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Old 01-17-2017, 11:36 AM   #1
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Heading to Pensacola Florida need Advice

We are heading to Pensacola Flordia this summer. Wondering if anyone knows a good campground in the area would like to find a private beach. I would be grateful for any help
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Old 01-17-2017, 05:03 PM   #2
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We stayed at Pensacola Rv park across street from the Hilton on the main drag. Very nice and clean. Great access to the beach but not a private beach. The rv park books up fast! So call early. Beautiful place.
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Old 01-17-2017, 05:48 PM   #3
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Check out Fort Pickens. About as private as you can get.
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:55 PM   #4
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X2 on Pensacola Beach RV Resort. This is the one out on the strip of land south of Pensacola. You will cross two bridges to get out there, but it's a nice drive. It is a high amenity park and very clean. As I recall there is also a frontage road that goes east for several miles that should provide more of a private beach experience. A meal at Peg Leg Pete's is a must. Good luck.
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Old 01-18-2017, 07:14 PM   #5
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only thing to watch at ft. pickens in summer is the WEATHER.

it floods easily with mild rain. and they do give great notice on hurricanes and sever weather
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Old 01-19-2017, 06:07 AM   #6
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If you want a break from the beach while you are there, check out Black river State Park. You can rent canoes and have a great float trip down the river. CG at the park is very nice also.
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Old 01-20-2017, 04:24 AM   #7
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Fortunately for beach goers in Florida, you won't find a "private" beach as it is law that all beach front past the high tide point is public.
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Old 01-20-2017, 05:13 AM   #8
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Take a look at Top Sail state park. It is a cross between a state park and a RV resort. Has full hookups (including sewer). We are heading there tomorrow
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Topsail-Hill
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Old 01-20-2017, 06:15 AM   #9
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We stayed at Navara Beach Campground last winter and we loved it there. Nice management, clean park, on the water. Long Fishing dock. Nice people in the park. we found everyone to be very friendly. It is a little east of Pensacola.
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Old 01-20-2017, 08:03 AM   #10
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I live in Pensacola and will give some opinions whether other people agree or not;
Ft Pickens is great and if you have a Senior Pass, it’s about $22 per night. Some of the sites are small or have trees that may not let you get the slide out or scrape the roof. They have only water and electric and a dump for both loops. There is a fishing pier on the bay side and no license needed. If you fish from the shore you need to get an out of state license. A walk through the old fort is very interesting. Pensacola Beach has some great restaurants. If you need supplies, get them in Pensacola or Gulf Breeze as there are only convenience stores on the beach. Wal-Mart as a couple miles east of Gulf Breeze proper and there is a Camping World a few miles further down the road. Gulf Breeze also has red light cameras so be careful. There is a one way toll, a buck to get on the beach.

Pensacola Beach Resort is great and a lot of things to do in walking distance. It is very expensive.

Grande Lagoon State Park is east of Pensacola and on the Internal Coast Water Way. It does not have sewer hookups’. It’s a short drive over the bridge to the beach. There is as some shopping nearby. You are close to the back gate of NAS and the Naval Aviation Museum is a must see no matter what park you stay at. Some of the site are small and uneven. A senior pass also gets you a discount. Take bug spray as the mosquitos are bad and you may not be to open any windows as the No-see-ums are small and can go through the screen. Their bite hurts and they are so small you can’t see then, hence the name No-see-ums.

A Blackwater SP park is a very nice place. Has W/E/S hook ups. It a pretty good drive to the beach and the toll road across the mid bay bridge is $4.50 each way.

