Fort Pickens Campground

The fort was the biggest historical fort I’ve toured. Really neat architecture and the gun powder tunnels were fun to explore. Blue Angel practices were amazing and the coastline so beautiful!! Great place to visit.

Bath and shower facilities were in poor condition and not maintained. Serious electrical issues such as rusted out electrical boxes below hand dryers in bathrooms exposing electrical connections to water and creating a potential shock hazard. Mold, mildew, and peeling paint in showers that looked like they hadn’t been properly sanitized and painted in months, if not years. Broken handicap bench in handicap shower and broken door openers. The 30 amp outlet on our spot didn’t work and the power and water went out while we were there resulting in even worse bath and shower houses. We hadn’t stayed at fort Pickens campground in several years after the length restrictions were placed on sites because I couldn’t find a spot available to hold my truck with our 30ft camper. We didn’t want to risk pulling it 13 hours only to be turned away. We finally returned with a tent this time and showed up to find people had even larger campers and vehicles parked every which way with some even sticking out into the road. Clearly the restrictions were a scare tactic which effectively scared away the people who try to follow the campground rules and are no longer enforced, if they ever were. The pier at the fort was disgusting with trash and rotting bait/fish everywhere as it looked like half the fisherman appeared to be attempting to catch their dinner for the night and just throwing trash and scraps around. We were stopped by a ranger on the beach at dark near the jetty and asked to show our reservation to ensure we were camping in the park which was a first for us. Overall, I couldn’t believe the decline in the park and campground in the last 10 years. Could it be blamed on funding? It is the cheapest 1 week camping reservation that I’ve made in the last 10 years and a price increase might help fund much needed repairs, staffing, and improve the customer base.

very nice

Beach and proximity to the beach was great. The Fort was also really cool and definitely a must for those visiting.

The campground…

Pros: Our spot had very little in the way of shade although was great for stargazing.

Cons: The bathrooms, especially showers were the worst campground showers we’ve experienced. (Walls were covered with mold). Our first morning we awoke to all bathroom facilities closed due to a utility related issue and had to drive out of the park to find a bathroom. The issue was resolved later that day although we remained under a boil water advisory. There were some very noisy neighbors in the campground who let their large dog run around the camp off leash and bark/growl at everyone, and who walked through our campsite several times as if it were there own (we’ve never experienced anything like this before and all other campers were friendly and respectful).

This would likely be a great spot if they would repair and take care of the bathroom facilities and enforce the campground rules.

Campsite was very nice and clean!! Did not have any shade on the site but was not a problem, loved the location. Campground was kept clean and the grounds were kept mowed and clean. They had a great hiking trail around the fort. There was access to the bay side of the island and easy access to the gulf side for doing some buggy board surfing. The surf was just right for swimming, the kids loved going to the beach. Showers could do with an upgrade but were usable. We will be back when it is cooler, the weather was in the +90's when we were there lots of sun and heat if that is what you are looking for. The campgrounds are great for any mode of camping, with lots of tents and trailers, RV's when we were there.

Wish we could spend more than 2 weeks a year here. Love location, set up and staff. After staying several times over the years you understand most of the experience is under control of the weather. Be prepared and understand low lying area. The bath houses are old and built when Americans were less whiny and needy. Concrete block with no ac. But work to clean off all the days fun. Though the accessibility to some of the best beach in the world makes it all worth it. Staff takes care of grounds well and never had bad person hosting or ranger.

The shower/restrooms are not great.

shower/restrooms are not great.

Always a good time and the rangers and staff are excellent.
Go see the Fort!

Very nice experience