Big Lagoon State Park Big Lagoon State Park was amazing. We went there last fall and enjoyed it tremendously. We are hoping to get a campground hosting position there in 2015. Sadly, we cannot get back there until then because we are booked up with assignments in other areas of Florida until then. Anyway, the park is located in the southern part of the Northwest area of Florida. Just a couple of miles from the Alabama border. It has lots of camping spots of various sizes, most with sand or dirt drives. There are three large bathhouses spaced throughout the camping areas with a separate one for the Group/Youth campers at the very end. The campground is situated in the middle of the park. The bathhouses are kept cleaned and supplied by the various assigned campground hosts. There is a nice sized children’s playground in the middle. And the middle bathhouse is not really wheelchair accessible but the other two are. There is plenty of hot water and the water pressure is just fine. On the weekends the camping area fills up quickly so if you want to stay it is best to stay during the week. There is a long road leading down to the boat launch, then to the middle picnic, playground, and swimming area, you will pass a very large picnic pavilion that has its own bathroom facility, lots of picnic tables and a large stone fireplace on one side and huge barbecue grilling station on the other. Still, further down the road, you come across the large amphitheater building for concerts that sit right next to the inlet. And towards the end of that road is more picnic pavilions, canoe rentals and launch areas, fishing areas, and a viewing tower. We climbed to the top of the tower and took great shots of the entire area. And while we were there the Blue Angels buzzed our tower on their way home to the Pensacola Naval Air Station. We were not quick enough with our cameras to catch them as they passed us. From the campground you can walk the trails, some sand paths, some through boarded walkways to the lagoon with more canoe and kayak rentals and launch area and finally over towards the inlet. It is a nice hike so bring some water, your camera or a set of binoculars to see the abundant wildlife. There is fishing in the lagoon from the boardwalk too. My daughter and I tried to catch a picture of a hawk with a mouse in its talons but he/she was too fast for us to catch a picture. There are some swampy areas and I am sure during the late spring and summer months you will have problems with bugs so bring plenty of Deep Woods Off. The late fall and early winter are a great time to go camping in Florida because there are fewer bugs and mosquitoes. We did try our hand at fishing here along the waterway from shore but we didn’t have any luck. The seagulls got most of our shrimp bait that day. But we had a good time sitting next to the water just enjoying the slowly sinking sun. Big Lagoon State Park 12301 Gulf Beach Highway Pensacola, FL 32507 (850)492-1595 https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Big-Lagoon Admission Fee: $6.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle. $4.00 Single Occupant Vehicle. $2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in the vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass. Boat Launch & Entrance Fees: $10.00 for one person with a boat. $12.00 for 2 – 8 people with a boat. Camping Fee: $20.00 per night, plus tax. Includes water and electricity. Florida residents who are 65 years of age or older or who hold a social security disability award certificate or a 100 percent disability award certificate from the Federal Government are permitted to receive a 50 percent discount on current base campsite fees. Proof of eligibility Group Camping Available. Picnic Pavilion Rental: $75.00 per day, plus tax. Two are available at the east end of the park. $150.00 per day, plus tax, Governor’s Pavilion at the West Beach day use area. Amphitheater: $150 + tax per day RV/Trailer/Tent Camping 18 back-in 50amp 2 20 back-in 30amp 1 20 back-in 50amp 1 21 back-in 50amp 1 23 back-in 30amp 1 24 back-in 30amp 2 24 back-in 50amp 1 25 back-in 30amp 1 25 back-in 50amp 1 26 back-in 30amp 3 26 back-in 50amp 1 27 back-in 50amp 1 28 back-in 30amp 3 28 back-in 50amp 1 30 back-in 30amp 2 30 back-in 50amp 2 32 back-in 50amp 1 33 back-in 30amp 1 33 back-in 50amp 3 34 back-in 30amp 1 35 back-in 30amp 3 35 back-in 50amp 1 36 back in 30amp 3 36 back-in 50amp 1 37 back-in 30amp 1 38 back-in 30amp 4 38 back-in 50amp 1 39 back-in 50amp 1 41 back-in 30amp 1 41 back-in 50amp 1 42 back-in 30amp 1 42 back-in 50amp 1 43 back-in 30amp 1 44 back-in 30amp 1 44 back-in 50amp 1 45 back-in 30amp 2 45 back-in 50amp 2 46 back-in 30amp 2 47 back-in 30amp 1 48 back-in 30amp 1 48 back-in 50amp 1 55 back-in 30amp 1 57 back-in 30amp 1 57 back-in 50amp 1 58 back-in 30amp 1 58 back-in 50amp 1 60 back-in 50amp 1 65 back-in 50amp 1 WHERE TO GET WHAT YOU NEED FOOD Trigger’s Seafood Restaurant 12700 Gulf Beach Hwy Pensacola, Fl 32507 www.triggersseafoodrestaurant.com (850) 492-1897 Oyster Bar Restaurant & Marina 13700 River Rd Pensacola, FL 32507 (850) 492-5600 http://oysterbar31.com Sunset Grille 14050 Canal A Way Pensacola, FL 32507 (850) 492-1063 (doesn’t have its own website) The Original Point Restaurant 14340 Innerarity Point Rd Perdido Key, FL 32507 (850) 492-3577 www.point-restaurant.com Fisherman’s Corner 13486 Perdido Key Dr Pensacola, FL 32507 (850) 791-6971 www.thefishermanscorner.com/ (website down 05/14/13) Shrimp Basket 14600 Perdido Key Dr Pensacola, FL (850) 492-1970 www.shrimpbasket.com The JellyFish Bar 13700 Perdido Key Dr Perdido Key, FL 32507 (850) 332-6632 http://thejellyfishbar.com GAS Circle K 5073 13440 Perdido Key Dr Pensacola, FL 32507 1.2 mi W (850) 497-1630 http://circlek.com Tom Thumb 12410 Sorrento Rd Pensacola, FL 32507 1.8 mi N (850) 492-1828 http://tomthumb.com Sorrento Shell 12388 Sorrento Rd Pensacola, FL 32507 1.9 mi N (850) 492-1612 http://shell.com Murphy USA 2941 S Blue Angel Pkwy Pensacola, FL 4.3 mi NE (850) 453-8104 http://murphyoilcorp.com Chevron Station Lillian (Gas Prices in Ala less than FL) 33780 U.S. 98 Lillian, AL 36549 7.3 mi N (251) 962-3600 http://chevronwithtechron.com GROCERIES Winn-Dixie in Park Plaza 13019 Sorrento Rd Pensacola, FL 32507 0.7 mi NW (850) 492-2076 http://winndixiegrocerystores.com Publix Super Market at Shops At Perdido Key 13390 Perdido Key Dr Pensacola, FL 32507 1.1 mi W (850) 492-5090 http://publix.com LAUNDRY Blue Angel Laundry – We love this Place – Clean and Not too expensive 700 Giese Ln Pensacola, FL 32506 7.4 mi NE (850) 912-4552 http://blueangellaundry.com PROPANE U-Haul Moving & Storage Pensacola-Bellview 4921 Mobile Hwy (N Of Fairfield Dr) Pensacola, FL 32506 (850) 456-9248 http://uhaul.com Busy Bee Storage LLC. 30241 U.S. 98 Elberta, AL 36530 (251) 947-8673 Doc’s RV Parkmore 17595 Alabama 180 Gulf Shores, AL 36542 (251) 968-4511 http://docsrvpark.com MEDICAL CARE Baptist Hospital 1000 West Moreno Street Pensacola, FL 32501 13 mi NE (850) 434-4011 http://ebaptisthealthcare.org American Family Care Urgent Care Clinics 5775 Perdido Beach Boulevard Orange Beach, AL 36561 11 mi W (251) 974-3004 http://americanfamilycare.com Naval Hospital of Pensacola 6000 U.S. 98 Pensacola, FL 32512 8.7 mi NE (850) 505-6601 http://med.navy.mil Nemours Childrens Clinic 5153 N 9th Ave Pensacola, FL 32504 16 mi NE (850) 505-4700 http://nemours.org SUPPLIES Walmart 2951 S Blue Angel Pkwy Pensacola, FL 32506 4.2 mi NE (850) 458-5550 http://walmart.com Target 2950 S Blue Angel Pkwy Pensacola, FL 32506 4.5 mi NE (850) 454-3000 http://target.com Camping World 6242 Gulf Breeze Pkwy Gulf Breeze, FL 32563 27 mi E (850) 939-3484 http://campingworld.com Camping World 21282 Alabama 59 Robertsdale, AL 36567 23 mi NW (888) 445-5990 http://campingworld.com Map of the Area And here is our little movie from Big Lagoon State Park