There are some private parks East of Gulf Breeze along the waterway, haven’t been to any year.
There are 2 SP parks that way, Huntington Beach (no sewers) and Top Sail (W/S/E). Haven’t been those yet but going to Top Sail next week. Have W/S/E. and a shuttle to the beach.
Most of the parks are usually full this time of year from snow birds.
There are some more but can’t make any opinions.
Below is a photo of Ft. Pickens road after a storm went through. I always send this to people up after they have a snow storm.
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Old 01-20-2017, 09:24 AM   #11
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near penescola

Hi, we stayed up in the area last july2016 for about 10 days. Nice place in Ft Walton Beach just east of there about 20 mile is the Destin RV Park (actually in Ft Walton). Nice part of it is the location, it is on Okaloosa Island so on the north end of the RV park is on waters edge of the bay and just across the street from the beach on the Gulf. The beach is semi private as it is in front of the Ramada but you have access to the beach and all of the Ramada pools etc as the RV park is owned by Ramada. The is a elevated walkway from bext door of the RV park to the Ramada so no worry about the street crossing for children. Amenities of the RV park has small pool water access for boat on the bay side fire pit. Between the park and Ramada they have family activities such as movie night camp fire etc. Price was not too bad especially since a short walk to beach which is very nice clean has chair rental etc on beach. Gulfarium close by and several restaurants you can walk to and easy access to all of Ft Walton Destin and Pensacola.

We also spent a couple of nights at Navarre at Santa Rosa RV park also. Very nice staff super friendly. It is on the mainland right on the bay. Small sandy area you can think it's a beach (LOL) pool area nice sites with grass along side concrete pad. If you have a boat or rent one you can pull up to shore there in the bay no launching area there.

Fun area been there to meet grand kids last 6 years, 2016 first time with a rv. Love the area
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Old 01-20-2017, 08:11 PM   #12
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Ft Pickens National Seashore Campground.

Stay away from Loops B and D as the sites have very short pads and low overhanging limbs, good for tents and popups, not much else.can get in these sites.

I stayed in C39 the first time and (not sure) A18 the second time. Use Google satellite photos to help pick a site, along with the individual site photos and descriptions.

Its about a mile walk on a trail thru the marshes and woods to the Fort. Take a self tour or a guided one. Go across the parking lot a couple of hundred yards to the National Seashore museum in one of the old WWII barracks buildings. You can walk to the beach, or drive down to one of the couple of parking lots giving access to other parts of the beach. There are several gun batteries on the island and one of them is just West of loop B and just off the trail to the Fort. You can climb the stairs to the roof of the observation building and this puts you at treetop level giving you a view of the ocean and the bay.

At 8 am the Naval Air Station across the bay has their flag raising and the anthem can be heard loud and clear all the way over at the camp ground.

If you have time, its about a 30 mile drive over to the Naval Air Station to the Naval Aviation Museum.

Welcome - National Naval Aviation Museum

Its totally free and get there early enough to get tickets for the 10 or 11 am bus tour of the outside exhibits (the only way you can see them, they are in a secure area). It takes all day to take in the museum's two buildings of airplanes and displays. Tons of parking normally so no problem with a motorhome.

If you drive to the NAS, you must enter the base thru the West gate to get to the museum and lighthouse, and that is accessed by taking the highway 399 bridge back across to Gulf Breeze, and then the US 98 bridge across the bay, and following 98 west till you angle off to the left on FL 292 (Barrancas Ave)and follow it all the way across town to where it intersects Fl 173 (S Blue Angel Parkway), Turn left and stop at the base gate to get a pass. You cannot enter the base from the Duncan Ave bridge except to visit the Barrancas National Cemetery, they will not let you drive thru to the museum. Everyone in the vehicle must have ID. Huge parking lot at the museum so no problem with a motorhome. If you are there during a practice session (I accidently hit the last one of the season) they make you park a ways off (in motorhomes or oversized vehicles) but still lots of room. The second time I parked a few spaces from the front door.

Eat lunch in the museum. They have a cafe. It is the officers club from Subic Bay in the Philippines, completely taken apart and reassembled inside the museum. LOTS of stuff on the walls. I at at the bar, its the original one. Good food and daily specials, not too expensive.

