One of the most fun and cost-effective ways to get to the beach is to camp. Thankfully, camping at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama is fun, easy, and comfortable. Visit in Late March or April for the best weather. Here’s what you need to know to camp at Gulf State Park and what to do while you’re there.
Where to Camp?
Book here. We chose to stay at a “primitive camp site”, which was sufficient for tent camping with a fairly large area, a picnic table, and a fire pit. We stayed at primitive campsite #1, but I think #2-10 would have provided a little more privacy. The site was walking distance to the restrooms which are complete with sinks and showers. If you have an RV, you can also choose to book an RV site with hookups.
What to do?
Swamp Tour on Bicycles
One of the best parts of Gulf State Park is the extensive bicycle trail system. We completed the 12.2 mile Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail on bike and loved every minute of it. The trail winds through swamp lands, around Middle Lake, and has a board walk to the beach.. I highly recommend bringing your bikes to Gulf State Park if you can. You can, of course, run or walk the trails as well.
Sunset at Fort Morgan
Drive about 30 minutes to Fort Morgan and you can tour the historic site between 8am-5pm. We did not have to not pay the admission fee to park the car outside the entrance. From there we walked out to the bay, put a blanket down on the beach, and watched the sunset as ships took off from the port. A blue heron even landed in front of us at one point. This was truly one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.
Go to the beach!
Of course you can’t forget to spend a day on the beach. You can drive across to Gulf State Park beach and park for free with your Gulf State Park camping pass. The beach is gorgeous and like I said, the state park has showers so sweat and sand is no problem.
Eat Seafood
Just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you have to eat hotdogs and smores the whole time. Gulf Shores has some delicious sea food options and you really can’t go wrong!
Watch for Gators
I hoped to see an alligator while at Gulf State Park. I didn’t want to wake up with one next to my tent or anything, but I hoped to catch a glimpse of one of these fascinating creatures from a safe distance. Kyle and I got lucky on our last day in Gulf Shores. We spotted a baby gator while we were having a picnic out at Shelby Lakes. The cute little guy walked right past our picnic table and plopped into the water. Thankfully, his momma was no where near.
Hope you enjoy the Gulf!
-Alanna