A Quick Camping Trip to Florida’s Forgotten Coast!

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A week ago I got a wild hair to go explore somewhere new.  You’re shocked right!?!  LOL.  This is basically the story of my life.  I love nothing more than going somewhere that I have never been before.  Jake gets into it too.   The week before when going to summer camp drop off we took a path we haven’t taken before and he yells out “Is this road we’ve never driven on?”  I love his excitement!

Anyway, so I woke up on a Saturday and thought, I need to go somewhere tomorrow.  With Matt’s busy work schedule it’s often just the kids and me on weekday adventures so I like to keep it within a couple of hours and also as cheap as possible.   But I have to tell you, the words CHEAP, FLORIDA GULF COAST, and SUMMER don’t typically go together and that has been a rude awakening for this girl who loves to go to the beach.   This is peak tourist season and the Gulf Coast is booked up so I have to think outside the box… and inside the tent.  Tent camping has become a little hack for me (read more in my 30A post) and while it’s a little more work and a lot less comfortable I can escape to the beach a lot more often.   So, I opened up my CampFlorida brochure, opened it up to the northwest and found the campground with tent availability – Presnell’s Bayside Marina and RV Resort.   And while most RV resorts aren’t tented friendly, the magazine said they were and I also called to double check just to be safe.    At a place like this, the tent prices are the same as the full hookup RV sites and we opted for the gulf front site that was available so our total cost was around $125.   While this probably seems like a lot for tent camping it was a fraction of the cost that a hotel or rental would be this time of year.  And it has a pool!

And where is that at?  Good question because I almost forgot to mention it.  It’s down in Gulf County, Florida along a part of the state known as The Forgotten Coast.  The campground is located between Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas.  It’s right on the bay and exactly two hours from our house.   Per Wikipedia “Florida’s Forgotten Coast is a registered trademark, coined in the early 1990s, by the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce. The name is most commonly used to refer to a relatively quiet, undeveloped and largely uninhabited section of coastline stretching from Mexico Beach on the Gulf of Mexico to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay in Florida. The nearest major cities are Tallahassee, about 90 miles northeast of Apalachicola, and Panama City, home of Tyndall Air Force Base, about 60 miles  to the northwest.”

I have never been to this part of the state which was obviously exciting.   I also want to mention that this area is very close to where Hurricane Michael made landfall back in October.  I know that there is still a long road ahead for this part of the state and as they rebuild it’s helpful to put some money back into these small businesses who rely so much on tourism.   I am writing this on July 1st, 2019 and I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that you’re going to go there and it’s all hunky-dory.   This area is hurting.   A lot of the damage is still visible and some businesses haven’t been able to reopen yet.   But they are working so hard to come back better than ever and there are many that are open.   People have to start coming back to help this area get back to a new normal and eventually thrive again.  So, I am going to be sharing what we did on our visit and we had a fun time!

It starts on Sunday morning.  This is when I run around like a maniac throwing everything we need into the car.  I still managed to forget my swimsuit, the pump for the paddleboard, the kid’s snorkel sets, etc.  Did I mention that we were most looking forward to snorkeling and paddleboarding?  Please tell me that I’m not the only one this happens to?  We got on the road by 11am and the kids actually fell asleep for most of the drive which is awesome because then I can listen to Radio Andy in the car.  (I love Bravo and it’s my new favorite obsession)  It took two hours so I was really confused when I got there at 2pm.  I had no idea that I was heading from Central to Eastern time zone.  So, there is a little tidbit for those of you coming from anywhere west.   We stopped in Port St. Joe and found a great wood-fired pizza place to east and Scoobie’s ice cream stand for dessert.   I want to give you all a heads up though.  Most things in town are closed on Sunday and many on Monday too.  So, take that into consideration when visiting.  A midweek trip may be better!

We pulled into camp at 4:30pm and got checked in.  We found our spot and as I expected we were the only tent there.  I have to be honest here because I don’t want you all to think that it’s always rainbows and unicorns over here.   It was really hot and I felt embarrassed to be the only tent.  I know it sounds silly but I felt like all these RVers were looking at me thinking “who is this lady with the kids and the tent.”   And did I mention it was hot… with like 95% humidity?  I let my doubts get the best of me and we got back into the car to explore a bit more and drove all the way up Cape San Blas.  At one point I was thinking that I should probably just drive back home.  I called Matt and told him that and the kids heard me too.    And I hadn’t even realized yet that I forgot all of that stuff.  We walked out onto the sand and watched the ocean.  We got back into the car and got back to camp at around 7pm.  It was a little cooler and we set up camp.   I don’t know why I was feeling defeated before I even started but we pushed through it and the kids helped set everything up.  And as we finished setting up the beds I looked out onto the most beautiful palm tree sunset and it was worth it and going to be fun.  Just look at this!

