Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park Campground, near Niceville, Florida, is a fantastic destination for those looking to immerse themselves in nature while enjoying modern conveniences. With spacious sites that offer a good amount of privacy, it’s perfect for both tent campers and RV enthusiasts.

The campground boasts clean facilities, including well-maintained bathrooms and showers, which visitors rave about. Many campers have highlighted the beautiful views of the bay from select sites, especially those numbered 29-36, making it a picturesque spot to unwind. As one happy camper put it, “The sites were fairly private from each other, and we didn’t want to leave!”

Outdoor activities abound here, with hiking trails suitable for families and easy access to the bay for kayaking or canoeing. The park is also a great base for exploring nearby Destin, just a short drive away, where you can hit the beach or enjoy local dining options. 

Wildlife sightings, including the occasional black bear, add to the charm of this campground. Visitors appreciate the friendly staff who go out of their way to help, making your stay even more enjoyable. Whether you’re a seasoned camper or just starting out, Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park Campground offers a welcoming atmosphere and plenty of opportunities for adventure.

Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park Campground

Niceville is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Niceville is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Find the best campgrounds near Niceville, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.

Niceville

The Best Camping Near Niceville, Florida

We stayed here only for a few days while visiting family in Niceville but it was an awesome campground and would definitely go back. Our site was across from Rocky Bayou and the facilities were great. Hookups, restrooms, laundry, playground, etc. It was well shaded and sites were level with gravel/ pavement. Would like to go kayaking there next time now that we have some.

Beautiful Campground

Rented a kayak from the campground with a friend. Spent most of the day exploring the bayou. Pretty sure we spotted a bald eagle but didn't have binoculars to confirm.

Campsite had shade and the campgrounds weren't to crowded. Located near several trails with ample interpretive signs. 

Great kayaking

This is a very cute little park. We visited on our way home from the beach. The sites themselves are fairly nice sized and have plenty of room for a couple cars and several tents. They don't have a ton of privacy but they are definitely spaced out enough. The bathrooms are clean and they even have a space to do laundry. Although we only had a chance to do one short trail the park has several nature walks that show you some of the unique wildlife of the area. There are also several great picnic/group areas and a play ground so this campground is well worth checking out if you need a place to stay in the area. The only downside is the hot and humid weather but this is sort of unavoidable unless you go in the winter months.

Nice but hot

Very well maintained campground. Sites are large with split rail fencing around each site. Restrooms are very clean. Family showers are also available, which is very helpful with little kids. Park has boating ramp to the bayou. Close to beaches in Destin, yet away from the hustle and bustle. Park rangers, gated entry after dark, and campground hosts make this park safe and enjoyable for families. Rules are strictly enforced.

Beautiful Campground 

Great park!  Staff is very friendly,pleasant and helpful.  We as a family felt very safe there.  Park is gated at night, only access with code.  Clean restrooms and showers.  Conveniently close to grocery stores. If you want to stay in Florida at affordable prices and have access to the best beaches in the US.  This is the place to stay.

Small with much to offer 

This is by far the best campground we've visited 

Loved it

The nicest campground we’ve stayed at. Washer/dryer. Clean restrooms. Safe. Very pretty views. 

Extremely quiet & clean

I was so impressed with this campground. I was in site #26
Plenty of room. Friendly staff, locked gates at night and well maintained park. The bathrooms (all of them) were well cleaned. Showers have Plenty of room and I loved their washer/dryer set up too. 
Close to everything and I now want to move to Niceville, Florida.
Very quiet in the campground day and night. Will stay here often and suggest anyone to stay but the sites will spoil you and most sites or parks since I've stayed here have not compared to the cleanliness, space or quiet of this park.

Peaceful Large Sites

We stopped for a two night visit, everything was great!  Clean, spacious, bay views and trails!  Lots of quiet and trees.  The trails are flat easy hiking, could be abit longer, but we combined them.  
Easy to get to town, if needed!  Breweries in Niceville are excellent too!

A perfect visit

We were in site 37 for 8 days. The oneway campground loop is narrow, but pretty navigable. Many of the sites have a rather tight angle to back into. Most were perpendicular to the road, but some even angled the wrong way, making them extra challenging to back into. Site 37 was one of them. Some of the sites are also deceptively unlevel, which given the depth of the sites, it is a little surprising they couldn’t be made more level. Our front wheels were several inches off of the ground. The campground was largely full while we were there. AT&amp;T coverage was“fair”, generally with 2 Bars and up to~4 MB/s. There is no WiFi, no cable and probably no satellite coverage at any site with a roof mounted dish due to the heavily tree cover. We were able to get 4 strong OTA DTV channels with our omni antenna however.

