Hi there!
So you want to go camping in St Andrews State Park!
This Florida campground is perfect if you also want to do things in Panama City Beach and want to make day trips around the Florida Panhandle.
Camping in St Andrews State Park has been considered one of the best campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle for RV camping and tent camping.
But then in 2018, a hurricane happened.
According to the Florida Park Service, the entire Florida Panhandle region, including state parks, was dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.
In October 2018, Hurricane Michael hit Florida’s Panhandle and set new devastation records.
This hurricane also resulted in the destruction of much of the St Andrews State Park campground.
Soon after, the St Andrews State Park campground was available for walk-in tent camping only for some time.
According to Florida State Parks, there are several Florida state park campgrounds that have been damaged by a hurricane in the past:
- St Andrews State Park campground
- Florida Caverns State Park campground
- St. Joseph Peninsula State Park campground
- Long Key State Park campground
- Sandspur Campground at Bahia Honda State Park
As of March 2022, St Andrews State Park Campground is open.
In March 2022, the West Loop of the St Andrews State Park campground opened to drive-in camping after it was closed for years due to hurricane damage.
In June 2022, the East Loop of the St Andrews State Park campground opened.
Is there beach camping in St Andrews State Park?
St Andrews State Park is best known for the beautiful St Andrews State Park beach along the gulf coast.
But the St Andrews State Park campground isn’t a beachfront campground, so it’s not possible to go camping in St Andrews State Park just steps from the beach or anything like that.
But, it is possible to get a waterfront campsite!
The water that you are fronting is the Grand Lagoon.
The St Andrews State Park campground is along the Grand Lagoon.
And, you will be just a short drive of a couple of minutes to a beautiful St Andrews State Park beach that is one of the best beaches in the Florida Panhandle!
How do you reserve a campsite at the St Andrews State Park campground?
You reserve a campsite at the St Andrews State Park campground through the official Florida state parks camping reservations website.
Finding open campsite availability at state park campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle, including St Andrews State Park, has been known to be difficult.
If the camping trip to St Andrews State Park that you want to do is just a few months, weeks, or even days away, and you find no camping availability, cancellations do happen.
You just have to get lucky and search for campgrounds immediately after someone cancels.
Your “luck” will increase the more you search, and the closer you are to your travel date.
I never did get lucky for St Andrews State Park.
It didn’t help that I was searching starting just a few weeks out for one of the most difficult times to get a campsite.
I wanted a campsite at St Andrews State Park on a specific Saturday in March.
In general, you will find the greatest difficulty in finding open campgrounds for Saturday nights.
Naturally, you will also find more difficulty also during busy season… like winter months and spring break season.
But still, searching over and over (and over 😜) really can work.
It did work for me at other Florida state park campgrounds that are known to be very difficult to find campsite availability, including the Henderson Beach State Park campground in Destin.
So, while it’s not something to necessarily depend on, it’s something you can look for.
1 night stays will generally be easier to find than multi-night stays.
See pictures below from the post-hurricane St Andrews State Park Campground!
🌞
Here are some pictures from the NEW St Andrews State Park Campground
Once again, I was not able to get a camping reservation at St Andrews State Park because it was fully booked up every time I looked.
But when I went to St Andrews State Park in March 2022, I did a drive through to take some pictures of some of the waterfront St Andrews State Park campsites!
👆 Campsite #93
👆 Campsite #119, front right.
👆 Campsite #119
St Andrews State Park campground has electricity and water.
There is electricity at the campsite.
There is water at each individual campsite.
There are regular bathrooms at the St Andrews State Park Campground.
There are showers at the St Andrews State Park Campground.
You can do laundry at the St Andrews State Park campground.
More of Florida state park camping
Since I didn’t stay at St Andrews State Park, I didn’t get as many up close pictures.
If you haven’t stayed at a Florida state park campground before, take a look at my pictures from Henderson Beach State Park campground.
Since the St Andrews State Park campground was recently renovated, you can expect the facilities to be newer.
But it can give you an idea of what it will be like!
You can also see my pictures from Florida Caverns State Park campground for a Florida state park campground that was recently renovated after hurricane destruction.
More about St Andrews State Park camping
See more about camping in St Andrews State Park from Florida State Parks:
The West Loop of the St Andrew State Park campground was formerly called the Pine Grove Campground.
Most campsite sites in the West Loop of the St Andrews State Park campground have a view of Lower Grand Lagoon.
Each campsite features water, 30- and 50-amp electric, and sewer connections.
Each site has a picnic table and grills.
Trails, beaches, a boat launch and concessions are located a short distance from the campground.
All sites have water and electric (30 and 50 amp) and are equipped with sewer hookups.
The sites will accommodate camping units ranging from tents to RVs up to 50 feet in length.
Two accessible restrooms are available.
A dump station is located on the entrance road to the campground.
Pets are welcome in the campground but are not permitted in swimming areas or buildings.
Laundry facilities are available.
Last checked: Florida State Parks, June 2022
And that’s a bit about the St Andrews State Park campground!
More for your trip to St Andrews State Park and beyond:
- Best beaches in St Andrews State Park
- Best campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle
- Best state parks in the Florida Panhandle
- Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle
More Florida state parks for camping:
- Grayton Beach State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
- Henderson Beach State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
- Florida Caverns State Park campground (Florida Panhandle)
- Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park campground (camping between Florida Panhandle and Orlando)
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Florida Keys)
- Sandspur Campground in Bahia Honda State Park (Florida Keys)
- Oleta River State Park camping cabins (North Miami)
HAPPY CAMPING IN PANAMA CITY!
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