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Best Tent Camping near Dauphin Island, AL

472 Reviews

Tent campers visiting Dauphin Island can choose from several camping areas with good setups for canvas shelters. Dauphin Island City Park Campground has level, smooth ground under tree cover that makes tent setup easy while giving some privacy between sites. The tent sites at Dauphin Island Area State Park come with dedicated tent pads and are built within reasonable walking distance to the bathrooms - a real plus for families with small children. Some national forest locations around the island provide more remote tent spots with natural ground surfaces, though you might need to carry your gear a short distance from where you park. Most tent areas don't limit the size of tent you can bring, but it's always smart to check first. Trees cover many of the camping spots, which helps when the Alabama summer sun gets intense. Most campgrounds let you book sites online ahead of time, which is especially important during busy seasons. A few areas have added useful tent-specific features like places to hang lanterns. Spring and fall bring the most comfortable weather for island camping, while summer gets quite hot and humid. Winter stays fairly mild, making year-round camping possible. Roads to the main campgrounds are in good condition, but reaching some of the more distant sites might require a vehicle that sits higher off the ground. The island has everything from basic family campgrounds to more out-of-the-way spots for those who want fewer neighbors.

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Best Tent Sites Near Dauphin Island, Alabama (4)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Dauphin Island, AL

3 Photos of 4 Dauphin Island Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Dauphin Island, AL

472 Reviews of 4 Dauphin Island Campgrounds

  • Asher K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 27, 2017

    Blakeley State Park Campground

    Educational Trails

    The park is set up on a historic site where they have several trails set up talking about civil war battles that occurred there. They have two separate areas for camping where one is for RVs and tents and the other is the more basic tent only sites. I visited the tent only area which had many many sites and most had a nice amount of space with a good bit of privacy. I was there in June though and it gets really hot during the day and night and also very buggy. If you were here in the fall or winter it could be a great place to camp though. The bathrooms were nice but nothing special. There is a single bathroom for all of the tent sites so if you are far you could have a pretty long walk. The sites are pretty cool to see so if you are a civil war buff it might be worth checking out. The camping is expensive though at $20 a night for the tent sites and $30 for an RV site. People were friendly though and it was one of the nicest places in the area.

  • Karen L.
    May. 17, 2018

    Blakeley State Park Campground

    Very large park, hiking, camping, battlegrounds

    Blakely State Park is a very large State Park, with different choices for camping. There are larger primitive tent sites, smaller tent sites with power/water hookups, RV sites, two primitive cabins and 2 newer cabins which are very nice. There's TONS of hiking, a battleground for history buffs, a playground, a boatdock, lots of hiking, horseback riding etc.

    I stayed in one of the two Squirrels Nest, which are primitive cabins. Basically open air cabins. 2 walls, a roof and 2 walls of screens. There are two wooden platforms for beds. A twin and a queen, and barstools to sit inside and look out into the woods, over the hill in which they are nestled. There's a sink (but no water) and a cabinet, and outside a large deck with bench seating. Below is a fire pit and picnic table. There is a shared porta potty outside of the two cabins. These cabins are a bit of a drive out in the woods, so make sure your vehicle is up to it. It's very peaceful out there. My cabin was inhabited by mice at night, so I kept my food in airtight plastic paint bucket containers & my belongings covered by garbage bags on one of the platforms and had my air mattress inside a pop-up mosquito tent, so the mice did not bother me. I was after all in their house. I sprinkled peppermint oil around my gear & my bed platform to keep the mice away. Next time I will have my food in a large cooler so that the wildlife is not attracted.

    There are hiking trails by these sites, as well as, steps down the hill, leading off into another trail.

    i would stay there again. Great place to get away.

  • G
    Jul. 12, 2021

    Big Lagoon State Park Campground

    Big Lagoon State Park - Florida - Nice, quiet state park.

    Stayed at Big Lagoon 7/8/2021 for 4 nights in 24” travel trailer. There is a mixture of sites that have dirt, gravel, sand, fully paved, partial paved drives.

    Our first site: # 45 was a back in and was in low area, near a marshy area. Entire site was muddy, and caked on to your shoes. (It had been pretty rainy the previous day, but we stayed at this site 2 nights and never really dried out.

    Went to Ranger who was very helpful and moved us, 1 site over: # 46. This site had a paved area for Trailer and wide cement area to walk in and out of.. a much better site. With the heavy foliage through out the park, sites are pretty private.

    If you look at the campground map, you will see the sites on the north side are a bit higher and elevation and did not seem to have any issue with water. When booking, read the description of the site, carefully, some are tent only, or very short drive so limited what you can put where.

    Campground is gated, and you are given a code for “off hours” entrance. Used rest rooms and shower. Very clean and really hot water. No water views, short walk to water BUT, board walk was still closed due to last hurricane. Looks very close to being done.

