St George Island State Park

We planned our week long summer beach trip last October. As time approached and schedules cleared, we decided we wanted to add a couple days to our trip on the front end. We threw a “dart” at the panhandle “board” and ended up with a two night stay at Dr. Julia G Bruce State park on the rustic coast of Saint George Island. At the time of booking (July 2023) we paid $25/night.

A few important things to note:

1. Make sure you have a tank full of gas before you enter the Apalachicola National Park. There wasn’t a gas station for miles, don’t get caught stranded!

2. The park closes at 8:45pm. If you’re coming from a long way away (like we did) then you definitely need to plan to arrive before then or call to see if they make other arrangements.

3. While dogs ARE permitted on the public beaches, the state park does NOT allow dogs on their coastline. We love bringing our dog with us and appreciated the opportunity to both preserve nature and bring her with us within a reasonable distance.

The campground was private and easy to navigate. We snagged site 21 and didn’t need any leveling blocks. We travel with a 26 ft pull behind and we fit easily in the site. There were water and electricity hookups, no sewer. There was a dump station on the way out. The campground had two bathhouses. I’d rate them 7/10. They got the job done, were relatively clean, and they were convenient to each of the sites. They also had a playground!! Big plus for us with small kids. My parents made the mistake of taking our oldest to a campground with no playground… he was devastated.

Nighttime views were magical. There is so little light pollution that the stars truly glittered the sky. I saw a shooting star and nature put on a spectacular lighting storm several miles off the coast.

While you are not ocean front, a quick car or golf cart ride gets you to the first beach access. It would probably be an okay walk, if you’re up for it. With two kids and all the beach belongings, it just didn’t make sense for us to walk. My biggest beach hack is evening beach visits. The sun isn’t beating down on you and kids are so much happier. While I love a good long day on the coast, I also love happy campers. Our first night at the state park was exploratory. My husband, Nick, caught a crab in the ocean and we found another little ghost crab on the way back to the truck. There were crabs EVERYWHERE. Driving at night on the single road in and out of the state park, the road was littered with crabs. We felt like we were playing frogger avoiding all of them. The birds were really phenomenal as well. The reason the park doesn’t permit dogs on the beach is to keep the birds from abandoning their nests. The beach was not crowded at all. There was plenty of room to play and great space between each group of visitors along the coastline.

The island itself is really clean and hardly commercialized. We ate lunch at the Blue Parrot, an oceanside restaurant and bar. There are several great locally owned restaurants, an ice cream shop (with a wildly long line), and a few beach supply shops. You’ve got a Piggly Wiggly Express for essentials and gas. We spent a morning at the visitors center. They had a playground (10/10) and we climbed 92 steps to the top of the lighthouse. It has been relocated several times on the island since it was erected in the mid-1800’s. In the 50’s, they routed a canal at one end of the island and the lighthouse quickly became an island of it’s own, eventually falling into the ocean. Restoration efforts were put into place and locals collected the remains of the original lighthouse to rebuild on the main portion of the island. All of the bricks that you see on the interior of the lighthouse are from the mid-1800’s. Super interesting experience!

Check out was a breeze, and so was the drive over the 4-mile bridge on and off the island! I love getting to explore many different parts of the coast when we go on vacation. It was a huge win heading out early and experiencing something new! If you want to check out the Forgotten Coast, take a look at their website, here. If you are campers like us and want to spend some nights under the stars at their campground, check out the Florida State Park website, here.

Shout me out and share your experience!