We have had a change of plans and are looking for a campground on the Emerald Coast of the Florida Panhandle, on or near the beach. Our 13 year old grandson will be traveling with us. Destin would be nice, but really anywhere there’s a good beach is fine. Our preference would be for FHU, but could make do with water and electric. We have a 36’ fifth wheel. triple axle , so need good maneuverability. I know state parks are booked so private parks are fine. As always, thank you for your help.

We love Topsail, but you need reservations 11 months in advance it seems. Recently, we booked Emerald Coast RV Park in Panama City FL. Yes, 50 miles east of Destin but still sort of on the panhandle. Looks like its very popular and well received. FHU all day long. Your 36 foot 5vr should fit fine.

I can second Topsail. Excellent resort, even though it is actually a state park. As far as reservations go, just monitor reserveamerica daily and look for cancellations. They happen all the time. We've been camping in FL state parks for a couple of years now just using cancellations. It's a lot easier than the 11-month in advance system that they have in place. Not easy to get long stays through cancellations, but you can generally get lucky enough to get a stay for less than a week, if you are persistent and patient.-Speak

Thank you both for your recommendations, thanks too for the advice on Reserve America.

mleekamp wrote:We love Topsail, but you need reservations 11 months in advance it seems. Recently, we booked Emerald Coast RV Park in Panama City FL. Yes, 50 miles east of Destin but still sort of on the panhandle. Looks like its very popular and well received. FHU all day long. Your 36 foot 5vr should fit fine.Looks like a nice place - however, on their website it states: "guests arriving with travel trailers or 5th wheelers cannot be accommodated and will be turned away."True?

2012Coleman wrote:mleekamp wrote:We love Topsail, but you need reservations 11 months in advance it seems. Recently, we booked Emerald Coast RV Park in Panama City FL. Yes, 50 miles east of Destin but still sort of on the panhandle. Looks like its very popular and well received. FHU all day long. Your 36 foot 5vr should fit fine.Looks like a nice place - however, on their website it states: "guests arriving with travel trailers or 5th wheelers cannot be accommodated and will be turned away."True?Can't imagine what it is that you are looking at. Unless it's something new related to COVID. We camped at Topsail in 2019 in a 23-foot travel trailer and there were many travel trailers and fifth wheels throughout the campground.Or were you referring to the Emerald Coast RV Park??-Speak

Emerald Coast Florida, campground advice | Good Sam Community

Texas_Roadrunn1
Explorer
Apr 11, 2021
Thank you all for the suggestions. While it wasn’t our first choice we secured a site at Navarre Beach RV resort, and felt lucky to do so, given that summer is such a popular travel time. Thanks again for your help.
Retired_JSO
Explorer
Apr 13, 2021
Top Sail, Grayton Beach, and St Andrews are state parks with beach access. All are popular and require advanced reservations.
wowens79
Explorer III
Apr 13, 2021
Texas Roadrunner wrote:
Thank you all for the suggestions. While it wasn’t our first choice we secured a site at Navarre Beach RV resort, and felt lucky to do so, given that summer is such a popular travel time. Thanks again for your help.

We stayed there last May, and the folks that ran it were super nice. It was clean, and nothing fancy, our site was a little tight. We hung out of the pier in the park a good bit. It is a short drive over to the beach, and you can use the public beach right over the bridge, or drive down to the National Seashore.
edatlanta
Explorer
Apr 13, 2021
SpeakEasy wrote:
I can second Topsail. Excellent resort, even though it is actually a state park. As far as reservations go, just monitor reserveamerica daily and look for cancellations. They happen all the time. We've been camping in FL state parks for a couple of years now just using cancellations. It's a lot easier than the 11-month in advance system that they have in place. Not easy to get long stays through cancellations, but you can generally get lucky enough to get a stay for less than a week, if you are persistent and patient.

-Speak

I was told over this past weekend that Florida State Parks are leaving reserveamerica as of May 1, 2021. This info came from a state park manager.
twichers
Explorer
Apr 17, 2021
Texas Roadrunner wrote:
Thank you all for the suggestions. While it wasn’t our first choice we secured a site at Navarre Beach RV resort, and felt lucky to do so, given that summer is such a popular travel time. Thanks again for your help.

Literally just west of our house on US98. Enjoy your stay!

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