Gulf Islands National Seashore — Attraction in Pascagoula

First time here, and first time in MS. I thought this park would be bigger. CG is small, plus there is an adjoining day use area. The visitors center is about a mile away. They have an interpretive center and a movie there, it's worth a stop. But they don't sell anything, not even post cards. They supposedly have some guided walks but there were no sign up sheets or signs, we only read about it online. The park is surrounded on all sides by housing developments. There are even openings in the fence to the park from the neighborhoods, which I've never seen in the NPS system. Locals come into the park all day to jog, ride bikes and walk their dogs. I was super glad to see armed NPS police on patrol. Check-in office at the CG has some brochures, and some free books. Host was very nice. Roads and sites are asphalt, our was about 3 feet wider than our trailer. But still had a steep grade down from the pad to the table. Few sites still have BBQ grills. You can see where they once were but have been removed. CG is an open grassy area, there are trees but no privacy. Bathrooms are not clean. You can see where someone has been dragging a dirty mop against the wall, there is a dirt stain on the concrete blocks. Paint in showers is peeling, and there are hard water deposits. Showers are exterior single use rooms. Vents are dirty and ventilation fans no longer work. There are also no windows in showers so make sure to bring a light incase the power goes out. They have hooks and a bench and they are far enough away that your stuff stays dry. There is lots of construction going on. Boardwalks being rebuilt. In the CG they are installing new concrete pads for all picnic tables. It is off season so there were no ferries running out to the barrier islands. There is an old fort out there but we've seen coastal batteries before so not sure we'd have made the trip. There isn't a lot to do here. We did 2 days, drove into Biloxi to go to Petsmart. It's okay for a day or two. The CG has a gate which they supposedly lock at night but we never went out. Host gave us a CG map and we found a code on the back to the gate. But it only keeps out cars, not people. We camped at Davis Bayou Campground in a...

We love Davis Bayou. We have been several times. Always a great camping trip. This was no exception. We were greeted by camp hosts. I forgot their name (shame on me). They were some of the friendliest and most helpful folks we have ever came in contact with. They said hello, and asked how we were doing as they strolled by several other times too. Our favorite thing about this location is the biking. Ocean Springs has really great bike routes. You feel like you are in the woods when staying here. But you can bike into downtown. The downtown is wonderful with lots of local shops and restaurants. The bike paths go all over besides, to the beach, and across the bay bridge into Biloxi. All off road. They are wonderful. We rode 21 miles one day and really didn't bike as much as we could. We also biked to Eleven Oak trail. Incredible small trail with hundred year old oaks. There are some short hiking trails in the park and a great ranger/interoperative center. The ranger this time (again forgot name) was also the most informative that we ran into. We always bring our kayaks and go out to Deer island in the bay. Another great adventure where there is often no one around, so you have a deserted island all to yourself with a private beach. Many of the lower number sites are shaded, and more private. The upper number sites are more open. The sites had water and 20/30/50 electric. There is a dump station on site. Can't wait for...

Beautiful landscape, if you like the natural undeveloped seascape with large sand dunes, sea oats, and dolphins playing in the clear emerald green waters it's great. We have enjoyed the beaches at Fort Pickens this week. We made the drive to Fort Barrancas which is well preserved with the only remaining Spanish water battery in the USA if you are interested in history or just like cool architecture it's worth the drive. Didn't go through the lighthouse but stopped to look at the exterior, advertised as the tallest remaining lighthouse on the Gulf very nice. Drove to Navarre Beach and it has some huge dunes and nice shells on the beach but the water was fouled with bright green mossy looking algae (or maybe it's a type of seaweed) it smelled like sewage however some people were playing in the water and there was a green flag up. A few years ago we also took the ferry to ship island which was beautiful as well as Perdido Key area so we have seen most of the park available by car plus Ship Island over two trips and would gladly pay to see them again. Tourist attractions are available anywhere but here you can see the beach in the natural world with few man made...