    Lastly: Campers: if you do not plan on keeping your reservation, please be kind and formally cancel. We wanted to move the first night but sign at Ranger stated “campground full” so we did not ask.. next morning there were at least 5 or 6 sites where people did not show nor cancelled.

  • Lisa S.
    Apr. 5, 2021

    Harper - Blakeley State Park

    Beautiful Well Maintained Huge Park

    April 4, 2021 Camper Van Site: Harper #7 Primitive $20 Over 2,000 acres crisscrossed with trails. Interesting replication of the ghost town of Blakeley which disappeared around 1830, but before then it rivaled Mobile in population and economy. Harper loop, where I camped, is at least a mile into the woods and has no hook ups. The sites have picnic tables and fire rings and offer decent privacy. Bath house is 7 minute walk. My shower was cold. Dumpsters near bath house. Staff house nearby. Staff very pleasant and helpful. Wish I could stay more than two nights.

    RV park closer to entrance.

  • Lori H.
    Aug. 12, 2019

    Dauphin Island Campground

    Beautiful Island

    Dauphin Island is an amazing place! The island is not very large, but has lots to do. There are several good restaurants, ice cream shops, a great seafood market called Skinners, where you can order fresh seafood from the steamer (we ordered crab legs twice during our stay 😋), parks, bike paths across the entire island, great fishing, a bird sanctuary, an Estuarium (similar to an aquarium), and beautiful white sand beaches, just to name a few!

    We stayed at the Dauphin Island Campground in the tent area on site 8. The check in process was fairly time consuming , as it is all written out by hand. Check out is the same way, and they don’t take online reservations. The people in the office are amazing though, so it was ok!

    The campground map is not accurate for site selection. We were first given site 5, which looked great on the map, but was not great for our rooftop tent. Also, there is no way to see the ocean from ANY site, so don’t think you’ll have ocean view. On the map I thought we might be able to have a glimpse of the Gulf, but not so. Site 8 was perfect for us, nice shady spot with view of the trees in the bird sanctuary. All tent sites have water and electric hookups. They do not allow anything to be hung from trees, including hammocks, so bring hammock stand if you plan to use them.

    The RV sites are all pretty close to each other. The row nearest the bay has water views, but is also next to the road and auto ferry. Several long time residents stay at this campground, Possibly seasonal.

    The restrooms/bathhouse was immaculate! They have a designated cleaning at 9-9:30 daily, and they were in excellent shape. There’s also laundry facilities on site. There’s a camp store, and a fish cleaning station, and playground as well.

    Beach access is in the back of the campground near the tent sites, we took our bikes and that was the best way to get there. It took us less than a minute to be on the beach. The beach was fairly empty and that’s what we loved the most! Like having our own private beach. Take a cart to haul your chairs, umbrella, etc, or plan on packing it on your back like we did. The people who were fishing were catching fish the whole time, so if you enjoy fishing, this is a great spot.

    We absolutely LOVED Dauphin Island, and will definitely return, but if we come back in the summer, we will bring the pop up tent so we can have A/C, as it is blazing hot!

  • M
    May. 16, 2018

    Gulf State Park Campground

    Great Spot for Family Fun

    You could stay at this park for your whole trip and not have to leave. There is an awesome pool and splash pad, basketball courts, and boat launch on the property, plus a laundromat and impressive camp store. The restroom facilities are relatively nice and are always air conditioned during the warmer months. The only complaint I have of this park is that there are only 11 tent camping sites. They claim any site can be used for tent camping, but no one in a tent wants to set up on a concrete pad, especially when it is hot! The tent sites they do have are primitive without water or electrical hook ups - it would be nice to have some sites with hook ups. The sites they do have for tents are very shady and clean. They do back up to a swampy canal, but I have never seen any alligators although I am sure they are in there somewhere.

    I would definitely recommend this park for families.

  • Lynn G.
    Sep. 30, 2017

    Blakeley State Park Campground

    Civil war history and beautiful scenery

    When you think Alabama this is the kind of beauty you imagine. The water, huge oak and cypress trees, Spanish moss, boardwalks are all lovely to explore. The Civil War history is interesting and the rangers are well-versed in history (I think they have reenactments sometimes). Great hiking trails (all easy, not too long) that are horse friendly (BYOH). There’s a nature center and lots of different ecosystems.

    Yay: Campgrounds are shaded in fairly dense forests for good privacy. They have simple campsites to full RV campsites, all have a fire ring and similar atmosphere. There are a few different campgrounds, one is tent only. They also have relatively new camping shelters that get you out of the bugs.

    Nay: Close to Mobile so can be crowded. A little expensive for camping. Some areas have just a pit toilet and some have full flush.

