi Gras, and charming Fairhope, with its flower-lined streets and pier. The State Park has great full hookup spots available for up to two weeks stay at a convenient location. We loved the area and look forward to going back.

Our tip: Take an afternoon to explore all the little shops of Fairhope and stop for dinner at Kingfisher Seafood for some delicious cajun seafood (sit on the patio if you can).

Back to Ocala and Naples

We finished the loop with return visits to two places we’d already come to love, which felt a lot like coming home. (Dates and costs are included in the Ocala and Naples sections above.)

What Our First Winter Taught Us

Those first few months were a crash course in full-time RV life. Here’s what stuck with us:

• Giving up the house was freeing. It wasn’t nearly as hard as we expected. We also love having less to maintain.
• Slow down to save money. Our cheapest stops were the ones where we stayed longest or took a monthly rate. Our most expensive nights were short peak-season stays in Florida.
• State parks are a bargain. Sam Houston Jones and Meaher cost less than half of what most private resorts charged.
• Work comes first on weekdays. [how you kept up with a full workweek; link to Starlink review]
• We need less than we thought. When we made our stop back in Texas, we were able to switch out and remove a lot of things to add them to storage. We learned that we perhaps should have kept a few more things on hand (like a second suitcase), but overall we need incredibly little, even while having to travel for business regularly.
• Book smart, not just cheap. Sometimes we pay for an extra night on purpose. A two-week stay is often cheaper than 13 nights, and on travel days we’ll keep a night of overlap so we can get a later start instead of racing a checkout time.

Gulf Coast RV Road Trip FAQ

How much does a Gulf Coast RV trip cost in winter?

For us, campground fees averaged about $92 a night, or about $2,777 a month, over four months. Florida private parks in peak season ran about $90–$180 a night, while state parks and monthly rates in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama ran about $42–$56.

Do you need reservations for Florida campgrounds in winter?

Yes. Winter is snowbird season, and popular Florida parks fill up early. Florida State Parks open reservations up to 11 months ahead and are often gone quickly. But for our New Year’s Eve location in Biloxi, we didn’t need to reserve more than a few weeks in advance. In general, we like to know where we’re staying before we hit the road, we usually book most of our stays at least a few months in advance.

Is the Gulf Coast warm in winter?

It depends where you are. The Mississippi coast and Florida Panhandle can be cool in January, while Southwest Florida stays fairly warm. We did get a strong cold front that came through Florida in January 2026 which caused frost a few days — but it’s usually just a fleeting weather phenomenon instead of lasting cold temps or snow.

What was your favorite stop?

How do you pick just one? Some of them were very similar beach towns and some of them allowed us to spend time with family and friends.

Final Thoughts

We started 2026 with no house, a fifth wheel full of everything we needed, and a whole lot of curiosity about what came next. Looking back, this winter set the stage for everything that followed, and I can’t wait to share each stop with you, one post at a time.

Are you thinking about going full time, or have you already made the leap? What surprised you most in your first months on the road? Tell us in the comments below!

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Keep reading: Our Jayco Eagle HT 29DDB review, two years later · Our honest Starlink review for RV life