William J "Billy Joe" Rish Recreation Area — Attraction in Florida

My review is base strictly on multi-night stay in Aug of 2023 in a family cabin.

You can't use the pool from 1 hour before sunset until sunrise which is the best time for my special needs daughter to swim during the hot summer. They lock the boardwalk access to the beach at sunset. We had our own beach wheelchairs yet couldn't even go for a walk on the beach after dark. The family cabins are 1/8 mile walk from the pool and beach access. You will need a drink and snack after transporting everything you need to take care of a special needs person... or two...to the fun stuff area. Fortunately the family cabins are very open with incredibly large bathrooms and showers and well designed for wheelchair users. The shower curtains are open at the bottom by 30" or so. You will soak the floor with each shower. Take extra towels. There were NO LAUNDRY FACILITIES. Special needs people sometimes make lots and lots of dirty laundry. Overall the cabins are comfy but still missing a few very necessary details. They have shaded areas around the pool but none over the pool itself. If you or your special needs loved one needs to use the restroom while at the pool or beach you will have to go all the way out into the parking lot but since the Restrooms have AC its not so bad.

Overall, the park is great but you can only use it during daylight hours. Don't get a cabin in the heart of the summer thinking you can go out into and use the park facilities in the evening when it is a little cooler. Extended cabin stays will net you lots of steps on your fit bit and quite a bit of dirty laundry. The room's AC works well and the beds are comfy so naps come easy. We won't come back in the heart of the summer. Maybe fall or early spring next time. Maybe 2 or 3 nights next time...

My family and I had no idea what this place was until today. For the last year I've been battling PPH to the point that I am now in a transport chair most of the time to get around. My inlaws brought us to appalachicola just to kind of get away for the weekend. When we stopped in here we had no idea how it would change our trip. We had been to several other beaches that we loved in the past but that were now inaccessible to me because I couldn't walk long distances anymore. We stopped in here after looking it up on Google and Rob was an absolutely godsend. Very nice personable and accommodating. He let us use an electric beach chair so I could get all the way down to the beach and enjoy myself. He also arranged for a beach chair for my mother in law so she could do the same. He set her up a fishing pole so she could do some fishing and was just generally very helpful. We will absolutely be back and can't wait to come. What a blessing Rob and this park were to us today. It made our whole trip...

I cannot speak more highly of a place than this park! After being sorely disappointed at two other state parks in the area that were listed as accessible we stumbled upon this Mecca for those with disabilities! Both my husband and mother are disabled and require chairs/scooters to travel place to place. We arrived and were greeted by Rob who not only was compassionate about our situation but was so outgoing and helpful! Both my husband and momma were outfitted with a motorized and manual beach chair (respectively) and he also loaned us a beach wagon to haul all of the necessary stuff the goes along with traveling with two disabled persons! We travelled down a spotless and smooth boardwalk all the way to the shore line! It was amazing! My husband ,who has a terminal illness, got to enjoy the only thing he’s asked for since getting sick…he got to put his toes in the sand and feel the waves! This place is beyond amazing and I cannot...