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4.5
804 votes

Gulf State Park Campground

20115 State Hwy 135, Orange Beach, Alabama 36561 USA

$
Budget
Open Now
Fri 8a-9p
  • Independent
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
  • Outdoor
    Seating
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“glamping on the beach”

Located 1.5 miles from the white sand beaches, Gulf State Park Campground offers 496 improved full - hookup campsites with paved pads and with 11 primitive sites. Tents are welcome on all sites. All full hookup camping pads are large enough for RVs with pullouts and have picnic tables, pedestal grill tops (no fire rings yet but you are welcome to bring your own that are above ground) Campground features 11 modern air-conditioned bathhouses, a campstore, laundry facilities, swimming pool with splash pad, tennis/pickle ball courts, horseshoes, volleyball, Nature Center and ongoing weekly activities. Gulf State Park is home to the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail which has over 25 miles of paved, enhanced trails. Rent a bike from our campstore. We also have camper storage for $50 per month. Please email gulfstatepark@dcnr.alabama.gov for more info. Because of its size, Gulf State Park has limited Wifi Service and is only guaranteed in our Activities Building and Refuge Golf Course Grill. Enhanced service is being installed and should be active soon. Gulf State Park is home to may types of wildlife including alligators. Please be aware at all times. Please see: Alligators in Gulf State Park.

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Reviews of Gulf State Park Campground

76 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.9 Access
4.8 Location
4.9 Cleanliness
4.7 Site Quality
4.7 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G/5G

Confirmed by 36 users | Last reported on January 20, 2024

AT&T 4G/5G

Confirmed by 28 users | Last reported on March 07, 2024

T-Mobile 4G/5G

Confirmed by 8 users | Last reported on June 10, 2023
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Reviewed by
Nancy Sewell

  • 1,228 Reviews
  • 412 Helpful
January 04, 2017
Rated

Approximately 1.5 miles from the white sands of the gulf beaches, Gulf State Park offers a 496-site improved campground including 11 modern bathhouses, pull-thru sites, back-in sites, water front campsites, and ADA accessible sites.

OFF PEAK RATES– NOVEMBER 1st—February 28th
Live Oak Across from water— $40 / $44 /$242/$595
Gator Waterfront Sites— $40 / $44 /$242/$595
Live Oak on Water Back In- $40 / $44 /$242/$595
Canal on Water Pull Thru- $49 / $52 /$293/$715
The Outpost Back Country Trail— $50 per night

PEAK RATES = MARCH 1st- OCTOBER 31st
Standard Sites : $37 / $40 / $228

Bobcat, Raccoon, Bear, Quail, Opossum, Sumac,
Rabbit, Off Water Gator, Live Oak off Water
Live Oak Across from water— $40 / $44 / $249
Gator Waterfront Sites— $40 / $44 / $249
Live Oak on Water Back In- $40 / $44 / $249
Canal on Water Pull Thru— $49 / $52 / $299
Primitive Camping Rates— $18/ $20 per night
The Outpost Back Country Trail— $50 per night

8 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
heather.wolf

  • 3 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
October 26, 2022
Rated 5.0

Spacious sites with easy hook ups. WIFI is spotty. Wish we had more time here to explore, but just a pit stop for us. Quick drive (or little bit longer walk) to the beach. There are tons of trails all around. Staff is very friendly.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Chrisland602

  • 4 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
July 02, 2022
Rated 5.0

This was a beautiful location. We got there late and didn’t have a ton of time to enjoy the beach, but we were able to park our RV at the beach pavilion for free which saved us some time as the campsites are quite a distance from the beach by foot.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
cindydm

  • 4 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
January 18, 2021
Rated 5.0

Beautiful park. Loved the boardwalks and trails. But be careful, so many sand burrs in our pup’s paws. The rv sites are large and the way the were positioned were quite private. Loved it.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Bambi L Carlson

  • 5 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
June 08, 2019
Rated 5.0

Pristine State park with lots of spaces for camping! They fill up fast so make a reservation! Wonderful pool. Clean, updated bathrooms and showers. I would stay a month if I could!!!

1 person found this review helpful
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Reviewed by
Campendium

December 04, 2014
Rated

I think this might be the largest state park we've ever stayed at. With roughly 500 sites I feared it might be noisy and crowded, but since the park was only about half full at the time of our visit, it was actually the exact opposite. The sites are well spaced with level paved pads and full hook-ups. I had to knock a star off the rating because our site on Gator Rd. had no foliage between us and our neighbors, which meant we had zero privacy. Next time I would request a site either on Live Oak Dr. where you get a view of the lake (25 was my favorite because it had trees on either side), or way in the back of the park on Possum Rd where the sites back up to a wide open view of a large marshy area.

Overall it was a great park with laundry, a pool, tennis courts, paved bike paths, and easy access to a gorgeous white sand beach.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $29.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 260

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

August 13, 2016
Rated

This is a beautiful park across the road from the beach. The park provides beach access to the paid section of the beach. There is a large pool that gets crowded quickly. It's possible to kayak, walk the many trails, bike ride, sightsee, fish and more. There is lots to do right outside of the park as well: bumper cars, zip lining, etc.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $45.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

September 28, 2016
Rated

We stopped here for 5 days as we started our trek westward. Overall a great campground and not crowded this time of year, but it looks like it could get quite crowded in summer. Full hookups, paved, level sites. We were in site #23, which was lakefront and had some privacy. We thought the campground was a little pricey, however, at $52 per night (incl fees & taxes).

