St. Andrews SP - N Florida area - My impressions

[DutchmenSport]

We arrived yesterday at St. Andrews State Park near Panama City, Florida. We will be here until Saturday morning when we'll break camp and take 3 days to return home to Indiana.

I asked the question some time ago for anyone's experience with St. Andrews and received various comments, which I really appreciated. Those comments did help for us to prepare to visit this campground.

Now, In December 2014, we stayed at Port St. Joseph State Park, just a little South and East of Panama City. We would have gladly returned to Port St. Joe had there been an open camp site for our week. But the only one open (anywhere) for this week was St. Andrews. So here we are.

First off. Today is our 30th wedding anniversary! Thus the reason for this trip. We debated about a cruise but for the price involved and the length of time, we couldn't justify that expense. So we decided to do what we love best ... take off with the camper.

Now a word about Northern Florida. First off, we arrived yesterday (Monday) March 9 and drove though this Spring Break mess about 4:00 pm. OH MY GOSH! If I only had any clue what SPRING BREAK really meant, I think we would have headed for CANADA! So after caught in a sea of traffic, teeny-boppers flooding the streets, and watching these zannie young people screaming, yelling, and carrying on along the edge of the road (which put ME at edge), we arrived safely.

The campground is everything I would expect. We are very pleased! All 35 and 1/2 feet of trailer fit in the space just fine and even had room for the truck to park withing anything overhanging in the road. And ... believe it or not, I even set up the DISH Satellite this afternoon, even in the midst of all these palm trees, I found a hole. So, the wife is VERY, VERY happy now!

We are really NOT beach goers. We love the beach, but the older we are getting, we appreciate the beach from behind the windshield rather than under our feet. The temperature is in the 80's right now, and very bright and sunny. My balding head has a hard time with this intense sunlight, so the windshield view is just fine.

We took off today and drove back to Mexico Beach. My wife wanted to revisit a novelty shop we visited last December and get more doo-dads! Considering this was our 30th anniversary, I told her to get anything she wanted... well, $79 later she was happy. I knew I married a practical girl! She's happy, I'm happy, we're all happy.

Now about Florida.

I can honestly say I do not like the area from Panama City westward (including this area around St. Andrews St. Park, Panama City Beach area) and much more prefer the area East of Panama City and heading on South.

Although both state parks are very nice in their own way, I much more prefer Port St. Joe St. Park. It's more (my) style of camping. The entire setting is a bit more natural, and there is NO high rise commercialism right outside the front door.

Both State Parks are very quiet, and everyone is well mannered. I think folks play so much at the beach all day, they come back to their campsites exhausted and crash asleep! I was amazed last night, with EVERY campsite filled, it was 100% quiet! But... too many lights for me! That just goes with a higher population of people, no matter where they congregate.

Port St. Joe was DARK and almost every campsite was occupied in December too. But the campsites are further apart, and somehow designed to be just a little more private (at least that's my impression).

I suppose there's an attraction for both areas. For those who really enjoy the go-go-go-go-go camping lifestyle, St. Andrews is the place. There's so much to do along the boardwalk and in town, you can go broke in a heartbeat! Everything from helicopter rides to 30 flavors of popcorn ... you name it!

On the other hand, if you want laid back inactivity, the Port St. Joe is the place.

Actually, I think the beach is more accessible at Port St. Joe than at Andrews. At St. Joe, you just walk over the boardwalk and you've got 6 miles of beach, and virtually no one there. At St. Andrews, there's a zillion people and you've got to drive to get there (unless you just enjoy a hot hike.)

If you go into town, you've got to find somewhere to park your vehicle to get to the beach and then fight a zillion tourists.

Maybe my next Florida trip will be further inland! Both parks are very nice! It's just one is an extremely busy place and the other is laid-back.

[huachuca]

Thanks for such a thorough report. We visit Fl State Parks each year from NC and I appreciate the input. In early February we had awesome sites at both Anastasia and Grayton Beach - large and fairly private but Highland Hammock was another story and I doubt we'll return there. It was just too open and the sites too close for our liking even though we had great neighbors.

[padredw]

Wow! I certainly would not want to be in Panama City Beach during spring break. But we have spent many great days at St. Andrews State Park. We just stay away from the "activities" just up the beach. That scene is bad enough at any time. Spring break would be intolerable.

But, if you cross the bay bridge and go down into the old town of St. Andrews you will find Captains Table. We have had some wonderful seafood dinners there--nothing fancy, mind you, just delicious. The setting itself is the opposite of fancy, but we have never been disappointed. There are some other good restaurants in that same area but I can't recall the name.

We have also dined at Captain Anderson's right near the state park, and even the Treasure Ship (or whatever it's called,) which is even nearer the state park.

Sorry about the crowds, from one old fellow to another (and I bet I am MUCH older--correct that, I KNOW that I am). My advice is just don't go up that way. Either stay in the park (as we do most of the time) or go down to the old city of St. Andrews or Panama City.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.

[dahkota]

Good write-up! 🙂

If you want to get 'away from it all' on the Florida Coast, try St. George Island State Park. Beautiful beaches, many private campsites, one small 'condo town' adjacent, and very laid back. It is now my go to when needing Florida beach time...

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/St-George-Island

[2-MTnesters]

Dave, congrats and happy anniversary! 30 years is something to be proud of. Great report on St. Andrews SP. If you enjoy going to the panhandle area of Florida then the next time down you should check out Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach just east of Destin. Deanna and I have reservations for 8 days there for Thanksgiving. This will be the first time there but the place comes HIGHLY recommended. Every site is full hookup with W/E/S and cable. Wishing you and your wife many more happy years of marriage and travels! Tim