Fort Pickens Campground — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

Negatives (Also read positives below!): Showers are old and dated but would be less bothersome if they were at least cleaned daily which didn’t seem to be the case - the same trash was seen on the floor of the shower room for days. The bathrooms are separate from the showers and seemed to be overall better cleaned/maintained than the showers. The pavement pads are quite short so they do not accommodate large vehicles well - we have a 17ft camper so no issue but witnessed many campers struggling with abiding by the rule of “no tires in the grass”, which they strictly enforce for an unknown reason as other rules are not as strictly enforced. Our campsite was thankfully neat and clean (not sure how/why) but saw many other sites with very tall weeds growing around the picnic table and grill (They mow but do not weed eat.). Odd that they are so concerned with tires on the grass but not the appearance and maintenance of the amenities. The dump station was closed for repair in our loop, loop E. We were assured it would be open before departure - it was not. We were informed to not use other loops dump stations as they could not accommodate waste from other loops. An email was sent saying there were “plenty of dump stations in the area”. I called the office to ask about these dump stations and the ranger was very stern and short and said something about he cannot make recommendations for dump stations as a federal employee. I looked on many apps and called several gas stations and could not find “plenty in the area”. Asked the campground host before leaving about the closest dump station and they also had no recommendation - told me to download apps. The bathroom at the pavilion at Langdon beach was disgraceful. There was no trash can in the bathroom or pavilion so people used the floor to discard diapers, food containers, sanitary products, etc., and there was no toilet paper in either stall - this was the condition of the bathroom all day on a Saturday. I see other similar ongoing negative comments, so it also appears that the campground does not check and/or care/take into consideration needed change based on visitor reviews. I understand renovation is costly but keeping the facilities clean and the campsites tidy is less costly and would contribute to the longevity of the grounds.

Positives: Location! The beaches are absolutely stunning and some of the most beautiful in the country in my opinion. The campsites themselves were spacious with large grass areas at each one (great for dogs!) and a decent space between campers. Many walking and hiking trails. The forts are so neat to explore and there are several in the area - Fort Pickens, Fort Barrances, Advanced Redoubt, and Fort Massachusetts. All free except Fort Massachusetts which requires a paid ferry ride to ship island. The rangers at the forts were extremely nice! Some of the forts do ranger tours which looked very interesting and informative - we did a self guided tour which was also very fun! The Navy base is nearby and open to the public - this is where Fort Barrances and Advanced Redoubt are located. The aviation museum (free entry) and the Pensacola lighthouse ($10/adult ticket) are also located on base. Lots to see and do in the area which, thankfully, helps negate the negatives mentioned above! Will likely camp here again and hope to see improvements...

2025 Update: Bath and shower facilities were in poor condition and not maintained. Serious electrical issues such as rusted out electrical boxes below hand dryers in bathrooms exposing electrical connections to water and creating a potential shock hazard. Mold, mildew, and peeling paint in showers that looked like they hadn’t been properly sanitized and painted in months, if not years. Broken handicap bench in handicap shower and broken door openers. The 30 amp outlet on our spot didn’t work and the power and water went out while we were there resulting in even worse bath and shower houses. We hadn’t stayed at fort Pickens campground in several years after the length restrictions were placed on sites because I couldn’t find a spot available to hold my truck with our 30ft camper. We didn’t want to risk pulling it 13 hours only to be turned away. We finally returned with a tent this time and showed up to find people had even larger campers and vehicles parked every which way with some even sticking out into the road. Clearly the restrictions were a scare tactic which effectively scared away the people who try to follow the campground rules and are no longer enforced, if they ever were. The pier at the fort was disgusting with trash and rotting bait/fish everywhere as it looked like half the fisherman appeared to be attempting to catch their dinner for the night and just throwing trash and scraps around. The walkway to the beach was falling apart in many places with planks broken and sagging in various places. We were stopped by a ranger on the beach at dark near the jetty and asked to show our reservation to ensure we were camping in the park which was a first for us and kinda comical given the lack of focus on other issues of safety. Overall, I couldn’t believe the decline in the park and campground in the last 10 years. Could it be blamed on funding? It is the cheapest 1 week camping reservation that I’ve made in the last 10 years and a price increase might help fund much needed repairs, staffing, and improve the customer base.

2022 Review We’ve camped here nearly every year for over 10 years and have so many family memories of the beach. It looks like that has ended with our last trip as they’ve now enacted sweeping trailer length restrictions because of “damage to the grass”. It’s tough to find a spot on the website that works for a 29ft camper (which I’d never considered before to be an abnormally large camper) and their website makes it even more difficult as you can only filter by vehicle length which includes RV lengths. We’ve camped in state parks everywhere without running into this problem before. I just received an email now that they will be checking trailer lengths at check-in as well so I can’t imagine pulling our camper 14 hours only to be turned away for being a foot or two off of the requirements which could easily be made up in tow vehicle length differences if space...

I decided to update my review. At first I rated this place a little bit lower, but I decided to rethink my review. The scenery truly is beautiful and the campgrounds were very quiet and peaceful. I had a very pleasant stay.

With everything, there is room for improvement. The bathrooms and especially the showers could really use fresh coats of paint every now and then… it would really help with the feeling of cleanliness in there. After I left my review about the bathrooms, not being cleaned, and needing toilet paper, the next time I went to the bathrooms somewhat had clean them and there was toilet paper. I also saw someone cleaning them again before I left.

What I liked about the bathroom was that there was heat when it was cold and air conditioner when it was hot. The water in the shower was also hot, which was nice even though the shower really wasn’t a shower more like a single stream of water, but it did the job.

The thing that I did not like was having to pay an extra $25 for a seven day pass for the area when I was only staying there for two nights. I really feel like that should’ve been included in the cost of the camping or at least made very clear so that it wasn’t such a shock. The guard who told me about it was like well it’s in a fine print… well, how about instead of putting it in the fine print put it in large print? Why hide it?

I arrived late so I use the code to get in the gate. I had the hardest time finding my spot. My spot had zero trees which is impossible to tell on the map so I guess you just pick and I hope you’re lucky. I was happy that I was in walking distance of the bathroom.

This morning, some kind of an announcement was made at the campgrounds and it was impossible to hear. I assume it was about the rain.

The drive is very long and you can only go 25 miles an hour but the scenery is beautiful. Other campers have been quiet, kind, and friendly. I have not interacted with any staff other than the park Rangers who charged me the extra 25 bucks.

Gave it four stars because of the extra $25 charge and the bathrooms not being as good as they clearly could be with all the extra $25 charges that are collected… And the sign on the bathroom door says this facility is made possible because of your park fees… So please take some of those park fees and put it towards some paint.

Really enjoyed the beach and it definitely is beautiful and next time maybe I’ll stay longer so the $25 fee won’t feel as meaningless as it did for driving onto the...