Do not visit the museum when the Blue Angels are having a practice session (Winter is off season thankfully) as there will be anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 people there to watch and they all flood into the museum after the session is over. Best place to watch a practice session is from the gun battery observation building I mentioned earlier.

If you have one of the Annual or lifetime America the Beautiful passes, it will save the entrance fee to Ft Pickens of $15 (good for a week).

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

Also, good eating at Peg Leg Petes on the road out of the park. Go early as it gets crowded, but good service.

Congress just voted to up the fee for the lifetime, age 62 and up pass from $10 to $80, but the fees have not been officially been put into place yet.. Sadly by the time I reach age 62 in May, I am sure it will have gone up, still a bargain.

If you are age 62 and still don't have one, take a fast trip to any one of these facilities and get one NOW.

https://store.usgs.gov/pass/PassIssuanceList.pdf

If you are a lighthouse nut, there is one on St George Is (original structure was on West end of island but the west end of all barrier islands erodes away, so it collapsed and they salvaged the pieces and re-erected it right in the middle of the island). In any case, there are also light houses at (East to West) St. Marks, Carrabelle, St. George Is, Cape San Blas at Port St Joe and way down at Pensacola across the street from the Naval Aviation Museum. all of which can be visited and climbed.

Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum

If you have access to DOD recreation facilities (ie. Active Duty Military, Civilian DOD employee, Retired Military) the Oak Grove Campground and RV park is on the Naval Air Station at Pensacola close to the Lighthouse. It is on the bay, but since it faces the channel to the ocean, it has a decent sand beach. I don't know anything else about it, but here is a link to it.

Military Navy RV Parks, Cottages, Cabins & Vacation Rentals - Navy Getaways

Also, while not on the ocean, there is Big Lagoon State Park campground. My coworker who took his travel trailer to Ft. Pickens both times I was there, has stayed at Big Lagoon several times and said it was a nice place, with good showers and campsites, and it is not far from Johnsons Beach on Perdido Key, part of the National Seashore system. Big Lagoon is on the Gulf Beach Highway about 5 miles west of the west gate at the NAS.

https://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvis...o-key-area.htm

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Big-Lagoon

There is a nice Neighborhood Wal-Mart Market just behind the Chic-Fil-A at the first traffic light south of the bay bridge. The Walmart Super Store is on 98 East side of Gulf Breeze. We My friend in his Avion TT was there too and we paid the $1 toll several times as we went to the Chic-Fil-A and had to pay to get back to Santa Rosa Is. At the Toll booth there is a fishing pier (portion of old bridge) just on the east side of the new bridge. It is noisy as you are hearing the traffic going over the loose metal joints in the new bridge just above you but my friend is a fisherman (his wife is pretty well into it also) and we spend a couple of evenings late there on the pier fishing. There is another pier on the North end of the bay bridge, at the visitor center, but it is frequented by a less than desirable group of people most of the time. The amount of trash on the bridge attests to this. That $1 toll keeps out a lot of riff-raff from the other pier. We ended up on the beach at the Nat Seashore surf fishing and they did better there than anywhere. I enjoyed the museum and also the Fort and the National Seashore Museum. But I am a airplane nut and a history nut, so it was all good.

Charles
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Old 01-20-2017, 08:35 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by momdoc View Post
Take a look at Top Sail state park. It is a cross between a state park and a RV resort. Has full hookups (including sewer). We are heading there tomorrow
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Topsail-Hill
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Great park, really a resort turned state park, also has hook ups for television too s well as other hook ups, it also has fresh water ponds, . Start reservation now as they are hard to get
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Old 01-20-2017, 08:36 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by powerboatr View Post
only thing to watch at ft. pickens in summer is the WEATHER.

it floods easily with mild rain. and they do give great notice on hurricanes and sever weather
Very true as my friend in his Avion TT had reservations and got a call from them several days before the trip, canceling, as the area was flooded. He went a few weeks later and it was all dried out.

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