A Warm Week at WP Franklin

After a cool couple of weeks as soon as we went further south to just outside of Fort Myers the temperatures went above normal to the low 80’s.

WP Franklin is run by the US Corps of Engineers and is located at a lock on the Caloosahatchee River.

There are only 30 campsites. They all have Electric & water. And being federal all senior pass holders get in for half price, only $15/night with a 14 day limit. But unless you keep trying exactly 6 months in advance it is nearly impossible to get a site. We lucked out on this site which popped up a few weeks after it was initially booked.

Our first visit was in 2006 and for the for the past 6 seasons we have gotten a campsite here.

This year we were able to get campsite 7 which is one of our favorites.

We can launch our canoe into the Caloosahatchee River and paddle 3/4 mi downstream to Telegraph Creek.

Or we can carry our canoe on our small cart about 10 campsites and launch on the upstream portion of the island. They don’t allow canoes to go through the lock.

We can then paddle upriver about 1-1/2 miles to Hickey Creek.

 

Telegraph Creek is a narrow creek that you can paddle upstream for about 3 miles into an area called Telegraph Creek Preserve, dodging trees and branches all the way.

It is very wilderness like although it does go through a small housing development in the first 1-1/2 miles. On the first day we paddled we saw lots of birds, ducks and turtles but only 3 gators, but it was cloudy. We saw 10 alligators on the second day, which was cool but sunny, and some were on the large size. Most go into the water when they see you coming.

We see some pretty sunsets from camp

If you are not a fisherman, we are not, or don’t have a boat most people find that there is not much to do here.

Those with bikes seldom leave the campground. But we take several different rides in the area most rides less than 10 miles through the neighborhood streets.

When people get to the end of the campground driveway at North River Rd (SR 78), they see the 55 mph traffic with no bike lanes so they turn around.

But the traffic is very light, so we wait and just make short sprints and go into the nearby housing developments.

On the map you can see all the places we bike along with where Telegraph Creek passes through Telegraph Estates and into the Preserve.

The temperatures have now dropped to a little below normal with cool mornings so we will paddle up the Caloosahatchee river for 1-1/2 miles into Hickey Creek for another pretty 7 mile paddle.