Gulf State Park Alabama

There's a small body of water between the campground and the beach. No real sidewalks to walk to the beaches. Driving is really the only option. Look on Google Earth/Google maps.

It's a great campground. I think you're making a mistake if that's a dealbreaker for you.

Gulf Shores State Park CAMPGROUND is actually on a LAGOON, not any real body of water. Driving to the beach is your only option. Also, it's a large campground so depending on your site location, you may have to drive to the pool also. The last thing is the alligators. Being on a lagoon, they will visit your campsite. We had two that loved our BBQ and would visit every night. Eliminates leaving your dog anywhere outside the coach. Probably would be the same with your toddlers. The do have signs posted advising your it's against the law to tease or aggravate the gators.

An alternative would be Henderson State Beach in Destin...about 2 hours away but within walking distance of the beach. Free alligator farm within walking distance, a WalMart and other kiddie stuff right there....good luck...Dennis

Gulf Shores has an excellent pool with a seperate area for young children. You can camp away from the water if the thought of gators worries you. You would want to drive to the beach anyways since you will probably have quite a bit of things to bring to the beach. While you can't reserve individual campsites, you can ask for an area. I would call the park to reserve rather than do it on-line so they can suggest the best area to meet your needs.

Henderson State Park is a beautiful campground, one of our favorites. It is a walk to the beach across a boardwalk. No pool and we saw they removed the small playground area they had for kids near the campground when we visited in November.

We like both campgrounds but with kids would pick Gulf State Park.

I would also recommend going to Gulf SP. The pool is outstanding and the campsites are big and roomy. While it is only a short drive to the beach you can park for free if you are a camper. Walking may be a bit far but you can easily bike to the beach. Here is a link to a lot of pictures of Gulf SP and the surrounding area....

Gulf SP pics

Lots of photos and info online for GULF STATE PARK AL...





Roy Ken

I can partially disagree with the idea that walking to the beach in out of the question. If you look at the map that RoyB has posted, the sites along the canal, on the left (west) end of the map you will find that they are just a 5 minute walk to the beach. This means that they are, however, quite a distance from the pool.

The pool is very nice. It has only been open for three years or so. Someone posted last year that there was a daily charge for the pool, even for campers.

For what you get, Gulf SP may be the best bargain on the panhandle. Easy access to golf (many courses), biking lanes and trails, restaurants, shopping.

We were there in September and there is no charge for the pool for campers. We were impressed with the pool and splash pad for the kids.

This was our first time there and will not be the last. We also enjoyed the bike trail that leaves from the park. We drove to the beach and parking is free to campers. We were suppose to leave on a Thursday, but my wife didn't want to leave. So we stayed another couple of days.

Bring bicycles and ride to the beach. You need bikes so that you can ride all the trails.

We stayed there in 2013. One of the nicest state parks that we have stayed in. Almost everything there is newer because the place was hit by a hurricane a few years ago.

The pool is great and free. If I remember right, we had to 'sign in' to use the pool.

By staying in the campground you have a free pass to park at the state beach. The state beach is really nice.

The campground is flat, so it is nice for riding bikes.

There is lots to do and just about everything you need, within a short driving distance of the campground.