Battery Park Overnight Camping

Okay, so the police STRICTLY watch this mound of grass. Downtown area so the location is okay. Pier is closed and a lot of construction nearby.
Totally confused why this little piece of grass is such a priority to the police department? I would assume the money somehow goes to them.
Way OVERPRICED to basically get nothing no cell phone signal and only 4 local channels. They REALLY take advantage of the RV community so keep that in mind.

The sign about overnight parking that is shown in the photos is missing, so we called the police and confirmed that overnight parking is still allowed. They said the sign was stollen and just hasn’t been replaced yet. They said to park anywhere in the grassy area. We put the $30 fee in the box by the boat launch. It’s kinda steep for boondocking, but it’s worth it for the location. You’re in a nice grassy area by the marina and it’s a short stroll into downtown Apalachicola where there’s tons of great restaurants and shops. The corner near the boat launch gets crowded in the morning with boat trailer parking, so I’d recommend parking toward the far south side.
I took off one star for the high price and the bit of litter around. We picked up most of it. Still a great stop for a day.

Based on previous mixed reviews we had to find out for ourselves ( and check out the town for the first time ). Pulled up to the marina and parked on the gravel around 1300 on a Sunday. Made a quick lunch as soon as we were ready to walk to the town, the local sheriff pulled up to ask if we were planning to stay the night. We said no, just wanted to stimulate the economy and check out the local brewery. We landed up not staying overnight, because it is $30 for dry camping. Officer said the drip box is by the boat launch ( not obvious). Great place to park for day use but not $30 dry camping worth.

This is right in town - a fantastic place to be in Apalachicola. The police come around about sunset and give you an envelope to pay $30.00, you then place it in a secure box. But the cops are coming! The place is a parking lot on the lawn of the Marina. We where there first and got the spot on the bayfront. Great sunrise and sunset of course. However, the place was a bit nasty with a bit of litter and a coupla dead birds by the bridge and bay. Bring a loaf of bread to feed the gulls.

We got here expecting a free spot, but weren’t surprised when a police officer pulled up. He explained that they are under pressure to enforce 30$/ night by the people of the town. There’s a pay box with envelopes for people who drop their boats in where we put our money. It’s not bad if you’re tired of driving. Can walk to little shops and restaurants.

As suggested, we parked parallel to river. Beautiful sunrise. 2 other trailers joined us for the night. No issues. Highly recommend The Dive Bar & Oyster City Brewing for beer and, since Hole in the Wall seafood closed early, we tried the Owl Cafe Pub. Great gator creole and Salad with shrimp. Apalachacola has a real, fun salty vibe. I hope it stays that way. Roll on! Peace.

Hope to end some confusion about the paid/not paid site. This is really not Battery Park it is next to it in a gravel lot along the river.

When we pulled in there was another Class A motor home parked along side the grassy area.. We parked parallel to the river. We asked the other couple if they were staying there for the night and they said they had already spent the previous two nights there. According to the couple they stop there on their way from Indiana to Florida and have for the past 8 years.. The woman told me no one ever bothers them.

When we were there the Sheriff often came into the parking lot but never said anything to us.

People have reported about signs.. The only signs we saw were on the bridge that said No Dumping of Garbage.

However there are signs and boxes for $30.00 payment along the boat ramp if you are going to use a slip. The electric that is on the boat ramps are not for RV's. I would also suggest that you not park on the grass but in the gravel parking lot. A big expensive motor home parked on the grass when there was plenty of space on the gravel. It is stuff like this that ruins it for those who boondock.

It is a short walk to downtown Apalachicola and there is a lot of things to do. They have a fantastic Maritime Museum that is run by donations. They have displays, and films to watch. Also they offer boat making classes. In addition they have various river cruises and we were told we could bring our dog if it was well behaved. If you want to rent a Kayak they offer that too. My husband and I sat on the swing on their dock for about 1/2 hour watching the Pelicans.

There is a shop called the Tin Store that has antiques and a wonderful quirky display on their lawn along with a colorful collection of buoys.

Apalachicola is home one of the largest oyster reefs and their oysters are famous world wide. Before moving to Tarpon Springs, Apalachicola was known for its sponge business. One store we visited the owner dives for sponges and he has a variety of them available for sale along with Tupelo Honey.

There is also a farmers market every 2nd and 4th Saturday with a wide array of offerings.. It is right by where the fishing boats are and it was nice to walk along the pier and see the different boats and birds.

While we were parked along the river we saw alligators, a sea otter, sandpipers, and pelicans.

There is also a small park at the harbor, and Lafayette Park is up the street from Battery Park. We love Apalachicola.

My takeaways from out stay.
Park along the river, don't leave any trash, and visit the local business. Leave it cleaner than you found it.

Some Campendium reviews state Battery Park in downtown Apalachicola is not free and I suppose it depends on what time of year and who is patrolling the area. We pulled into a large grassy area and set up our dry camp. Before sundown a boat-living neighbor who I had met years ago named Jerry stopped by to inform me I might want to pull off the grass and into the gravel parking lot parallel to the river. He said the local police park at night near the pier and discourage the place looking like a campground. He suggested if I park our rig next to the river not only would our view be superior but nobody would bother us. So I did. Good idea. Spent the night with no disturbance and looking forward to the sunrise in a couple hours. Our site was free.

We did not camp here. We parked and walked into town. We ran into a police officer and asked him about overnighting here since there seemed to be some conflicting reports here about whether or not is was legit. He told us that it is not free. The charge is $30 for overnight parking for self contained RVs only, and limited to one night stay only (unless there is a festival event going on in the park and they have it specially set up for camping). He told us that the boat launch pay boxes are used for the overnight payment, but there is nothing posted about it and no place on the payment envelopes to indicate this.

My guess is that it may not be routinely enforced and money collected may not be checked regularly, therefore people probably get way with camping here more often than not. But it is not a legitimate free site, and the city does have an official limit of one night stay for self contained RVs only at the rate of $30 with no amenities.

That said, it is a convenient spot and Appalachicola is a quaint town worth checking out.