Other Things To Do At Gulf Shores (Part 2)

We also visited the Fishing Pier at Gulf Shores.  If you are camping at Gulf State Park, you will get a pass that allows entry onto the fishing pier, free of charge (not including fishing fees).

This large, wide pier is 1540 feet long.  At the entry, there is a "tiki" type bar, bait shop, fishing gear rentals, and restrooms.

One of my favorite things about Gulf State Park is the network of paved trails.  They have a fantastic system

of paved trails along with raised bridges.  These trails run through the campground, the canals/lakes and over to the fishing pier area.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign.  "Swim at your own risk" takes on a whole new meaning.

And yes, there are alligators.

We spotted this one on a trail overlooking a canal.  There was a kayaker on this canal who was blissfully unaware of the alligator.

Other Things To Do At Gulf Shores (Part 1)

The main attraction in the Gulf Shores, Alabama area is the beach.  As I explained in my Gulf State Park campground review post, that although the beaches are beautiful, I don't really enjoy just laying around on the beach all day.  Fortunately, there are many other things to do at Gulf State Park.

We rode the ferry over to Dauphin Island one day which was one of the highlights of our trip.  





This is a popular attraction and I recommend you get there early to get a place in line.  They have room for

28 vehicles max.  We got there for the 8:45 am ride from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island.

Once we got to Dauphin Island, we decided to tour Fort Gaines.  On a previous camping trip, we toured Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island.  Fort Gaines is a similar military fort.

I also recommend traveling up Hwy 59 North to Foley, AL and visiting the Farmer's and Fisherman's market if you are there on a Saturday or Tuesday.  When we go camping, I like to try and find out if there are any local farmer's markets close.  We got fresh corn, tomatoes, okra, squash and local honey.

Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores Alabama Campground Review

We camped at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama the last week of June 2019.  Gulf Shores is just west of Orange Beach, Alabama.  The main draw to this area is, of course, the beaches.  They are beautiful white sand beaches at the Gulf of Mexico.

I like the sound of the surf and I think the beaches are very pretty, but I am not really a "beach" person - meaning I don't just like to hang out at the beach all

of the time.  Fortunately, there are a lot of other things to do at and around Gulf State Park.  See my posts Other Things To Do At Gulf Shores (Part 1) and (Part 2).

If you like the beach, this may be a place you want to consider camping at.

I couldn't help but wonder how this area looked before all the condos blocked the beaches.  This area

brought to mind the lyrics from the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi, "paved paradise, put up a parking lot".



The traffic to get to the Gulf State Park area was horrendous.  We left our house in north Mississippi on Saturday morning and we encountered wrecks and traffic jams from Jackson, MS all the way south through Hattiesburg to the Gulf.  Really, there is no good way to get around it.

Now, on to the campground review.  The campground has close to 500 campsites, most are RV full hookup sites with a few tent only sites.  The campground is well laid out in sections with several bath houses, a swimming pool, campstore and laundry.  None of the sites are on the beach, but some are on a lake.

Our site was #155.  I chose this site based on the shade it looked like it had on Google satellite view.  We were very happy with this site.  It had privacy and shade. 

Our campsite had a 30/50 amp electric, water, sewer, and grill.  You have to bring your own above-ground fire ring, if you want a campfire.  Since it was 100 degree + heat index, we did not even consider a campfire.

There are warning signs everywhere about alligators.  You may never see one, but please keep an eye out for your children and pets!

This is one of the lakes that border the campground.

The Campstore was stocked with a few grocery items, ice cream, T-shirts, and camping/RV supplies.  They also had bicycle rentals.  There were several ice machines that took credit cards.  The laundry was very well maintained.  The bathhouses were air conditioned and clean.

There is a dog park in the state park (down the street from the campground).  They have a separate area for small dogs.

We made our reservations on the Alabama State Park website.  Due to this being a resort area, there are a bunch of extra fees that get tacked on to your campsite fee.

We enjoyed our stay at Gulf State Park and were very pleased with our campsite. Our cell phone service worked great and we could pick up many over the air TV stations.

Getting There:  This area is very popular and highly developed so traffic is a nightmare.  We were coming from north Mississippi, so we went through Jackson, over to Hattiesburg, down through the tunnels at Mobile and then to the gulf.  We chose to get off I-10 at the Baldwin Beach Express, then over to Foley Beach Express (toll road).  We figured it would be quicker than the over-developed Hwy 59 corridor.  Wrong.  It was packed.  If we were to go again, I would opt for Hwy 59 through Foley, turning left on Fort Morgan Rd.  Follow Fort Morgan Rd to Hwy 182 - turn left and then another left onto the Campground Rd.  This is the way we went back and it was much easier.

Pickensville, Alabama COE Campground

This past Memorial Day Weekend, we stayed at the Army Corps of Engineer campground at Pickensville, AL.  This campground is in western Alabama, just a stone's throw from the Mississippi state line.  It is one of  seven campgrounds that the Army Corps of Engineers operate along the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.


Knowing that campgrounds (especially those with large bodies of water) fill up quickly for Memorial Day weekend, we made reservations a couple of months in advance.  When we arrived on Friday afternoon, there was a sign at the entrance that indicated the campground was full.

Pickensville is a large campground with five camping loops.  All of the site have electric / water and some have sewer hookups.  The most popular sites along the waterway are first-come, first-serve only.  One of

the unique features about this campground (and I guess all along the Tennessee Tombigbee) is that it is a navigable waterway.  During our stay, we saw or heard several tugboats.  The working boats share the waterway with recreational boats of all shapes and sizes.

We camped at site #44, which was a very roomy spot with woods to our "living side".  This was one of the sites with water/elec/sewer priced at $20 per night.  



This campground is great for children.  There are several playground areas with basketball courts, volleyball courts, and playground equipment.

You can walk on a mostly paved trail that crosses through all of the campground loops.  There is also a lot of area to ride bikes.  Since we had full hookups, we did not use the bathhouses at the campground; however, each loop has a clean, well-lit bathhouse with a washer/dryer.


In the middle of the campground, there are many sites that back up to a body of water named "Clear Lake". The name is a bit misleading because the water is so dark that you can't see anything in it.  It is actually a cypress swamp.

On the other side of the big bridge that crosses the waterway, there is a day use area with picnic tables and a swim beach.  Since our campsite was not on the water, we decided to pack a lunch one afternoon and head out to the day use area to sit and watch the boats go by.  While this portion of the waterway does not get barge traffic, there were a number of recreational boats that zoomed by.  It made for a very nice and relaxing afternoon.

A few miles down the road, you can visit the Dam and Welcome Center.






The Welcome Center was fashioned after an antebellum plantation home.  It looked over the waterway and had a very nice courtyard area.  If you stay at this campground, I would highly recommend a visit to the dam, welcome center and day use area.

Even though we would have liked to be right next to the large waterway, we enjoyed our stay at Pickensville COE campground.