S'mores and Stargazing: Primitive Camping with CELM

 If you have ever taken a hike at one of our incredible properties, you’ll know that there’s a shift in sound that only shows up once you’re far enough from pavement. It doesn’t happen immediately, but it slowly creeps in after the trailhead disappears behind you, after your backpack has started to dig a little into your shoulders, and you've started to work up a sweat on your hike. At first, it feels as though the world has gone quiet, there are no more sounds of cars whizzing by, no phone alerts or distant chatter. You might just let out a sigh of relief to finally be away from it all. Then, slowly, your ears begin to tune themselves to a different hustle and bustle. The sounds of life. If you’ve ever stood beneath an oak tree teeming with cicadas at dusk during the summer, you know just how deafening the natural world can be. And if you’ve come out to spend the night camping, when the sun begins to sink and the firelight replaces the day, the world shifts again.

That’s the moment camping becomes more than just an activity, it becomes a feeling. You find a half-decent stick, and sooner or later, the unmistakable smell of scorched sugar floats into the air as you maneuver the delicate balancing act of roasting a marshmallow. The light fades, the flames crackle, and you forget what time it is. You’re not thinking about work or traffic or groceries. You’re just trying not to drop your marshmallow in the fire, as you make your first s’more for the night.

August 10th is International S’mores Day, and while it might not mean much or appear on most calendars, it’s a nice reminder that some of the most enduring traditions we have - especially out here in the wild - are also the simplest. S’mores, for all their sugary charm, have become a kind of shorthand for camping itself. No need to be a camping expert for a s’more, you just need some gumption to balance that ‘mallow on a stick just right, and bite into the sweet mess that always tastes better with that unmistakable firewood smoke.

Camping might be a recreational escape today, but its origins are much older and practical. Humans have been camping for millennia, first out of necessity, as nomads moving with the seasons and resources. Over time, the need to camp gave way to the desire to camp. In 19th-century Britain, people began to take boats up the Thames and sleep on the banks for leisure. Camping books such as Adventures in the Wilderness by William H.H. Murray and The Camper’s Handbook by Thomas Holding helped to spark interest in camping, and by the early 1900s, organizations like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts had made outdoor experiences a rite of passage. In 1927, the Girl Scouts even published the first official “Some More” recipe in their guidebook Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, cementing the s’more as the dessert of choice for campers.

What began as survival became recreation, and now, in many places like Hillsborough County, it’s something that connects us back to something timeless. Here, our CELM department works to protect places where that connection still happens, where the stars still feel a little brighter and the trees still whisper above you. And for those wanting to spend the night in it, we offer two primitive camping options: Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park and Alafia River Corridor (ARC) Nature Preserve - North.

We recently ventured into Alafia River Corridor North to visit the primitive campsites available. This preserve is one of the more unexpected landscapes in the county. Its hills and elevation changes are the lasting imprint of its former life as a phosphate mine, now transformed into rugged terrain full of winding trails, shaded ridgelines, and the kind of topography that surprises you if you’ve spent most of your life on Florida flatland. There are three primitive campsites along the trail, ranging from 1 - 2.5 miles from the parking area, and each offers its own experience of solitude and wildness. There’s no electricity, no water, and none of the modern-day comforts that dominate our lives in some way.

The first camping site you will encounter is 1 mile from the parking area, and it is called the Bobcat site. It is plenty shaded and tucked a short distance away from the red trail. This site is the smallest of all three, offering a cozy experience not too far away from the bridge that runs over the Alafia River, where you can let the hours melt away watching the stream dance over and around the fallen Cypress trees in the water.

                

If you continue hiking the red trail and make your way onto the yellow trail, 2.2 miles from the trailhead, you will reach our second campsite, the Hawk. This site is our most expansive one, with a large Oak providing wonderful shade right over the fire ring. The Hawk site also sits next to a more open area, providing a breeze throughout the day to relieve you from the heat, along with a spectacular sight of yellow waves from the blooming goldenrods that cradle the site.    

The last campsite offered at ARC is 2.5 miles from the trailhead, back on the Red trail. This site is called the Otter, and this is a nod to its proximity to a lake near the back of the preserve. The Otter site is spacious with several spots of shade throughout the site, including right over the fire ring, and several tree trunks where one could hang a hammock. The entrance to this spot is quite the adventure, with a path winding over high ridges (for Florida) with steep slopes falling on each side. It feels like a completely different world from the sea-level Florida you are likely accustomed to.

Reservations at Alafia are free but must be made at least 14 days in advance. At our other primitive camping property - Alderman’s Ford - reservations are also required for their four available sites, and a small fee is charged per person. You can call the park office at (813) 757-3801 to reserve your spot.

If primitive camping feels a little too ambitious, CELM also offers amenity camping at three parks across the county, where you’ll find potable water, showers, fire pits, and space for tents or RVs. It’s a good way to ease into the camping experience if you’re not quite ready to carry everything on your back or go without a bathroom.

Primitive camping, for all its challenges, offers something simple and real. Here, you might sit by a fire long enough to remember what it feels like to do absolutely nothing and feel completely okay with that. CELM’s work is about preserving these kinds of experiences, because we need the dirt, the trees, the campfire, and the marshmallow that falls into it. We need to hear ourselves think, and sometimes even more than that, we need to stop thinking for a while and just listen.

As August rolls in and we celebrate International S’mores Day on the 10^th, it is a perfect time to make an unforgettable off-grid memory. Whether it’s a solo trip with a pack and a lighter, or a night at an amenity camp with your family for one last summer vacation get away, the feeling is the same. Come out and burn that first marshmallow, get your hands sticky, and let your kids run around past their bedtime and wake up smelling like campfire smoke. It’s the kind of memory that will last a lifetime and plant a connection to our natural world that will stay rooted in them long after the smoke clears.

To reserve your site, visit our camping page for more information. If you’re headed to one of our primitive sites, don’t forget to pack everything in and pack everything out. Respect the wildlife and leave the place as wild as it was when you got there.