Fort Pickens Campground | Pensacola Beach Florida

Fort Pickens Campground RV Park Review, Pensacola Beach Florida

Pros & Cons, What to like and not like about camping at Fort Pickens. See campground maps, pictures, information and links below.

The Fort Pickens Gulf Islands National Park RV park and campground is set about a half mile east of the old fort, nestled between the remains of several of the coastal artillery gun batteries that were constructed during World War II. The campground is about 6 miles West of the town of Pensacola Beach, Florida down a paved road that runs along the narrow spit of land that leads to the Western end of Santa Rosa Island and Fort Pickens National Park.

In addition to lots of decent campsites for RVs and tents, you have world class beaches, hiking and biking trails, a historic fort and the nearby beach town of Pensacola Beach with lots of fun attractions.

The campground offers over 200 camp sites, with water and electrical hookups on 169 sites. The bath units also have showers. Many of the sites are paved, some have 50 amp service, and some are large enough for very large units. In general the sites are level and spacious. Some of the sites are suitable only for small motorhomes, RV popups, or tents. There is also a group campground.

You can reserve camp sites via Reservations.gov website and doing so in advance is recommended, especially for weekend periods.

Fort Pickens Campground Map

Loops B and D have been converted to tent-only sites without utilities. Loops A, C, and E are set up well for RVs and offer electric and water hookups. There are two sets of RV dump stations, four shower/bathhouses, a camp store, and a laundry facility.

Unfortunately a few years back the park service removed electric service from Loop D in the campground, changing it to tent only camping. That lost several RV sites suitable for smaller rigs. Since then, they have relaxed the rules somewhat and now allow Class B and C motorhomes in Loop D, but no trailers nor larger motorhomes. However, still no electric nor water service and also no generators allowed.

fort pickens map — Fort Pickens map (from Google Maps)

Pros, What to Like about Fort Pickens Campground

Natural Setting and Remote Setting

There is a sprinkling of trees within the campground and the entire campground complex is surrounded by bayous and natural gulf island trees, shrubs, flowers, dunes and vegetation. Some of the areas within the park and near the campground are protected wildlife sanctuaries and bird watching is a popular activity. On our first visit, there were at least two occupied Osprey nests you could see from the campground.

Being located near the end of a dead end road, 6 miles from the resort community of Pensacola Beach means the park is insulated from highway noise or urban intrusion. Its remoteness (and National Park rules) also mean there won’t be any rowdy parties into the night or music blaring from neighboring campsites.

Nature and World Class Beach

The Gulf side beach is pristine white sugar sand and is for the exclusive use of people with National Park passes. No commercial enterprises, no jet skis and no competition for a prime spot on the beach. The nearest condo or lodging of any sort is 6 miles away.

It got warm enough for me to wade in the ocean but for my blood still too cool to swim. — It got warm enough for me to wade in the ocean on the beach at Fort Pickens . . .
but still too early in the season (for my blood) for a swim.

Hiking and Biking Trails

There many nature and hiking trails located within the park. Many of the hiking trails are also suitable for biking.

Fort Pickens Hiking Trails — Hiking/biking Trail from the Fort to the Campground

Many other Recreation and Things to see and Do

Sunbathing, wading, swimming, or fishing on one of the top natural, unspoiled beaches in the USA.

Bike riding or rollerblading. The campsite roads are paved, as are roads within the park, so there is lots of territory for biking. Since the highway into town is not busy and posted with 25 mph speed limit, you can safely bike into Pensacola Beach.

Visiting the Gulf Islands Museum located West of the old Fort.

Biking or Riding to Pensacola Beach to see the shops, boutiques, great seafood restaurants, and other entertainments. Things to See and Do Pensacola Beach

Visiting and exploring the historic old Fort Pickens and exploring the ruminants of the World War II gun batteries sprinkled along the Gulf side of the Western end of the island.

Fort Pickens Gun Battery — This was one of 10 coastal gun batteries installed during World War II to compliment the Forts artillery.

