Last Updated: August 1, 2026
Fort Pickens sits at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island inside the Gulf Islands National Seashore of Florida. Sandy and I have camped here before, and we keep coming back for the same reason: miles of white sand without the beach crowds or the wall of high-rise condos that swallow so much of the Florida coastline. This was our favorite kind of travel day — about an hour and a half of sunny, scenic coastal driving from Santa Rosa Beach and Topsail Hill Preserve to the Fort Pickens Campground, with our brand-new 27-foot Airstream behind the truck and Jake stretched out in the back seat.
Fort Pickens Campground, Santa Rosa Island
On earlier trips we stayed in Loop A and enjoyed it. This time, wanting to see something different, we booked an end site in Loop E — and we did not care much for it. Loop E has too few trees, and the sites felt crowded and noisy compared with the shadier loops. The sites had water and 50-amp electric but no sewer and no WiFi, which turned out to be useful: it gave us a chance to learn how quickly the small Airstream tanks fill in case we wanted to boondock later. We pulled in a few over-the-air channels, and both Verizon and AT&T held a signal well enough for evening television. A warm, humid night leaves so much condensation on the aluminum shell that the Airstream looks like a cold Coors can — the silver bullet, sweating in the dark.
Jake the dog loved finding armadillos rooting through the grass for grubs. They are such animated little diggers that he was completely captivated — he would stand and shake with excitement, watching one work its way across the campsite.
Several hiking trails leave the campground, some heading to the beach and one running to the fort itself — a mile and a half round trip through low coastal scrub and dune. On that walk we came across a Great Blue Heron posed on a footbridge, close enough to admire but far too far away for the 24mm lens I happened to be carrying. It is the recurring frustration of travel photography: the best bird always appears when you are set up for landscapes.
One of the short trails crossing from the campground to the beach was popular at sunset, and it was easy to see why.
Every evening the sunset was a little different. Winter on the Gulf Coast brings weather fronts through in slow succession, and each one rearranges the clouds into something new.
Fort Pickens: A Third System Fort with a Long Memory
Because of its strategic position guarding the mouth of Pensacola Bay, the history of Fort Pickens is remarkable for its span. Ground was broken in 1829 and the fort was finished in October 1834, part of the coastal defense program known as the Third System. Much of it was built by enslaved laborers. At completion it was the largest brick structure on the Gulf of Mexico, and standing inside the casemates you believe it — the scale of the masonry is hard to photograph and harder to forget.
When Florida seceded in January 1861, the small Union garrison moved across the bay to Fort Pickens and never gave it up. It became one of only four forts in the South to remain in Union hands for the entire Civil War, alongside Fort Taylor and Fort Jefferson in the Florida Keys and Fort Monroe in Virginia. A generation later the fort took on a very different role: the Apache leader Geronimo was imprisoned here from October 1886 until May 1887, while his family was held at Fort Marion in St. Augustine. Curious Pensacola tourists came out by boat to look at him, which says as much about the era as anything written on the interpretive panels.
The brick fort was gradually overtaken by concrete. Endicott-era gun batteries went up around and even inside it — Battery Pensacola in 1899, Battery Cooper in 1904, Battery Langdon in 1923 — and a World War II battery was added to watch for German U-boats in the Gulf. The post stayed in military use until 1947 and is now administered by the National Park Service. Walking the grounds, you move through roughly 120 years of coastal defense in about an hour.
There are not many big guns left on site, but the few on display are impressive — and the contrast between the ornamental brick of the 1830s and the blunt concrete of the 1900s is the whole story of the place in two materials.
We love the softness of ferns growing out of old brick, mortar and concrete — living things quietly taking apart something built to withstand naval artillery.
Low-light images of Michael inside the fort. Sandy took these while I was busy admiring the wall art — which is not art at all, but chemistry.
Groundwater carries dissolved minerals out through the brick and drops them on the surface as it evaporates, and the result looks uncannily like the flowstone and soda straws we photographed underground at Mammoth Cave. Same slow chemistry, different building.
We spent a long, happy morning exploring the nooks and crannies of Fort Pickens. Bring a flashlight and wear shoes you do not mind scuffing — the interior passages are dim, uneven and endlessly photogenic.
Visiting Fort Pickens: Hours, Fees and Camping
Address: Fort Pickens Area, Gulf Islands National Seashore, 1400 Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach, Florida 32561. Hours: the entrance station gate is open 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from March 1 through October 31 and 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from November 1 through the end of February; the fort itself is open 8:00 a.m. to sunset year-round. Admission: $25 per private vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person on foot or bicycle, each good for seven consecutive days; an annual Gulf Islands pass is $45 and the America the Beautiful interagency pass is also honored. The park is cashless, so bring a card. Camping: Fort Pickens Campground has 177 sites across Loops A through E, 137 of them with water and 20/30/50-amp electric — there are no sewer hookups at the sites, but there is a dump station, plus flush toilets and heated showers. Sites are reservable up to six months ahead through Recreation.gov, with a 14-night consecutive limit. Phone: 850-934-2612. Website: nps.gov/guis.
