BAYVIEW RV CAMPGROUND - Closed for 2020 season

The easiest way for me to describe Bayview RV Campground would be for you to imagine that neighbor of yours who lives at the end of the block (yeah, the one on the corner), who decided one day that he had an idea for a business and that he was simply going to place a circular drive in his front yard, one that began on one of the corner’s streets and finishes on the other. Apart from a small (and I mean really small) shed that will serve as both bath house and shower facility (at the same time, mind you), there is nothing else in this front yard scenario except for, of course, 20 or so very tightly parked RVs each accompanied by their respective car or truck. So yeah, that’s the visual – someone’s front yard jam packed with RVs and automobiles. Oh, and there may be a tree or two getting in the way. 

Located just across the street from Bayview RV Campground is Mattie Kelly Park and Nature Walk, which sits up northernly on this broad peninsula, one of the only upsides to this particular spot is the direct access to Joes Bayou that this park provides with substantial space for parking and then launching your boat. So if you are here because you are looking for ‘no frills’ (and I mean, zilch!) amenities and are simply wanting to park for the night so you can get out on the water super easily and spend all your days exploring the Choctawatchee Bay, or even be able to access the Gulf of Mexico (just head due southwest and pass underneath the Destin causeway), then this yard-porch-RV-lawn-sale-looking depot may just be for you. That is, if they have space, which I have to admit, I simply could not understand why this place was completely sold out when we paid a visit. 

About this street corner, yard-front RV camping outpost specifically, in all, there might be a dozen and a half tightly packed grassy knoll-like trailer ‘parking spaces’ with little-to-no room between the sites … literally, you could get out of your RV and stretch both your arms out and you would be touching an RV on either side. Each slot runs parallel to the street (Beach Dr.) or perpendicular (1st Street) with tightly packed spots on the inside of each lane. If you want to call the space in between each RV a patio area, then you have the thinnest of green grass strip patios between each site. 

Insider’s tips: (1) As I mentioned, before even driving to this out-of-the way RV front yard dump, I would highly suggest you call first as for some reason, this place gets booked up quickly, which I can only imagine has something to do with the nearby boat launch or the fact that there’s a military base in close proximity and this spot offers up both quick access to either and at a reasonable price; (2) All the makeshift grassy spaces at Bayview are so narrow and short, you will definitely want to call ahead and get measurements to ensure that your RV will not only fit in the slot, but will actually make it in and out of the parking lot; (3) There is zero privacy at this place, apart from the sliver of space that exists between each parked RV, so bear that in mind and bring hanging sheets or other means to create your own privacy if this is important to you and given that you have people living in such close proximity to one another, I would also recommend a good pair of ear plugs!; (4) Unless there is a good reason why you need to stay here, I would highly recommend checking out one of the campgrounds nearer the beach, like Geronimo RV Resort, which not only offers fantastic access to the Gulf, but additionally, much more space as well as an array of amenities; and (5) When you get tired of foraging through your mini-fridge or opening up your Cordova cooler to figure out that next meal, I highly recommend checking out nearby McGuire’s Irish Pub of Destin for some pretty good fare from the Emerald Isle along with ample Guinness to drown your RV sorrows for staying at Bayview RV in the first place; Hole-In-One Doughnuts for some OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD fresh made donuts that are actually worth the VERY LONG STANDING LINE WAIT; or Brotula’s for some AMAZING King, Snow or Dungeness Crab with outstanding views of Destin Harbor. 

Happy Camping!