Gulf Shores state park, Gulf Shores, AL
This park has tons of amenities, especially for a state park. They have a swimming pool and a splash pad (where the water shoots out of the ground). There’s a nature center that has an additional building set up for demonstrations and talks about the wildlife of the area. We sat in on one and got to learn about and touch snakes, owls, lizards, and turtles. There is a very large laundry room with about 30 washers and 20 dryers, give or take. And across the large covered pavilion from the laundry room is the camp store, which sells the normal stuff you’d find at any camp store. Lots of nic nacs about Gulf Shores, and a few non-perishable food items. There’s also basketball courts, tennis courts, and horseshoes.
The bathrooms were very, very clean! And there was about one large bathhouse per 10 sites. So there was very little traffic, even on the busy weekend days we were there.
We camped there in tents for 5 nights, while visiting Penascola and Fort Walton Beach. The sites are large and would be easy to get in and out of with a large rig because there’s hardly any trees. Which means the hot sun was directly on us from sunrise to sunset. There were also some pull through sites that we saw. This is a HUGE campground with over 400 camp sites. We didn’t even see it all.
If you stay here, it’s not on the beach, although it is on a water inlet from the gulf. You will have to drive to get to the beach. But, if you’re a camper, you can park for free to go to the Gulf Shores State Beach.
The pests were numberable. Fire ants ended up finding a way into our tent one night. Racoons would come up to steal food when you were sitting right next to it. Mosquitos and gnats were also a problem. Of course, it was August when we went and I’m sure other times of the year it wouldn’t be quite as bad.
The cost turned out to be a lot, especially for tents in a state park. I think we ended up right around $35/night. There was the base fee, but you had to pay more if you had two tents, which is only allowed if the second tent is ONLY used by the minors of the people in the first tent. (rolls eyes). So they were relatively strict with rules, not very accommodating, and there was no shade. Gabe said he would NOT come back because the amenities didn’t justify the higher cost and lack of shade and horrible bugs. (The rangers won’t even come with some ant killer. We had to go buy our own if we didn’t want fire ants…..which we ALL OVER!)