Gourmet Glamping
To camp in Florida is to truly brave the elements—the heat, bugs, unexpected thunderstorms, poisonous plants and animals … this list goes on. To glamp in Florida is to confidently look Mother Nature directly in the eyes and ask wryly “is that all you’ve got?” And such confidence can now be achieved thanks to Timberline Glamping Sarasota.
Timberline teamed up with Oscar Scherer State Park to offer guests a unique and luxury experience in the world of glamping (a shorthand version of “glamorous camping”) where amenities such as air conditioning, ceiling fans, electricity for charging devices, coffee makers, mini fridges, and multiple beds with soft linen come standard. Recently, the Edible SRQ team had the opportunity to try out Timberline’s sites in Oscar Scherer firsthand, and we jumped at the opportunity. Of course, we had to include our friends Chef Drew of Meliora and Chef Rich of Gulf Coast Crab and Seafood to help with the open-fire menu (and subsequently execute it, obviously).
The adventure begins with Alex and Anayancy Escarpanter—two parents and travelers who loved the outdoors, but found the idea of roughing it a bit much with two kids, a dog, and lack of proper camping gear. “We were able to—what I would call—‘camp crash’ all the time. Basically, take day trips to visit friends and family who were camping and RVing around Florida and spend time in nature with the kids, away from screens and hotels,” Anayancy Escarpanter says.
Then, after an impromptu Memorial Day Weekend trip to Timberline Glamping in Hills-borough River State Park, the Escarpanters decided to get in touch with the owners of the Timberline Glamping franchise, meet them, and eventually invest in the Timberline Glamping business. This resulted in Alex and Anayancy working with Oscar Scherer to build two glamping structures on two old primitive camping sites in the park—one with a king-sized bed and two bunk beds and another with two queen-sized beds. They’ve since added two more sites (one with a king and two bunks, and one with two queens), bringing the total to four glamping sites.
And although the aforementioned amenities are included with the booking, your stay can be completely customizable. “The majority of people booking do some type of an add- on to enhance their trip, whether it’s an anniversary, or a birthday, or just a friend’s outing. Right now our most popular add-on is the bikes. We also have s’mores kits, travel mugs as souvenirs, and ‘little glamper’ boxes for kids, kind of like an adventure kit,” Escarpanter says.
Once booked, the Edible SRQ squad laid claim to sites #105 and #106 and got to work quickly filling the fire pits with charcoal and wood, loading up the open coolers with fresh ice and an amalgamation of tasty beers from Calusa and Sun King, and either helping Chef Drew and Chef Rich with prep—or staying the hell away from them while they went to work.
The menu was set. Breakfast would be composed of thick-cut bacon, eggs, and bread and OJ from DBTB Juice Bar and Bakery; for happy hour we’d enjoy Swiss chard–wrapped shrimp and pork skewers as well as grilled oysters; and for our magnificent glamping-themed dinner, whole roasted fish, tomahawk steaks with chimichurri and Butterball potatoes, Chile blue crab, and grilled romaine with cotija. After settling into our post-meal chairs, reminiscing about the food under the warm glow of string lights, it was time for one final act—the culmination of a day spent enjoying nature with the promise of air conditioning and beds mere feet away: It was time for s’mores.
And although we weren’t roughing it, foraging for wood, or relying on dehydrated meals for sustenance, there’s no denying that we were enshrouded by nature under a sea of stars, our smiles lit up by campfire and covered only by our cans of beer. I think I speak for us all when I say that glamping in Oscar Scherer will certainly not be a one-time thing.
Timberline Camping Sarasota: 1843 S Tamiami Trail, Osprey. 941-777-3114; https://sarasota.tlglamping.com/
