Florida State Park's "Grayton Beach"/ St Joseph Peninsula review .....

[LMC]

You must have had all the baby mice. I swear the ones I've seen at TSH are half the size of my 6lb yorkie dog. And they are NOT fun at night when they run thru your site and you are sitting there in flip flops!!!!! I put out alot of lights now so I can see what I'm sitting with.

 

[2goofycampers]

I believe the scientific term for this is TREES

 

[m1tchells]

We are blessed to live about 2 miles from Grayton Beach and have stayed at all the local state parks. Grayton is one of my favorite. Henderson Beach is great as well but you are smack dab in the middle of the Destin congestion whereas 30A is much more relaxed. I like GB better than Tops'l personally. Tops'l was originally a privately owned campground before the state got it. So you are a little more packed in there. Not as much privacy. But still nice and it does have the pool.

 

[m1tchells]

The mice you are speaking of are native to the area and are actually a protected species. Thank God for the beach mice! They have foiled many a developer's plan!

Also, don't know if when you refer to the bay if you are actually speaking of the bay or the dune lakes. Both Grayton SP and Tops'l SP have dune lakes on property. There are about 17 dune lakes in our area, but they are actually very rare worldwide. Here is a great article for anyone who is interested. http://www.discover30a.com/discover/article_environment.asp?art=dunelakes.html

I have lived most of my life in Destin and just recently escaped that chaos for the quieter life of South Walton. So if anyone would like more information, restaurant recomendations, or whatever...I would be glad to help.

When we are on vacation, we are either in Disney, or somewhere else on the water (our family seems to be part fish). South Walton/Destin truly is everything you hear it is. The beaches are white powder (not grainy) and the water, with the exception of some occasional seaweed or storm stirrup, is truly breathtaking! Come see us!

 

[Doggmeat]

love st joe sp, more then st george island sp. they still have the dredge pipes out there from where they redid the beaches? have not been camping since my father moved into my camper( he makes more then me, he should move out,i digress). plan on going back soon.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

I didnt see any dredge pipes anywhere near the beach. They WERE building a new pier on the bay next to the visitor center.

 

[des1954]

These little rascals would work their way into our pool cage at our former home in Sarasota. I guess they would "squish" themselves under the screen door to get in. I can't tell you how many met their demise in our pool. Thankfully, they never invaded our home!! And yes Rog,,,they do resemble a hamster or gerbil.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

BDR- I don't know how I missed this thread before you headed to Grayton Beach. I wish I had commented before you went. For any of you considering a visit, I highly recommend this whole area of Florida.

The TCD gang has visited the town of Seaside, which is about a mile and a half east of the entrance to Grayton Beach S.P., every summer for the past 12 years! We love it! We live less than 5 miles from the beach that "Dr. Beach" named the best beach in America in 2008 (Caladesi Island S.P.), but we still love the beaches of South Walton better!

Rog- did you have a chance to visit "downtown" Grayton Beach? If not, you need to plan another trip. It is a real, old time, Florida beach town. There is a bar there called the Red Bar, which is semi famous. The likes of Cheryl Crow, Lance Armstrong, Peyton and Eli Manning, and such hang out there when they visit the area.

And, within a mile of the park entrance going the other way (east), you will come to the town of Watercolor. There are great shops there, and a nice family pizza restaurant and coffee bar. Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson were just there over the 4th of July weekend (right before Tony gave Jessica the old heave-ho). Then, about a quarter mile further, you come to Seaside.

Seaside is where the Jim Carrey movie, the Truman show, was filmed. The beach cottage that served as Truman's residence in the movie is right there, and looks exactly as it did in the movie. Just a little past this, you come to "downtown" Seaside, where there are all kinds of shops and restaurants. There has been a little Airstream trailer there that has served shaved ice for years. This year, a bunch of other Airstreams have been added, so there is now a barbecue place, a cup cake shop, a full liquor bar, and even a juice bar. In this part of town, you will find an old fashioned family grocery store, Modica Market, where you can find just about anything you might want. Across the street from here are other shops, and restaurants including a Taco Bar and a Pizza Bar, both of which are excellent and unique! All of this can be reached by bike from Grayton Beach S.P.

To the M1tchells, you are, indeed, blessed to live in this area!

TCD

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Wow...TCD...we didnt end up stopping in GB...drove right on past it to get to StJoe...but had I known there were so many cool highlights,I definately WOULD have stopped. We will definately return to this area, and I will save this thread in my favorites so that we can check out some of the local secrets of the area. Thanks so much.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

BDR- Make sure to let me know when you are heading that way again- I can give you lots of tips! There are some really great places with a lot of character in that area! I have never camped at the state park- just visited. We always rent a cottage in Seaside, which has become very expensive. I am thinking of giving the Grayton Beach S.P. campground a try. But, it is about a 380 mile drive for us to go there vs. about 90 miles to the Fort. So, when we want to camp, the Fort has always won.

TCD

 

[PolynesianPixie]

This looks wonderful Rog! We camp at the beach at least once a year...not the highlight of my summer, I can tell you. Beaches here and devoid of those trees of which you speak! Also the sand is well.....sandy. I don't care for it getting in everything.

I recently suggested to Scott that we meet some of our Arkansas friends somewhere around the gulf. After reading this, maybe I should push it a little more!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Tcd...I will definately send you a pm before our next tripout...I love knowing the hidden hotspots.

Ami...it really was MUCH nicer than I expected. We never even got around to putting the tarps on our bunkends because it stayed so cool with all the shade we had. And you would think that camping in July in the south would be miserably hot...and it usually IS..but the gulf breeze is constant and it really wasnt all that bad. Thats not to say that a fan isnt your best friend when sittin in a screen house, but its very do-able.