Bayside Campground

Site as described in previous posts, but wanted to add the following. If you are coming from the South (Navarre/FWB), DO NOT trust Google maps. We showed up in the late afternoon and ended up going down 4+ miles of rough that had we stopped would have most likely swallowed the RV up pretty quickly.

After finding a piece of solid ground we pulled over to reassess the situation. At that point the sun had set and thankfully one of the local Law Enforcement officers from FWC saw our lights and came to find us and point us in the right direction. The officer mentioned that this happens all the time and that people were towed out as recently as the previous night. Pretty grateful that he showed up when he did.

So if you’re coming from the south, DO NOT trust Google Maps. Follow the route that takes you up and around the Choctaw Navy Outlying Airfield (picture included) and make sure you follow the red hard packed road. Do not venture off the red road and do not take the Google suggested route south of the airfield as the situation declines very quickly with no easy way to turn a rig around.

Beautiful area with amazing kayaking and trail opportunities. Park ranger was by every morning to check on new arrivals.

On Verizon pUDP I had 30down and 12up. That was great for work.

The bad: spots are super close together and there is zero privacy due to that. This ruins the experience of wild camping. No site has any decent solar exposure so expect to all be running your generator if youre working or don't have a 4k in Lithiums yet :)

Locals showed up often and late into the night, nothing beyond some off leash dog issues occurred but it's not a place I'd leave my gear for long.

So I arrived towards sunset, and unbeknownst to me you had to get a free permit online. Not an issue although it said it was all sold out even though there were multiple spots that were empty? I went into one of the walk-in sites and barely fit my small travel trailer. Luckily there was help from another camper there. Beautiful views, but another camper got mad when my dog ran up to her and her puppy who was also off leash. My dog didn’t see her puppy at first and kind of ran into the little guy, although he did not hurt her. The other camper got mad at me, and I apologized. I usually always have my dog on leash, and always pick up after him. He’s not a problem off leash, he just wanted to play because he was in the car all day, and usually other campers are OK with it. Unfortunately this camper was not and like I said I apologized to her, and no harm was done. Although it did make my beginning of my stay slightly uncomfortable. That and the fact that there are tons of beachfront sites that weren’t even used, and I have to go in overflow because the system won’t let me sign up for them. That’s a huge turn off in my eyes with this permit system.

Really nice sites right on the water. We arrived on a rainy day, if you do the same your equipment will be covered in the orange dirt/sand from the drive in. The road itself is nice hardpack red dirt/sand wide enough for two vehicles all the way in. Right under the approach course for Pensacola Airport so again if the weather is low you will probably here the jets go by overhead every now and then. Watch the turn around at the west end of CG low hanging branches there I would estimate about 10 to 12 feet off the ground. However there is plenty of room to turn around or maneuver prior to getting to the turn around. Had to find a library to print out the permit, was no issue. Tall trees around but not completely shaded, if you need solar.

We stayed here January 14 thru 17, 2019, the week of the double polar vortex that brought freezing temperatures to much of Florida. There was one camper there when we arrived and they left the next morning. We pretty much had the place to ourselves during the day. A few campers wandered in late in the day/early evening and then were gone the next morning. All of these campers were friendly, courteous and polite. The previous week had rained more than usual and much of the Eagle Roost Trail was too sloggy to navigate. Trails outside the campground were totally fine. The spanish moss and beach scenery is particularly striking. The sunsets are particularly well placed for viewing from your camper. The night time temps were down in the 30s with several of them below freezing. Daytime highs were in the mid 40s with the warmest day about 53 degrees. Much of this was in bright sunshine however, so it felt warmer to the spirit :-) This was unusually cold due to the polar vortex.

The facility itself was very clean with many covered trash receptacles spread throughout the campground. Picnic tables at each site and really nice benches placed strategically for viewing sunsets. There are no hook ups of any kind, nor a dump station. There are two standard porta-potties (that needed service the week we were there). There is a 7 day stay limit and a permit to camp required.

The road in is about 2 miles of relatively smooth hard packed clay and sand mixture. The navigation of this road may be weather dependant. We left early due to forecasted heavy rain the day of our departure. The Ranger said that the road isn't too bad to travel but guaranteed that you rig will be covered with a heavy coating of this sandy clay.

There are many photos of this campground found here so I'll add some of my own. Also, for the best view of this facility, you can check out our video of our experience by pasting this link into your browser .... https://youtu.be/oLxIP5ndT34

We took a chance and went with some information that we could fit in site #4, which was booked, so we hoped for #5. Big rigs can definitely fit in site #3, 4 and 5. Though there is a tree in each site, you can still get in, and park your truck or tow vehicle next to you. Sites are wide. The road coming in is 5 miles of red sandy dirt. As long as you're ok with the rig getting a little dirty, you won't be sorry! Dolphins at sunset, small beach area for the kids to play, and both Verizon and ATT had very fast, very good service. Trash cans and pit toilets available. You must make your reservations on line. But it's still free. It's peak season for FL travel and it's us and 2 other people in the entire area. Super quiet and peaceful. I'll be making a video and putting git up on our website soon. www.optingoutofnormal.com

My GPS didn't want to take me there at first, coming up 87 from the south. Eventual I drove far enough north that my GPS routed my correctly. It was trying to take me down an off limits base dirt road rather than the dirt roads that are open to the public. This CG is fantastic as a no frills spot. I have solar panels & even in January there were only a few (sites 3 & 4) spots with good sun but even in 7 I got enough to get by.

A week before I got there I made a reservation for the only night that was available in the foreseeable future. When I got there only 2 campers were there so I called in my info to the reservation no. & asked if there were cancellations & could I stay an extra night. I was able to stay that extra night & loved it. There were 3 sites occupied that second night out of 8? It's a shame that so many sites are tied up with reservations & no one shows because the sites are free & there aren't any repercussions.

The hiking is pretty limited but I'd gladly stay here again, even if just to sit & enjoy the water view.