Fort Pickens Canon — This massive cannon fired cannon balls 16 inches in diameter.

Learn more about What to See and Do at Fort Pickens here.
See our article with photos and information on visiting the fort, visiting the natural history museum, hiking, enjoying the beach, bird watching, and other attractions of this National Park.

Cons, What you may not like about camping at Fort Pickens

Remoteness. One downside of camping for multiple days at Fort Pickens is ironically part of its charm – its remote and natural setting. You are many miles from other interesting attractions in the Pensacola area, like the fantastic Naval Aviation Museum or the historic Palafox section of Pensacola. Our excursions to visit some of these attractions often involved over 50 miles round trip. And to get to these “other attractions” you need to go through the busy resort and condo corridor of Pensacola Beach and Gulf Breese to get to the attractions on the mainland.

There are several nice golf courses in the Pensacola area but like other Pensacola amenities, they require 20 to 30 miles of driving through urban traffic to get to them.

Weekend-Holiday Traffic. If your visit happens to include a holiday, plan to stay around camp unless you are tolerant of heavy traffic. One time it took us an hour to cross the bridge back to Santa Rosa Island from dining out in Pensacola.

Light on RV Park Amenities. While there are interesting things to do in addition to camping, there are no amenities like those found at RV Parks or Jellystone campgrounds like a swimming pool, a game room, or volleyball/basketball, etc. While there is a camp store, of sorts, and a laundry room, neither is up to par of what you’d find at most private campgrounds or RV parks.

Weather exposure. Since Fort Pickens is on a narrow gulf barrier island (Santa Rosa Island) it is exposed to the weather coming off the ocean. The road to the park from the resort town of Pensacola Beach is subject to flooding and there is little shelter from significant storms hitting the island. The Park Service flyer alerts you that “. . . at times there may be some risk of becoming temporarily stranded in the park, especially when a storm event or an unusual weather pattern takes us by surprise. Santa Rosa Island is a special place where we get to witness the dramatic interaction of weather, sea, and land, although doing so may at times be inconvenient, especially when plans are disrupted.”

Best RV Park Campground alternatives in Pensacola and Pensacola Beach

Fort Pickens is a popular campground and can be hard to find a site. Our favorite alternative to camping at Fort Pickens in the Pensacola area is Big Lagoon State Park near Perdido Key.

There is lots to like about the Big Lagoon campground. The park is over 600 acres and free from city noise and traffic. It has several nice hiking trails, including some that are boardwalks. The parking pads are generally level, but mostly sand and gravel; only handicap pads get a paved surface. The sites are nicely spaced and most have trees and shrubbery separating them from one another. The beaches aren’t as spectacular as what you find at Fort Pickens or elsewhere on Santa Rosa island and they face a lagoon versus being on the Gulf itself. But they aren’t crowded and look shallow enough for wading. See more information and our review of Big Lagoon Campground & State Park here.

While not in the Pensacola area, there is a second full-service campground within the Gulf Islands National Seashore Park – Davis Bayou at Ocean Springs, Mississippi – See our review here. It also has water and electricity and showers and some hiking trails. We’ve stayed there a few times and like its campsite layout – top quality (but it has no sand beaches on the Gulf, rather it is on a bayou, complete with a resident alligator!). It is near the resort area of Biloxi, Mississippi so a bit of a drive from Pensacola but if you are heading west along the Gulf Drive, it’s an option.

More Gulf Coast Camping Recommendations

>>>Learn more about What to See and Do at Fort Pickens here.

Fort Pickens & Gulf Islands Links

Other Top Attractions in Pensacola and Pensacola Beach

Red Fish Blue Fish Seafood Grill — Some great tunes out on the Patio of Red Fish Blue Fish, Pensacola Beach

Grayton Beach Florida — Grayton Beach – World Class Beach & Fun Town

Map and Directory to Gulf Coast Scenic Travel – Interesting things to see and do along Florida’s Gulf Coast