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Nightly Rate: $52.00

Days Stayed: 5

Site Number: 23

5 Access
4 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

January 25, 2017
Rated

We stayed a week at Gulf Shores State Park and loved it. The campground is huge with a site to suit nearly every taste – waterfront or inland, shaded or sunny, open or private, back-in or pull through, FHU or primitive – there’s something for everyone. My only knock on the park is that they reserve all the premium waterfront sites for long-term campers in the winter months so we couldn’t reserve a prime spot for just a week. We were initially given site #85 on Bobcat Road far from the water and near the dump station/dumpsters. When we arrived, I asked again about waterfront sites and although I couldn’t get one of those, the park staff did move us to #24 on Live Oak Drive, just across the road from the water and a huge improvement that was much appreciated.

As can be expected with over 450 sites, there is plenty of variety in the amount of shade, privacy and appeal. However, all the sites were adequately spaced, many with vegetation and trees. Each site had a picnic table and grill or firepit. The roads and pads were all paved and had full hookups (50amp), except for the primitive tenting sites. There is a dump station and central area with garbage dumpsters and recycling. The restrooms/shower buildings are situated throughout the park and appeared clean and well maintained.

The amenities at this park rocked! The trail/boardwalk system and paved bike paths were awesome. You can access the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail System from the park. We biked over 25 miles and still didn’t do all the trails. Especially nice is that some of the trails terminate near shopping so you walk/bike to Starbucks! Other amenities include tennis courts, volleyball, horseshoes, an activity center, an education center with weekly programs, a very nice interpretive center with live animals including baby alligators, a camp store, rentals, a huge laundry facility, boat ramp and swimming pool. Other amenities that we didn’t explore include a golf course and adventure center. The waterfront sites in the campground are on Middle Lake and the Boat Canal. Exit the campground and cross the road to the Gulf of Mexico and you are treated to miles of white sand beaches, a huge fishing pier and a beach pavilion. While some of the amenities are seasonal, we found plenty to keep us busy. You are also close to shopping and restaurants. It’s easy to see why the park is popular with snowbirds.

We had 2 bars of Verzon 4G unboosted and managed 4 bars of 4G boosted. The park Wifi did not work at our campsite.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $40.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 24

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

February 07, 2017
Rated

We drove our RV with towed vehicle in for a few days and, after one night, extended our stay for over a week. The spaces might not all be tucked away and private but they sure are spacious and clean. Each site includes full hookups ( yes, sewer, too), cement L shaped pads, and a large picnic table. The park is in the process of eliminating invasive trees so many sites have new saplings, not large enough yet to provide shade. The campground has 450+ sites so it's busy and this time of year, inhabited almost exclusively with seniors, so quiet at night and certainly not noisy. Many stay for the winter so campsites can be elaborate with lighting, lawn art and temporary out building tents, even custom wood stair cases and flower plantings, making for a cozy, friendly environment.

There's so much to do here starting with wonderful paved and well kept trails to bicycle and hike on, pickle ball, a weekly calendar of scheduled events at the activity center, an Olympic sized swimming pool that's not too cold for hot kids but too chilly for the senior crowd this time of year, bicycle rentals, Segway tours, kayaking and boat launch, fishing, etc. the access to the beach and dog park is close and easy to get to.

I was pleasantly surprised to see hard working, neat and clean, professional employees always working hard and happy to solve guest issues. Need help parking the RV? No problem. Issues with the washing machine eating your quarters? No problem. These are some of the most active, busy,hard working and helpful people I've seen servicing and maintaining a state park. Believe me when I say it shows. What a team and kudos to the management!

A word or several about the fantastic laundromat...
This is hands down the nicest state park laundromat I've used. Super clean, open 24/7, change machine that gets restocked quickly, 26 dryers, 24 washing machines, clear signage, $2 to wash for 28 minutes, $1.25 to dry for 30 minutes and, if you put a quarter in the dryer before your time runs out you get an extra 15 minutes. Have any problem or concern? Walk across the plaza 15 yards and tell the super nice lady in the camp store. She's on it in a flash and always pleasant. How refreshing! This place is so nice I did my laundry here the day before we left even though our next stop has free laundry.

The worst thing I can say about our stay is that I prefer more diversity in age even though I'm a senior myself. But would I rather be here in the midst of thousands of spring break students, or in summer when I imagine the park is full of noise? No to both. So I'll likely return next year, stay longer, and enjoy the park and community, and the super relaxed and chill ambiance that's here this time of year.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $40.00

Days Stayed: 9

Site Number: 111

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

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Gulf State Park Campground

20115 State Hwy 135
Orange Beach, Alabama
36561 USA
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Hours

Open now until 9:00 pm
  • Sun - Sat: 8:00 am - 9:00 pm

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Good for bird watching, fishing, and 5 more activities.

  • Check
    Parking
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    Pets Allowed
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    Restrooms
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    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Unknown
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Last Nightly Rate
29.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
43.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
29.0
  • Check
    Swimming Pool
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    Paved Sites
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    Fifty Amp
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    Full Hookup
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    Rec Facilities
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    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
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    Dump Station
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    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Unavailable
    Boondock
  • Unavailable
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Unavailable
    Group Tent Sites
  • Check
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Check
    Pull Through RV Sites
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    Reservations
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    Sewer Hookup
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    Showers
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    Standard Tent Sites
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    Water Hookup
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    Outdoor Seating
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