Nice small park, friendly staff and several trails to hike

They have showers and laundry and Place to get books to read!! Perfect for RV and tent camping. Like 27 thru 33 have views of the Bay!! They have electric and water hook ups for rv and tents!! Lots of trees great place and really close to the bay and easy to get to the beach!!


It's a really nice Park and the staff is great

Located just a few miles north of Henderson Beach State Park, Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park is a luscious green counterpoint to the sugar white beaches on the coast line.

  

Great PV spots and amenities. Awesome day use area with pavilions, picnic table, and grills.

  

Ample access to the bayou, including a doublewide boar ramp with ample boat trailer parking. The day I was there, there were 40 plus trailers in the parking lot.

Beautiful, secluded, park with good RV sites and great day use area.

I love, love this campground. I read good reviews but didn’t expect I would love it as much as I do. Our site #32  just happened to be one on the lakeside. Beautiful view. 
Laundry and bathrooms with showers are in clean good condition. Each campsite is surrounded by pretty split rail fencing with trees and tropical greenery between each.  The campsites are extremely oversized, most with gravel.
You feel like you’re the only one in the park. 
The only downside is there is no WiFi—maybe that’s a good thing.  Our cell service (T-Mobil/Metro) works well and we can use our data. 

Peaceful beauty!

We loved this place! Very friendly! Bought a 25~30min drive to the beach. Worst thing was having to have to pay the toll on the bridge.

Great Place To Stay! 

What a wonderful place! Let’s start off with the super sweet lady at the office she was the most kind welcoming person I’ve ever met! Checkin was quick, the office had supplies and firewood. Our site was a tent or Rv, we were camping with a roof top tent on our suv. It was back in which worked fine for us. The site was clean and tidy with a picnic table, fire ring, water and electric. The restroom and shower facility was very clean, hot water and heaters for winter. The roads around the park were all paved and nice for walking or biking. Lots of wildlife! The park was beautiful and well kept up, we will definitely be visiting again! 

1st road trip!

Great campground with clean facilities and an amazing staff. They went out of their way to accommodate us with no reservation. We were about to do some hiking on their multiple trails and some kayaking. We will definitely be returning. 

Amazing 

Fred Gannon is the nicest park in this area, we love camping here. The staff are all very kind and friendly. The bathrooms are exceptionally clean. The sites are private and spacious. We even had a big black bear walk across the road while we were here. 

Love Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park

An amazing park and such a great way to visit Destin! Beautiful tree coverage, nice large sites with privacy between sites. Easy to bring your own boat, canoe or kayak to drop in and leave in the water near your sites. The 30s sites are definitely preferred due to having beautiful water views!

Beautiful!!

The campground was amazing. The sites were fairly private from each other, and sites 29-36 had beautiful water views. We stayed in 35, which was close to the very clean bath house with a relaxing bayou view. The trails were easy enough to take our kids on (2 and 5). There was also a park that our kids enjoyed. We didn’t want to leave! We’ll absolutely be back and will be recommending it to everyone we know.

Beautiful park!

Loved our experience at Rocky Bayou!  Camp hosts were very friendly and helpful to us newbies at the rv life. Our 2 night stay was not long enough! 
Huge campsites, smaller campground, beautiful hiking trails and views of the bay! 

Perfect Campground! 

Stayed here for 10 nights during Thanksgiving 2025 and it was an amazing experience. Very clean atmosphere and everyone who works here is so friendly! You can tell the people work here love nature and their jobs. There’s water and electric hookups, bath house with restrooms and showers, a dump station, parks for littlest ones to play, LOTS of hiking trails, places to fish and they are dog friendly. Also, 20 minutes away from Destin beach. We’re new with rv life and this was our second campground and so far the best. We will definitely be back!! 

There was one thing but doesn’t involve the campground and the lovely people who work here. We left to go spend Thanksgiving on the beach and when we returned our water hose was gone. We asked the front desk who then asked the park rangers and they both said they did not take it. They were very kind and apologized as we should not have to worry about someone stealing our belongings. They told us they’ll keep a look out and ask around. Again we’re new to this life style and have learned a lesson and this wasn’t on the campground or the people who work here. We’re very thankful for everyone’s help. 

Photos of Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park Campground

Real photos from real campers