Short and sweet this park wasn’t for us. Aside from the overly friendly wildlife.. the large over 5ft rattle snake taking up residence in the space next to ours(which I know we are in the wild) made it a no go. The park is dated and not very spacious. Very small sites, bathroom was horrible and we got a refund minus a cancellation fee and called it a day. Never even set up our gear. Ymmv but for us this was a no go and the first state park in Florida we just left without staying. Sad on Mother’s Day but we did enjoy our local favorite.. blue parrot.
We had to do a little of what those at this park call the “top sail tango” because the spots are in such high demand.. but we were able to snag t20 for 1 day on a Saturday and it became available on Sunday as well. Now be aware, we had t14 already booked for Sunday and it was a $10. Charge to simply stay in t20..seems odd but whatever… it saved us from having to move our gear to a new site and that was worth $10 I suppose. Other than that it’s been great again. The tram to the beach runs like clock work. The pool let’s you enjoy some water and relax without getting sand in the darn areas it always seems to find itself in haha. Great coffee and sandwich shop on site, bike rentals, camp store and more! As seen in the video one of our cars is an electric bmw i3.. since wr can’t park at our tent sites here(one downfall) they found a spot I could park my car to charge daily/nightly. In my opinion it’s one of the best in the area and the staff is nice. The volunteers did have a bit of adjustment to my daughters service dog and the rights she has with that dog but we got that handled and it’s all good.! Give ‘em a try.. you might have as much fun as us
Tucked just off hwy 98 is a little gem of a state park known as Henderson beach. Yes road noise is real, yes it exist and you will hear it…but that didn’t interfere with our enjoyment of this park even in a tent! Well kept grounds, shower and laundry facility and easy access to the beach! My daughter was able to ride her bike all over the park on their well paved roads. We were greeted by cheerful workers who took great care of us and got us on our way to setting up our site! One would never think just a few feet off the chaotic hwy 98 of Destin there would be such a great park! Fudpuckers is directly across the street as well as a public just down the road, Walmart you can see the sign from the beach access area so it’s across the street. Give it a try, you’ll be glad you did
Far yet close…that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the beach areas but close enough to enjoy them just the same. Do yourself a favor and give this place a try if you are in the Panama City beach/bay county/Walton county area. Quiet, serene, easy to get to if you don’t mind dirt roads that are amazingly maintained for a state forest campground! Site 10 was fabulous and all sites have 50/30 amp hookup and water. Dump station nearby and a hood bathhouse area with showers. You have a pond with a fishing dock and a camp host in site 1. I can’t say enough good things about this little gem just 15 miles north of PCB. Off hwy 79 it’s a short drive off interstate 10 exit 112. My wife, 12 yr old and mini Aussie are having a blast, so much so maybe I need to just keep this a secret??!!! Haha happy camping!
What started off with high hopes and lots of excitement from my daughter wife and myself ended with unneeded discussions and opinions being given by staff and rude volunteers. First the volunteers are all just sorta unhappy I guess you’d say, yes they get free stays because they volunteer but it seems like that volunteering is an annoyance and burden on them and they let you know it as guest. They accused us of leaving cigarettes everywhere at one site even engaging a ranger to vent their frustration too until we laughed and say at 44yrs of age neither of us have ever had a cigarette in our mouths.. then came accusations of beer bottles.. wrong again my friend we don’t drink alcohol either lol…then the rangers taking issue with my daughters service animal. With one ranger telling us it’s ok we will be allowed in the beach etc(note we don’t need his permission nor interaction with him. Ada law allows her and that dog anywhere with few exceptions that humans are allowed and the ranger says to us “you need to also understand other people’s perceptions and questions they might have about your dog” lmao no sir again I don’t have to concern myself with anyone else’s opinions views or issues as that dog is by ADA law (federal) viewed as a medical device no different than a wheelchair etc. after being proposed the question “is it because my daughter doesn’t look disabled? What does disabled look like? Would you treat someone in a wheelchair the same?” He was left bewildered. As he even noted he is allowed to ask 2 and only 2 questions.. is it a service dog? And what task does it perform. U can’t ask for a demo, what her disabilities are etc those are all violations of my privacy and against Ada rules. That’s when he proclaimed that we need to see it from everyone else’s point of view. Needless to say we were glad that stay was over and after calling customer service that also got us no where. My daughter was excluded from the junior ranger program because of her dog so missed out on that and was disappointed, but topsail state park to the rescue!! Id avoid unless your old, cantankerous and angry with life.. if that describes you then you will fit right in with the volunteers
Amazing state park with lots of amenities including a swimming pool!! Beautiful beach and tram that runs to the lake and beach all day. A camping store, coffee shop, plenty of paved walking trails and everyone was helpful!