Best Glamping near Orange Beach, AL

They have biking trails throughout the park - and boardwalks to go over to the beach! If you aren’t camping you can pay to just bike! There is a pool, tennis courts, laundry facilities & boat ramps! They have information sessions about local animals in the park as well. Campground is spacious - bring your own fire pit there is a grill available but that’s all. Bathhouses are so clean! Best way to stay in the orange beach area!

The retreat offers several amenities including showers, laundromat, and gas grills. There are even bouncy houses and playgrounds for the kids.

It's located on the river and they have a pet beach separate so even your dogs can enjoy the water.

The camp manager is nice and very helpful. They are definitely a great asset.

Full service hookups are currently limited as they work on an expansion, but they do have plenty of water/power hookups both off and on the river. There's also a cabin, glamping tents, and a tiny house. There are plenty of shaded spots.

There are a few long term residents who are friendly and welcoming.

I definitely recommend this campground for a fun, relaxing stay.

We stayed at spot 448. It was a pull through spot with a good amount of morning and late afternoon shade. Site was somewhat level, maybe about.75” lean on one side. Bathrooms were relatively close, but there was a lack of stalls for how many campsites there are. There is a lack of places to throw trash and the dumpsters are all the way back at the front of the park, it’s quite a drive. Not a lot of street lights throughout the campground made things nice and quiet at night. It was very nice that almost every spot had full hookups. The site had decent Verizon cell service, around 10-20 mbps. The Tmobile service was around the same. Service seemed to be better the closer to the main road you were in the park. The biking trails were amazing, very wide, with a good amount of shade. Lots of activities to do around the park besides the beach. You can walk or bike to the beach, although it's around 2 miles depending on where your spot is. Your parking pass for the campground also provides free parking at various beaches around the park. It’s only about a 15 minute drive to either gulf shores or orange beach for even more things to do. Overall the campground was clean, relatively quiet, right next to the beach, with a ton of activities. Negatives would be how expensive it is, lack of bathroom stalls, and since the park is so massive, it takes a while to get everywhere.

If it didn’t have the Gulf weather and bugs and or for that matter, the campers, this would be a five star campground. I sit here writing this review at the pool. I opened my book to read and the lady next to me brought out her Bluetooth speaker to blast music. Last night, a family chowed down on a can of pringles in the pool. Trash everywhere at the fishing docks. My husband went to put our wash in the dryer last night and dryers were filled with abandoned clothing. People have bicycles with horns.

We did make the mistake of coming here during one of the busiest weeks of July, but that doesn’t mean that every campsite should be littered with crazy amounts of gear, despite it being so obviously oppressively hot and muggy that much of it seems unusable. I want to reiterate: the weather is vile but I still can’t imagine bringing fans to plug in OUTSIDE of my camper. The campers next to us have a large trailer, camper bus, a large truck and a golf cart. In one spot. That doesn’t include the bikes, the chairs, the tents, etc.

The actual campsites and facilities are nice. Individual campsites are spacious and level and come with a grill and picnic table. Some site locations are much better situated than others (I would never want to camp along Campground Road - it’s insanely busy with cars and bicycles). It’s great to have a large pool w backside, clean and fairly large laundry facilities, a camp store and an exceptional network of bike trails. There is also a very awesome nature center, several playgrounds, pickleball courts, a boat ramp, and free bicycle rentals! There is ten bathhouses and while only three bathroom and shower stalls each seemed insufficient to me there wasn’t anyone in the bathhouses any time I utilized them. They were super clean and in reasonable proximity to all of the sites in the loop.

The campground, which is massive (500 plus sites) consists of several loops, and is smack dab in the middle of the State Park. Campers get free parking at several beaches in the Park, which we utilized (beach was pretty quiet in the morning). I thought that was a great perk. We didn’t get to bike much between the heat and rain but the trail system looks amazing and there were plenty of staged opportunities for both free and paid bike rentals.

The campground is located right smack dab in between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, which is ideal if you want to go play some miniature golf or grab a bite to eat.

I think coming off season is probably the best bet - we honestly didn’t even feel like we were in nature when we came and it was so darn humid I didn’t really want to nature anyway! I think the campground would benefit from allowing less vehicles at each spot - from my vantage point, I’m literally staring out at nine trucks for maybe three campers.

Campground Review: 

Let me start by saying this is a very large park with a variety of campground options so I will do my best to first review the overall park then discuss each of the sites individually. The park sits alongside the gulf coast and has multiple access points to the beach. It also has an extensive paved trail network that is perfect for all kinds of activities including running, walking, and biking. While visiting the park we biked and explored the butterfly garden which I highly recommend. We also had the chance to visit the pier and the education center and everything is so well organized and taken care of. Overall, there is so much to explore you will definitely need multiple days worth of adventure. There are two major campground areas in the park and I will start by discussing the yurt option. 