    Surprise: amazing cruises along the Delta with lots of wildlife viewing and history!! They have sunset cruises, seafood cruises, and seasonal themed cruises. Definitely the highlight of visiting this whole area. Loved the boardwalk.

  • Sarah C.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 27, 2018

    Gulf State Park Campground

    Tent Camper Beware

    I will preface this review with this: if you're an RV camper who enjoys all the amenities then you may very well love this campground. I will also say that the staff were very accommodating when we expressed our concerns and we were able to move to my parent's RV site and pitch our tent there for our four night stay. That being said, I am going to continue my review as it pertains to my experience as a tent camper.

    I've stayed here before and the tent sites, of which there are only 12 (the entire campground has over 500 RV sites, so it's big) have really been neglected. When we arrived to our site it was littered with trash, the lantern post had been run over and was on the ground, there were more fire ants than grains of sand and the small marshy canal that ran through the back of the site was only about 10 feet from the picnic table and frequented by large alligators sunning themselves in the campsite. There was no way, especially with two dogs, that we were going to stay in this site. The campground personnel had us move to another tent site which was just as bad as the first one. We wound up pitching our tent in my parent's RV site where the grounds were actually maintained and landscaped.

    You can rent bikes here, there's also a pool and a cool little nature center. Lot's of amenities available to guests and many of the RV folks are here for weeks upon weeks. It's a short bike ride to the beach and there are many miles of bike/walking paths throughout the park (it's quite large in terms of real estate).

    There is a "dog park" but use at your own risk. My cousin lives a short drive from this spot and passed by frequently, often seeing large alligators sunning themselves on the "dog park" beach. They live in the "pond" that is fenced in as part of the dog area. There have been a few incidents and interactions with dogs and gators.

    The RV sites are quite nice, large concrete pads and picnic tables. Stand up grills and lantern/trash poles (not run over and on the ground). Be aware of the raccoons and other critters that like pilfering through the garbage at night. Some of the sites are on canals which are home to large alligators and they do sun themselves in the sites from time to time. Unlike the heavily wooded tent sites, you can see the reptiles in the RV sites due to the impeccable landscaping in that part of the campground.

    BONUS: We were there during the super moon and it was spectacular!

  • Chirleen E.
    May. 13, 2020

    Blakeley State Park Campground

    We love Blakely!

    Great tent campground. Most sites have some privacy but a few are close to neighboring sites. Its a short walk to the bathhouse and tons of hiking trails are nearby. Rates are reasonable, picnic tables, and fire rings at the sites. Our favorite nearby camlground!

Guide to Dauphin Island

Tent camping near Dauphin Island, Alabama, offers a chance to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. With several options available, campers can find the perfect spot to pitch their tents and unwind.

Tent campers should check out Shady Grove Campground

  • Shady Grove Campground features fifty amp hookups, making it a convenient choice for those looking to enjoy a comfortable camping experience.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Bluff Creek Campgrounds provides a serene environment perfect for outdoor activities, allowing campers to explore the natural beauty of Mississippi while enjoying a peaceful retreat.

Some prices for tent camping range from $20 to $40

  • Shady Grove Campground offers affordable rates for tent camping, ensuring that you can enjoy your outdoor adventure without breaking the bank.

Frequently Asked Questions

What amenities are available for tent campers at Dauphin Island Campground?

Tent campers at Dauphin Island can expect amenities similar to those found at Shepard State Park Campground which offers spacious sites with fire rings and picnic tables. Many campgrounds in the coastal region provide access to clean bathhouses, though quality can vary. Typical amenities include fire rings, picnic tables, access to water, and restroom facilities. Some sites may offer charcoal grills. Campgrounds in the region typically maintain trails for hiking and wildlife viewing, which are excellent for observing coastal ecosystems. For comfort in the Gulf climate, look for sites with shade and consider checking if firewood is available for purchase onsite.

Where can I camp on Dauphin Island with a tent?

Tent campers on Dauphin Island have several options. Bluff Creek Campgrounds in the region offers primitive tent sites ideal for those seeking a more natural experience. For a more secluded tent camping experience near the area, Escatawpa Hollow Campground provides riverside tent sites. When tent camping on Dauphin Island, be prepared for coastal conditions including potential wind, sand, and humidity. Look for sites that offer some natural wind protection and shade for the most comfortable experience.

How much does it cost to camp at Dauphin Island Campground?

Camping costs on Dauphin Island vary by location and amenities. While specific Dauphin Island Campground rates aren't mentioned in the reviews, nearby Shepard State Park Campground offers affordable rates at $18 per night for water and electric sites, with primitive camping available for just $13 per night. This gives you an idea of regional camping costs. For exact Dauphin Island rates, check their official website or call ahead as prices may vary seasonally and depend on whether you need hookups or are tent camping.

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