Favorite Camping Areas within a 2 hour drive of Pensacola

[Longtooth]

Does anyone have some favorite camping areas around Pensacola?

I am ok with a little hiking (no more than 4 miles one way) but nothing excessive. My days of overland hikes are behind me (hopefully).

 

[bigken]

Does anyone have some favorite camping areas around Pensacola?

I am ok with a little hiking (no more than 4 miles one way) but nothing excessive. My days of overland hikes are behind me (hopefully).

Bigig lagoon is decent, haven't camped there in years. Most of it is closed from sally but you can still walk it. Blackwater is nice too, there's Berkeley near the mobile causeway. There was another one north of Milton but I can't remember the name.

 

[DangDang]

Camping info regarding Blackwater

Brochure Detail

ocean.floridamarine.org

 

[fla kid]

Blackwater Campground is one of the best in the area. Have stayed there many a time.

 

[Boardfeet]

Topsail Hill.... lots of trails to hike.
Grayton Beach State Park
Blackwater State park
Davis Bayou Campground, Ocean Springs...Your wife will love the town
Big Lagoon State Park
Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores.
Cheaha State Park, over 2 hours but well worth it

 

[Norm]

Magnolia Branch wildlife preserve, just a bit north of Atmore, appears to be a very nice campground. I’m not a camper but I drove up in there a couple of years ago just looking and it’s really nice. Probably worth at least a look.
I think, not sure, but I think it’s affiliated with the casino.

 

[Boardfeet]

Isaac Creek Corps of Engineers campground near Monroeville, AL. On the Alabama river. Some of the campsites have a dock on the creek for your boat right behind the campsite. Nice campground.

 

[Welldoya]

Blackwater Stables is nice, right on Coldwater (?) Creek.
Torreya State Park about 40 miles this side of Tallahassee is cool. They have both regular campsites and primitive sites on the bluffs over the Apalachicola River that you hike to. Some civil war history there.

 

[tji]

Bear Lake has some good hiking around the lake and a trail that takes you to nearby Krul Lake. My wife and kids love it. It’s really nice.

 

[Longtooth]

Im liking the more primitive sites. Iv done primitive around Bear Lake a few years ago and that was fun, but I couldn't find anything other than the actual sites online. :/

 

[Raven]

Find you a nice sand bar on the rivers or creeks somewhere. There's some you can walk to on Coldwater Creek from the horse stables or the dirt roads around the stables. I've camped creekside for free just downstream of that bridge, but still a stone's throw from the stables campground. Some are a little bit more secluded on Juniper Creek down the trail on the east side of Juniper. The sand bars on Juniper are free and secluded, the best. The farther from the road the better. Also, you can park at Adventures Unlimited and walk just upstream to free sandbars on their nature trail, but on a hot day this is the busiest section of freshwater in three counties. I've strung up a jungle hammock right on their trail after dark after everybody's gone home when I used to work there. Only thing to bother me was waking up to a raccoon sniffing me underneath the hammock. Pucker factor of 9.5... I sold the hammock and never looked at another one ever again. Tents are the way to go. Get a green or earth tone tent. No bright colors, and you'll be surprised how many people float right by or walk right by on the trail and never even look up

 

[Raven]

Im liking the more primitive sites. Iv done primitive around Bear Lake a few years ago and that was fun, but I couldn't find anything other than the actual sites online. :/

The creek that crosses the trail between Bear Lake and Krul Lake has good sand bars on it. There's a trail underneath the existing swinging bridge (on the Krul Lake side of the creek) that goes upstream to the site of the old swinging bridge. Go past that and nobody will know you're down there, unless you light a fire and send smoke signals! Last time I was down there the trail was not being maintained. Bonus for older adventurers is there is a boardwalk all the way from the Krul Lake parking lot to the existing swinging bridge, and a bath house close to the abandoned trail head leading to the old original nonexisting swinging bridge