Orange Beach, Alabama
From Santa Rosa Island we crossed into Alabama for a short stay at Orange Beach — a popular stretch of coast with plenty to see and do and a genuinely startling number of restaurants and bars, Flora-Bama included. On an earlier visit we toured Fort Morgan across the mouth of Mobile Bay, which is similar in vintage to Fort Pickens and slightly better preserved. This time we were here only briefly, so we kept it simple: wine, the beach and a state park.
Red or White at The Wharf had a good selection, an easy atmosphere and a short menu built to pair with the wine list. Dogs are welcome inside, and Jake the dog spent the evening playing with a pair of young black Springer Spaniels while we worked through a bottle of Rombauer Zinfandel. Note for anyone planning a visit today: the shop has since split from the Red or White brand and operates in the same space at The Wharf as Crush Wines, 4851 Wharf Parkway East, Orange Beach, Alabama 36561, 251-981-2851.
Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama
Gulf State Park is an impressive operation. The sites are large paved pads with full hookups and WiFi fast enough to stream, and the park offers fishing, boating, tennis and pickleball, a heated pool, a nature center and roughly 28 miles of paved trail through pine flatwoods and along the lakes. The only real downside is scale: at nearly 500 campsites it has lost some of the wooded state park feel and reads more like a large, comfortable older resort in a very good location. We understand completely why so many northerners spend the whole winter here.
Address: Gulf State Park, 20115 State Park Road, Gulf Shores, Alabama 36542. Hours: trails and picnic areas are open sunrise to sunset; the campground office runs 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily with 2:00 p.m. check-in and 11:00 a.m. check-out. Fees: the campground has 496 full-hookup RV sites plus primitive tent sites and glamping units; day-use fees include $5 per vehicle at the Nature Center and $6 per vehicle at the boat launch. Phone: 251-948-7275. Reservations and website: reserve.alapark.com/gulf.
Practical Tips for Fort Pickens and Orange Beach
Choose your loop carefully. Loops A through D at Fort Pickens have noticeably more tree cover and privacy than Loop E, which is open, breezy and closer together. If shade and quiet matter to you, book early and be specific — the campground fills six months out for winter.
Plan around no sewer. Sites have water and electric but no sewer connection. There is a dump station on the way out, so arrive with empty tanks and treat a week here as good practice for boondocking, which is exactly how we used it.
Bring your own connectivity. There is no campground WiFi. We pulled in over-the-air channels with the antenna and had usable Verizon and AT&T signal, but do not count on streaming.
Carry the long lens on the trails. The mile-and-a-half walk to the fort crosses good bird habitat, and we lost a Great Blue Heron shot to a 24mm wide angle. Herons, egrets and shorebirds are routine here, and armadillos work the campground grass at dusk.
Bring light for the fort interior. The casemates and passageways are dark, and a small flashlight or headlamp turns a quick walkthrough into a real exploration. A tripod or a camera that handles high ISO well is worth having.
Pay attention to the gate hours. In winter the entrance station closes at 6:00 p.m., and the fort closes at sunset. Sunset photography from the beach is fine if you are camped inside, but day visitors should watch the clock.
Bring the dog. Both Fort Pickens Campground and Gulf State Park are dog friendly, and the wine bar at The Wharf allowed dogs inside — a small thing that made a short stay much better for us and for Jake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fort Pickens worth visiting? Yes — and it rewards more time than most people give it. It is the largest brick fort ever built on the Gulf of Mexico, one of only four Southern forts held by the Union throughout the Civil War, the place Geronimo was imprisoned in 1886 and 1887, and a site where you can walk from 1830s brick casemates to World War II concrete in a few minutes. Combined with the beach and the campground, it easily fills a full day.
How much does it cost to enter Fort Pickens? Entrance to the Fort Pickens Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore is $25 per private vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person walking or cycling in, valid for seven consecutive days. An annual pass for the seashore is $45, and the America the Beautiful pass is accepted. The park does not take cash.
Can you camp at Fort Pickens with a large RV? Yes. Fort Pickens Campground has 177 sites in five loops, 137 with water and 20/30/50-amp electric, and it handles big rigs and travel trailers well — we towed a 27-foot Airstream in without difficulty. There are no sewer hookups at the sites, but there is a dump station, and reservations open six months in advance on Recreation.gov.
Which Fort Pickens campground loop is best? Loop A is our favorite for shade and a more sheltered feel. Loop E, where we stayed on this trip, sits more in the open with fewer trees, closer neighbors and more noise. All loops are within walking distance of the beach trails.
Is Fort Pickens dog friendly? Dogs are welcome in the campground and on many of the trails and roads, though pets are restricted from designated swimming beaches and from inside the fort structure. Jake traveled with us the entire trip and had no trouble finding places to walk.
When is the best time to visit the Florida Panhandle and Alabama Gulf Coast? Winter, in our experience. January brought mild days, cool nights, almost empty beaches and the best sunsets of the trip. Summer is hot, humid and crowded; late fall through early spring is when the Gulf Coast is at its most pleasant for camping.
What happened to the Red or White wine bar in Orange Beach? The shop at The Wharf split from the Red or White brand and now operates as Crush Wines at the same address, 4851 Wharf Parkway East. The concept is unchanged — a broad wine selection by the glass or bottle with a small food menu.
From Orange Beach we turned back east along the Panhandle toward Panama City Beach, still learning the habits of a new trailer and enjoying a Gulf Coast winter with almost no one else on the sand.
