Outpost Campsites at Gulf State Park is located near the Gulf of Mexico, featuring flat coastal terrain with sandy soil and scattered vegetation. The area experiences temperatures ranging from the 40s in winter to the 90s in summer. Nearby attractions include the Gulf State Park Pier and the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, offering opportunities for fishing and hiking.

Outpost Campsites — Gulf State Park

Orange Beach is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Orange Beach is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Alabama camping adventure.

Orange Beach

The Best Camping Near Orange Beach, Alabama

This is an incredible campground that is part of Gulf State Park but totally separate from their standard RV and tent sites. It is in a different region of the park and has its own rules and amenities. The only way to get to the campground is to either bike or walk in a little over a mile and once there you are basically in a fancy backpacking situation. They have military tents set up on platforms with cots inside and a covered porch area out front. The tents are made of heavy canvas but also have a bug net screen over the front and the windows for hotter weather. We stayed down there recently and had the most incredible weekend. We used a Rovr cooler with the bike attachment to carry in all our gear and food then didn't go back to the car until we left. We used the campsite as our home base to go to the beach and explore the park. Since the campsite has a small firepit with a grill top we cooked whole veggies over the fire to make delicious tacos. There is also a sink with a hand pump that is perfect for washing dishes. They do recommend you filter the water for drinking though. Although there are 3 separate tents/sites available in the Outpost area we were the only ones there over this weekend and had the whole site to ourselves which made it very peaceful. Though I can also imagine coming back with friends and renting several of the tents together. One of the really cool amenities is the shower, a hand pump fills a tank in the tower then you pull a string that releases the water. This was such a welcome feature after getting all sandy and sweaty while swimming and biking. Overall, this was an incredible camping experience and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an alternative way to visit the beach.

Perfect combo of rustic and established camping

I spent Tuesday-Thursday of May 2025 at Gulf State Park at The Outpost Campground at the Bonanza site with my mom and two aunts. The site was a 1.1 mile walk in on Cotton Bayou Trail which is a paved bike path. We parked by the Orange Beach water tower by the Cotton Bayou Trailhead in the overflow parking area. 

You have to first drive into Gulf Shores to enter the campgrounds main entrance to get the key to the bathrooms, your parking pass, and a map of the state park. 

This part was very frustrating for us as the woman working that day was very confused at us needing to check in (no clue why) and ultimately gave a lot of attitude and misinformation and tried to send us on our way without the bathroom key or maps. She handed us instructions on how to get to the parking area for The Outpost sites, which was in Orange Beach.

We brought rolling coolers and a wagon to carry everything. I would suggest renting a bike nearby and bringing your stuff in behind your bike (not sure how plausible that is though). I do wish I had a bike here though as Gulf State Park has some awesome bike trails. 

The place seemed rundown as ours seemed to be the only functioning tent setup as two were completely taken down, and one’s screen was completely broken. I will say the screen to our tent was broken and it was poorly duct-taped back together, causing us to get eaten alive by yellow flies. 

You could tell no one had stayed there in a while and that it was rundown as I previously stated. The water pump pumped very irony and sulfury water, so we didn’t use it at all. There had been trash left in the sinks, empty water bottles. The shower was soo cute but sadly it didn’t work. We tried to pump it and no water ever came out. 

The toilets were in little outhouses that were like port-a potty’s. They hadn’t been emptied and had trash in them when we arrived, they came at 7 am on our final morning to clean the toilets but still didn’t throw out the trash left in there. 

The wood that was provided cost $1 for 2 sticks. We ended up also collecting our own sticks and pine cones to help with the fire. The fire pit didn’t come with a poker or anything but made it work. There were 3 benches around the fire pit in addition to the two chairs on the porch that could be brought out to the sand. 

We very much enjoyed having a tent already set up for us with 4 cots inside. The cots were great for sleeping in the heat. There is a light switch and a light that didn’t work, it looked like solar used to be set up there. There were some small solar lights in the sand that were great to have at night. 

On Wednesday, we went to the Gulf State Park Pavilion and paid $10 to park, not realizing our parking pass worked there. It was a great place to lay in the sand on the beach and then take a shower and use an air conditioned toilet. 

We then drove into town to eat at my all time favorite pizza joint- Papa Rocco’s- for pizza and oysters which was delicious. Other than that we ate all of our meals at camp- mostly cured meats and cheeses, hot dogs, meat sticks, yogurts, and hard boiled eggs. 

Overall we had a great time spending family time outside together and in the beach town we grew up near (they’re from Mobile and I’m from Baldwin county). I would definitely come back and pitch a tent in the main campground, but as far as the outpost sites, I think one time was enough for me lol. 

Photos of Outpost Campsites — Gulf State Park

Real photos from real campers