Best Tent Camping: Florida

Big Lagoon State Park CampgroundBig Lagoon State Park Campground was built on an ancient, wooded sand dune, which accounts for the varied campsites you find there today.Beauty: 4 starsPrivacy: 4 starsSpaciousness: 4 starsQuiet: 3 starsSecurity: 5 starsCleanliness: 4 stars KEY INFORMATION ADDRESS: Big Lagoon State Park, 12301 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola, FL 32507 OPERATED BY: Florida State Parks CONTACT: 850-492-1595, floridastateparks.org; reservations 800-326-3521, reserveamerica.com OPEN: Year-round SITES: 75 EACH SITE: Picnic table, fire ring, water, electricity ASSIGNMENT: Self-assignment via Reserve America, otherwise assigned by ranger REGISTRATION: By phone, online, or at park entrance booth FACILITIES: Hot showers, flush toilets, dump station PARKING: At campsites only in campground FEE: $20/night ELEVATION: Sea level RESTRICTIONS: PETS: On 6-foot leash; proof of vaccination required FIRES: In fire rings only ALCOHOL: Prohibited VEHICLES: None OTHER: 14-day stay limit Located on the Intracoastal Waterway, Big Lagoon is Florida’s most westerly recreation area. The water-dominated park has fishing, boating, hiking, swimming, and camping. Nearby Perdido Key Recreation Area features a white-sand Gulf beach. Big Lagoon’s campground has a mix of sites to suit any camper’s desires. Look over the campground before you pick a site, or you’ll miss out on a campsite that you wish you could have had. Big Lagoon Campground was built on an ancient, wooded sand dune, which accounts for the varied campsites you find there today. A very long and narrow loop road runs along either low side of the dune. This setup makes for a rolling campground with vertical relief, unusual for Florida. Differing degrees of forest cover make for both sunny, open campsites and hidden, wooded campsites. Tall slash pines tower above the campground, but the more prevalent pine is the low-slung sand pine that favors sandy coastal regions like Big Lagoon. Live oaks grow about, but they don’t reach the heights seen farther inland. Plants like dune rosemary combine with wax myrtle, winged sumac, and palmetto to form thick campsite buffers that shield you from your neighbor. Enter the loop. The campsites on the right-hand side of the loop are higher and have less-dense woodlands. The other side of the loop backs against a marsh and has campsites cut into moist woods. Still other sites are cut into the dune and have wooden walls to hold back the sand. The sites in the back of the campground are better suited for tent campers. Quaint wooden fences separate some of the campsites and protect fragile buffer vegetation. This area is the highest in the campground and has many appealing sites: adequate space and privacy can be found at nearly every one. Three clean and modern comfort stations serve the campground. Campground hosts and on-site rangers make this a very safe place to camp. Park recreation is just a walk away. Two nature trails leave the campground via boardwalks and connect to the waters of the Intracoastal Waterway. There are two swimming areas: East Beach and West Beach. Neat, wooden picnic pavilions offer refuge from the sun between playtime in the water. East Beach has an observation tower overlooking the surrounding Gulf beaches and waters. Quality saltwater fishing for sea trout and flounder is available. Boaters have a boat ramp to launch their craft. Hungry campers can even go crabbing in Big Lagoon. All these nature trails connect to make nearly all park areas accessible. The Yaupon Trail meanders right along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Grand Lagoon Trail connects East Beach to West Beach and has a side trail to Big Lagoon itself. The 3.5-mile Cookie Trail is a one-way trek that starts near the park entrance station. It passes through open pine woods and nearly impenetrable thickets gnarled from the salt and wind of the maritime weather. It is about a 15-minute drive to Perdido Key from Big Lagoon. Perdido Key State Park is a 247-acre enclave of protected Gulf coast. There are more than 1.4 miles of beach to enjoy. Clear waters meld into white-sand beaches, which become rolling sand dunes covered with sea oats. Several boardwalks crisscross the environment, making for safe passage across the fragile sand dunes. To access Perdido Key, turn left out of Big Lagoon and then take your next left onto FL 292; follow it a short distance to the state park. Big Lagoon was a pleasant surprise for me. I really enjoyed the unusual campground stretched along the ancient sand dune. The park recreation and that of nearby Perdido Key offer any tent camper ample reason to give Big Lagoon a try. Getting There From Pensacola, take US 98 West from Navy Boulevard 6 miles to County Road 293 (Bauer Road). Turn left on CR 293 and head south 5 miles to dead-end at Big Lagoon State Park. GPS COORDINATES N30° 19’ 15.2” W87° 24’ 13.2”