So, I do have to say that it was HOT those two nights in the tent.  Oh yeah, I also forgot an extension cord for the fan.   We slept with the windows open and the fly off the top.   I mentioned on Instagram that I wasn’t sure what I was thinking of tent camping there this time of year but in hindsight, it was well worth it!  We spent all of Monday at the beach, exploring a couple of different access points on the cape and then going to T. H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park at the end of the Cape.    In between, we had lunch at St. Joe Shrimp Co. which was seriously so good!  And we also grabbed coffee and snow cones from Cape Coffee across the street.

T. H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

We love exploring Florida State Parks so were excited to check out T. H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.  Something fascinating happened to this park when the hurricane hit last year.  What once was 20 miles of beautiful beaches, camping, cabins, wildlife habitat was cut in half.  There was a breach just north of the boat ramp in the Eagle Harbor and several roads, utility facilities were destroyed and remain inaccessible.  What it did create is a big patch of sand where you can enjoy the Gulf of Mexico and the St Joseph Beach bay within a hundred yards (or less) of each other.    We parked it here and spent the first half of the time playing in the warm shallow waters of the bay (with the new snorkel sets I had to buy) and then the other part playing in the ocean.  It was beautiful and we had the beaches almost ourselves.  And that itself is very very hard to do in Florida in June.  Look at Abby here.  I took this shot of her walking toward the ocean while I was near the bay with Jake.

There is one other couple there if you squint really hard and look to the right.  This was unreal to me especially after our last several beach days have been down on 30A, which I love, but it was so crowded over there.    It was the same over at the other couple of beach access points we went to as well!   We stopped and had a late snack at Cape Trading Post.  This place has everything you need!  Sandwiches, pizza, grocery, fresh fruit, beer, wine, souvenirs, etc so pop in when you visit.

We got back to camp around 6pm and the kids played in the pool.  I got in too, in the new swimsuit I had to buy of course, and after a hot day, it was so refreshing!  We swam until sunset and then went back to camp to make hotdogs.  The campground had wifi and the kids watched a movie on Netflix and we all crashed.  In the morning we packed up camp early and were able to get on the road by 8am.   Just before we left the older lady next to us came over and told me how awesome it was that I am camping with my kids.   That made my day.  It made me proud and helped me remember why I do this.

And then… on the way home we stopped at a truck stop and as I was checking out the lady behind the register said: “You’re doing a great job mama.”   And you guys, my performance was questionable at this point.  I left Jake sleeping in the car with the air on and just told Abby to choose the Slim Jim over the Sweettarts because it’s “healthier”.  But her words stopped me in the tracks and actually made me tear up.  First, the fact that strangers would just blurt that out to me was heartwarming.   We ALL need to be supporting each other like this!  You never know when someone needs to hear it either.  I am sure she says it to every lady that comes in there with kids but it connected with me.  I feel like it told me that it’s all worth it.  The adventures, the doubts, the high points, and the low ones.  Keep taking risks, my friends.

Do those things that you think you can’t and be proud of yourself even when it seems to all go wrong. 

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And here is where I tell you about all of the things I actually planned to do there but didn’t get to.  Next time I want to rent a place and check some of these off the list! Because I will be back!

• There are tons of places to rent Paddleboards and Kayaks to use out in the bay.  The water is nice and calm out there and this would be so fun!   The campground we stayed at actually rents them but we just didn’t have a chance to get to it.
• Horseback riding on the beach.  You guys, this looks amazing!  I hope to get back down when it’s not as hot and do this.  The sunset rides look amazing. There are a few places that do this and here is some more info via Yelp.
• Deep Sea Fishing.  Or any fishing for that matter.  That seems to be what most people love to do around here.  Also, the area is renowned for its oyster and shrimp production and I hear that scallop season is awesome.  It starts around now and you can just wade out into the bay with your snorkel and pick them out of the grass beds!
• Drive down the coast.  I wanted to check out the St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge just east of Cape San Blas as well as check out some of the smaller communities along the coast.   I hear often that this is as close to Old Florida as it gets.  It’s slower down here.  There aren’t as many hotels and highrises.  The pace seems more laid back.  And the history is fascinating.
• Rent a home and spend the weekend on St. George Island nearby.