Fort Pickens Area of Gulf Island National Seashore, Pensacola Beach FL

Outstanding find! Camping area is well kept, and clean. Facilities are excellent, with hot showers, bathrooms, and laundry. The beaches are simply amazing Ocean and Sound side. Good trails, too. Staff is very friendly and helpful. It is a bargain when compared to the other private campgrounds in the area! Reserve ahead! It is no wonder they fill up quick during the high season! If you are a senior (>62) get the lifetime USGS Senior Pass ($90 all-in.) It pays for itself the first 3 days of camping through its 1/2-price site fee discount ($20 w/ electric and water with discount), and free admission ($25 entry fee for this park) to any and all National Parks!

It's heavenly here. The beaches are beautiful, and the wildlife fills me with joy. I'm glad I camped here.

Beautiful white sand beaches, trails, fishing and the old forts. You can spend a lot of quiet time here. Entrance fee was a $25 Surprise but justified. It is good for a week and at several well cared for parks. We had dogs so that limits what we could do but still worth it.

I love all the national parks I've seen but Ft. Pickens is completely gorgeous. Awesome camping and access to pristine beaches.

We drove about 2 hours to Fort Pickens just to check it out. Paid $25 just to go through the gate, a bit pricey in my opinion, it was just my husband and myself plus our 2 dogs. Pretty nice place though. Not sure how much it is to camp there, but, with it being $25 just to get in who knows how much it is to camp.

Awesome place! Military history surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Pensacola bay! Great place to visit.

The fort is well worth the $25 entrance fee, the beautiful beaches are icing on top. Please please get the app and do the walking tour, it's well set up and makes the experience so much better. The kids had a blast exploring, and I'd narrate the tour so they actually learned about what they were looking at.

Pretty place and almost private beaches, especially during the week. Like some beach access have 6 car parking lots that are often half full. Stress free beach experience for sure.

Fort was a lot of fun to travel and had amazing photo opportunities especially silhouetted pics in the tunnel.

Great view of blue angels practice.

Downside is how far they are from society, it 18 min just to leave the gate and it's an empty road till then. Then your straight to the tourist area of Pensacola beach. So Walmart is almost 30 out. No phone communication with staff.staff are great in person but you can't contact them by phone.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore - Ft Pickens area is pretty cool to see. It was a hot September and the fort had areas to keep you cool. Bring plenty of water as their is only 2 places to buy drinks if you plan to spend several hours to see the historic buildings. You can see the Pensacola lighthouse from the fort. There is a fee to enter the area.

Really nice place full of history. Very interesting and the kids love to see real cannon. They gift shop has very good prices.

Could not get into initial spot. Gal at welcome center was accommodating and even offered more accommodations to assist my daughter. Campground E is okay. Small slots, had to park truck in overflow area. Cannot set up until exactly 2 PM. So don't arrive early unless you have some way to keep fridge cold without power. Each sight is an ankle breaker, as there is only one to one half feet of pavement space after camper is in before a drop off into a muddy area. Other than that, lovely place, especially Loop A which has more shady spots.

This was an amazing visit. So much to see. Beaches are so beautiful. Waves cresting emerald green while the water looked blue.

Definitely worth stopping at and learning about the history of that area. Family truly enjoyed this experience. Very well persevered which I appreciate.

Lot of speeders. Facility's really run down. Not much in gift shop. Need speed bumps to slow traffic.

Fort Pickens is a beautiful and historic place to visit. We have camped there since 1978. Simple modifications could make this great park and campground so much more accessible for those of us with larger campers. A simple modification to the campsite parking pads that would flare or widen the street connection of parking pads would allow parallel parking while preventing damage to the grounds by larger vehicles and campers while attempting to park.

The rangers and campground hosts are great. Sometimes a little over zealous in enforcing illogical rules, but very nice and professional. I know that some people can be unreasonable, but the campground manager really needs a less stressful job and training in the listening side of the communication process. She jumps to conclusions prior to listening to her customer’s explanation thus creating tension and conflict and then attempts to blame her customer for initiating the conflict and then goes into a tantrum of illogical behavior. This was my experience this morning when attempting to check into another site that we had reserved for my daughter for one night of tent camping while we were in a motorhome on another site. Thanks for allowing me to vent a little. I love this campground and hope that it can continue to provide access and fun for many years to come.

One word could sum it up- "go! "
A fort to explore, surrounded by the gorgeous powdery beaches and gulf waters- go! Also, check the Blue Angels practice schedule. You can see them fly from here.

There are a few restroom options throughout and a really great covered picnic area to let you eat and rest for a few minutes out of the sun. If you have kiddos ask about the Jr. Ranger program. They can earn a badge. Plan to spend the day by bringing sunscreen, drinks, food and plenty snacks. The beaches have a lot to explore themselves so bring a net, fishing poles, buckets, sand castle building supplies, swimwear, towels, and baby powder for the excess sand if the beach is of interest. If you plan and pack ahead you will have a wonderful day learning, exploring and then soaking up some beach time.

Beautiful spot to go for the day! A 7 day pass is $25, which is also available to use at Opal beach. The fort is super cool and the beaches are stunning.