There are several yurts that are set up and organized for camping during certain parts of the year that each have 4 cots and a fire pit. There is also a large pump sink and a wild west looking shower in this area. If this option is available I would highly suggest checking it out. It is perfect for groups and provides a nice private area to spend your night away from the more crowded RV sites. This area is also centrally located and remote from the remainder of the park so you will have an incredible view of the night sky. The site is kept very clean and mostly covered in sand so it was wonderful to walk around barefoot. Finally, although you will have to bike or hike to get to these sites there is already firewood available for purchase so you won’t have to carry that in with you. 

The tent/RV area is very large and has a variety of amenities that will make your stay very enjoyable. Overall, it is on the slightly more expensive side for a campground but provides easy access to the beach and is significantly less than many of the nearby hotels. One thing I really liked was that they have created a separate area for tent-only sites from the combined tent/RV spaces. This gives you a slightly more rustic experience if that is what you look for. On top of all the usual features, they have a pool and picnic areas that campground guests can use and don’t forget to stop by the wildlife education center. You can also join in for one of the rangers led educational walks to see wildlife around the park

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**Product Review:** As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tried out the Morsel Spork XL. After eating several meals using this innovative spork some of my favorite features are: 

1. Length: I got the long-handled spork to be able to use it both for regular campground meals on plates or bowls and also with backpacking meal bags and eating out of cookware which each has its own needs in terms of reachability. However, until I opened the package I didn’t imagine just how long the XL spork was and this was very exciting to see. I haven’t had a camping tool that provides nearly as much reach as the Morsel Spork. Besides the obvious use of reaching to the bottom of a dehydrated backpacking meal bag, the long spork is also incredibly helpful for not burning yourself while cooking in deep pots or stirring large meals without worrying about getting your hands dirty. 
2. Multi-edged spoon: The spork spoon end is designed to have both a rounded edge and a sharp-angled edge both with a flexible rubber edging. This makes it even more multifunctional by allowing it to clean any remaining food out of all types of pots and bowls. I found this was helpful to enjoy every last bit of our delicious camping food and made clean up so much easier. Its such a simple design idea but makes such a huge difference in practice. 
3. Durability: I loved how lightweight the plastic material was but also didn’t ever worry about it snapping or breaking during use or in my backpack. They used a strong but slightly flexible plastic that won’t easily snap in half but also can withstand heavy use in tough foods. We were able to use the spork to cut through hard cheeses and also mix rice dishes. The curved shape of the long handle gives it extra strength and they even designed it to be washed in the dishwasher when you get home. Overall, this is the best spork I have ever used and has even become part of my daily lunchbox. When you use it to eat while camping you can quickly tell the amount of thought that went into engineering each aspect and finding the way to make it not only effective but also last you many years of adventure.

Enjoy taking the grandkids to Jellystone campground in Elberta, Alabama.  Lots to do with their activities,  wagon rides,  group s'mores campfire, fishing, crafts,  super clean restrooms,  well supplied camp store if you forgot something,  wifi, holiday weekends will usually include a inflatable water slide.  Nice pull through sites also.

This park is now a Yogi Bear Jellystone park. It is located in Elberta Al. The sites are gravel and dirt but they are level and very spacious. Great for RVs and large rigs.

It offers a great central location for Gulf Shores, Perdido or Pensacola. They have tons of activities for the kids. (Crafts, hay rides, s'mores and more)

Just a short drive to many attractions including (Old Fort Morgan, USS Alabama, Drum Submarine, Pensacola Air museum, two water parks, Barber Marina and more)

If you are looking for a peaceful setting in a central location. This is the place!

There are many good restaurants - here are some of our favorites. (Reileigh's - best breakfast at the gulf, Wolf Bay, Fisherman's Corner, GT's on the Bay, Perdido Pass Oyster bar, McGuire's in Pensacola.

This was our first visit to Gulf Shores State Park in Alabama.  The check in was as slow as molasses even though they had lots of staff, mostly standing.  Waited in line for 45 minutes with one person ahead of us taking her sweet time to book a future campsite.  Our site was nice, spacious with privacy.  We were worried about the alligators and snakes so kept pups on a short leash.

The beach was beautiful, with sandy white shores and lots of shells.  However, if you have dogs, it's a no-go so they have to stay back at the camp.  They do have a lovely dog park, right on the lake where dogs can run and swim, but the 'do not feed alligators' was a concern.  Locals said they had never seen one in 15 years... so not sure and not sure I want my dog to be the exception.

We enjoyed the friendly, southern hospitality of the town and would definitely return.  I would investigate other dog friendly places in the area.

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.

Camped here for hangout music fest. Price was right and the sites were standard car camping sites. Bathrooms were decent.

Gulf State Park, AL has the largest full hookup campsites we have ever seen. The state park has many hiking and biking trails, a gulf beach, restaurants, swimming pool, lake frontage, stores, fishing pier, golf course and really nice restroom and laundry facilities. All of this is a bike ride away from tourist attractions!