Timberline Glamping brings luxury into nature at Sarasota's Oscar Scherer State Park

Samantha Gholar, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read

Guests won’t need much more than a few snacks, bug spray, and their favorite wine or spirits to enjoy a weekend of glamping under the stars at Sarasota's first glamping experience — Timberline Glamping Sarasota.

Timberline is a luxury glamping company housed inside Oscar Scherer State Park and is now open for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers alike in Osprey.

Glamping − a blend of the words glamorous and camping coined in the early 2000s − is a style of camping that melds the necessities of home life such as beds, sinks, and, in some cases, air conditioning with a camper’s need for outdoor adventure.

Timberline Sarasota campers can now reserve two former primitive sites — sites 105 and 106 — nestled in the heart of the campground within the 1,400-acre Oscar Scherer State Park.

The Timberline Glamping site #105 at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, is a 320 square-foot, canvas wall tent, set up with two queen beds.
The Timberline Glamping site #105 at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, is a 320 square-foot, canvas wall tent, set up with two queen beds.

Each site is fully equipped with a built-in fire pit, outdoor seating, and lighting.

The 320-square-foot Deluxe Safari tent boasts a spacious, fully decorated camp site. Guests can enjoy a few comforts of home inside the airconditioned tent that also includes a king-sized bed, two sets of bunk beds, luxurious bedding, a Keurig Coffee maker, a mini-refrigerator, rugs, lamps, oil diffuser and electrical outlets for charging electronics.

The Deluxe glamp site sleeps up to six people while the double site comes with two queen beds and can sleep up to four guests.

Timberline is overhauling four more sites for glamping at Oscar Scherer, with opening scheduled for the spring of 2024.

Timberline Sarasota is the second company location in the state of Florida.

Creating memories at heart of Timberline Sarasota

The Sarasota company is owned and operated by Tampa natives Alex and Anayancy Escarpanter.

Timberline Glamping has opened two new campsites at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey. Both tents include Keurig Coffee makers with K-Cups of our select coffee blend and mini-refrigerators.
Timberline Glamping has opened two new campsites at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey. Both tents include Keurig Coffee makers with K-Cups of our select coffee blend and mini-refrigerators.

With the hope of bridging the gap between camping lovers and the outdoor novice, the Escarpanter family found themselves in the thick of a brand-new business venture last May after a chance visit to the original Timberline Glamping site in Florida located at Hillsborough River State Park.

“We booked a last-minute stay for Memorial Day at Hillsborough. It was just going to be a small group of family and friends but we spread the word and quickly all my friends and family had booked all of their six sites,” Anayancy Escarpanter explained.

The weekend in nature among family served her well. Following the glamping trip, Escarpanter began researching the Georgia-based glamping company to learn more. She and her husband began discussions about starting a glamping space of their own before learning about an upcoming opportunity for a Timberline site in Sarasota County, she said.

“It just aligned. We visited the flagship site in Lake Lenier (Georgia) last summer and met the owners of the franchise and did a couple more months of research,” she said.

“The more we thought about it, the more Alex and I realized we wanted to do something and invest in something as a family and run a business that helps other families make memories.”

The Sarasota Timberline glamping site was already in the making and the Escarpanter family were given the green light for the Oscar Scherer franchise in early 2023.

The Timberline partnership with the Florida State Parks system has been a key to the success of the Escarpanter’s nonstop efforts as the company began its transformation of two underutilized and former primitive sites at the Oscar Scherer campground.

The Timberline Glamping site #106 at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, is an air conditioned, 320 square-foot, canvas wall tent, set up with a king-size bed and two sets of bunk beds. All the Timberline Glamping sites have a firepit, picnic table, string lights, grill and two camp chairs.
The Timberline Glamping site #106 at Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, is an air conditioned, 320 square-foot, canvas wall tent, set up with a king-size bed and two sets of bunk beds. All the Timberline Glamping sites have a firepit, picnic table, string lights, grill and two camp chairs.

“The park has been so gracious and helpful. We are excited to finally be open and to provide this amenity to this beautiful community,” Escarpanter said.

Park officials and environmental specialists helped with clearing the sites to ensure the safety of protected plants and animals in the park while allowing the owners some freedom in the design of the first two glamping sites.

“Our goal is to grow here, as a local business and to support these local businesses as well. We want to be a part of people’s travel itinerary to Sarasota, to Venice and to Osprey. We are happy to be a part of bringing in people and providing that bridge between recreation and small businesses. It’s such a great community and we are excited to be part of it.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Timberline Glamping Sarasota now open at Oscar Scherer State Park