This park is beautiful. We stopped for a short time but what we saw was very nice. We saw a pelican and even a bald eagle. There is a nice dock you can walk on and a visitors center. read more

Camp Helen State Park - Parks Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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My wife and I were staying in Panama City Beach and we had a car for a few days, so we drove towards Destin. We stopped at a few State Parks and Camp Helen was the first one. Lots of cool buildings and it is about a 1/2 mile walk to the beach. There are some Pokemon stops if you play that game. The beach was nice and we spent about 30 minutes walking up and down the beach. It was a really nice day and this place is definitely worth a stop. read more

Such a cool stare park with a very interesting history...before it was a park, it was a rat stop for travelers to be able to rest. Then, it became a vacation resort that a company in Georgia would send their employees to during the summer (pretty cool-huh?!) Now that I got that out...let's talk about entry fee...there's a box as soon as you get there that you drop payment in or scan a QR code to pay. Once you have done this, you can find parking and go into the small nature center. Nature center This has some cute and interesting nature items for you to learn more about. Oh, there's tiny homes! Once you have finished the nature center...you can follow the loop around and look into the tiny homes and all of the rec areas that are original to the property. This has been very well maintained. Beach If you want the romantic beach feel...then you should head off to the park's beach ... you are greeted with such clear water with the pristine colors that you envision when you think of the photo worthy beaches. An added element are the renaming parts of the pier structure. The next time you are in the Panama City or destin Florida area...out this on your list of places to go! read more

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Cute park with a little of everything. $4/vehicle or $2/person (biking, walking, etc.). Nice people inside the Welcome Center and they have a Bingo game for kids where they can hunt for things inside the park and then trade for a prize. Not many visitors and the beach isn't very populated because of that, so a nice spot if you want more secluded! read more

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This was a very cool and apparently rare park. The sand is soft and there were plenty of small fish and different crustaceans for the kids to see. We had a blast here. read more

Camp Helen State Park - Kids playing with crustaceans. - Parks Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

This is a small gem of a state park on Florida's Emerald Coast. There is a coastal dune lake for kayaking and paddle boarding as well as a few nature trails. The park's history is well curated, with placards and preserved historic buildings from its days as a recreational site for Alabama textile workers. This is also a great park for both bird and butterfly watching. Not crowded at all and everyone there was practicing good social distancing. read more

Camp Helen State Park - Parks Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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Camp Helen is a lovely and unique state park. I came here with my parents and we all enjoyed it. We didn't walk the full nature trail, only part of it. The section that goes out to the beach is kinda strenuous because it's deep, shifting sand. The beach is far from the parking lot, and it was windy when we visited, so we decided not to hike all the way out to the beach. But I can imagine that it is a nice, quiet area. If you're looking for a remote, deserted beach, this is the place. Just be prepared to hike a ways out there. Do not bring all your beach gear. The section of trail around the marsh is still sand but much more compacted and easier to walk on than the path to the beach. It is also shaded, making this a great short hike on a hot day. I liked how many of the trees and other flora were labeled with their common name and genus species name. The Camp's restored buildings are really neat and include colorful cabins (unoccupied, not available to rent), a stable, a water tower, and a recreation hall (with picnic tables you can use). Be sure to check out these buildings if you have any interest in history or retro architecture and design. We visited on a Wednesday afternoon before Memorial Day, and the only other people we saw in the entire park during our visit were four fishermen. Not sure if this is typical of the usual crowd, but Camp Helen is probably your best bet for solitude and privacy in this area. It's rustic but very welcoming! Currently the entrance fee is $4 per vehicle. Bring exact change and your own food and beverages (I didn't see any vending machines). read more

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Small but worthwhile park that's a bit of a drive from Destin but is surrounded by water and has a little of everything. If you want some short hikes, you've got them here. A fairly private beach, you've got that too if you're willing to make the mile or so hike in and out. Old buildings from the 1920's and beyond when it was a retreat for an Alabama textile company, you've got that too. My wife was mainly drawn to the old buildings given that she's an architect who loves this type of vernacular architecture but we did a bit of wandering down toward the beach (bring an umbrella if you're going to the beach, the sandy walk is a bit difficult as one would expect and there's no shade so you'll be hot on sunny days) and then hiked through a wooded area which wasn't anything exciting but a decent stroll nonetheless. It's a small park but interesting for the right people and the $4 entry fee also gets you full access to the beach if you want. Worth knowing about. read more

Beautiful little State Park between Rosemary Beach and Carillon. If your in the area ride you bikes over. Also easy access to the left as you enter for Paddle Boards or Kayaks into Lake Powell. Largest coastal dune lake in the area. read more

Camp Helen State Park - Parks Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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Came to launch my kayak but the path down to the lake is pretty long and some steepness to it. So you have to haul/carry your kayak a good ways down a path to get to the lake. They should have allowed cars to go down the path to drop off kayak. No thanks, and wasted $4 to find out. read more

Very nice place to walk , the beach area is in a great location. Worth the walk. Enjoyed the tour of the old home. Very knowledgeable park ranger. read more

This state park is a gem - it only costs $4 for a car load to enter the park and, if you can handle a 0.3 mile walk to a secluded beach, you will see and experience one of the best beaches in the Florida panhandle. The park attendant was very nice and gracious in telling us about everything, the restrooms are large and clean, and I would call this one of the best-kept secrets in the Florida panhandle: much better than the beach down the way at Rosemary Beach where we were staying. read more

Beautiful WALKING park, no vehicles past the welcome center. Open 8 to sundown, no camping. There is one nice lodge available for wedding rentals, day reunions, etc. The walk to the ocean is underestimated by my tracker and should be one mile round trip --- and it is not an easy trek. You can do it if you are in fair shape but, be advised, you have to walk back too. I very much enjoyed the visitors center, the friendliness of the park rangers and the beauty and cleanliness of the park read more

I only added an extra star because of the gorgeous beach it leads to. The park itself is a joke. Not enough signage. No constructed paths. The paths that are there are unlevel and unkempt. They play on your honorable nature by charging you $4 (which we paid) but obviously none of that money goes towards bettering the experience. When the path splits into three directions, there is no sign or map telling you where each leads. We ended up on a mile long hike through sand to get to a beach (beautiful!!!) but by the time we got there our legs were cramped and we were sore and tired. The rangers don't know what that's like because they've got dune buggies. Worst $4 I ever spent. I want my money back. read more

Beautiful beach, but no constructed path! Not for the weak at heart or the out of shape! The water is amazing and very few people, a hidden diamond in the rough! However, without a constructed path the walk can be some what long- I can't see a baby stroller making it through the ankle deep sand. read more

We went out here for a grill/picnic while on vacation. It was such a great experience. There was no one else out there and it was really educational walking around the grounds reading all the plaques about the buildings. There were so many gorgeous views and the grills/picnic tables are in good shape. The only "negative" is that there isn't any fencing down towards the inlet beach so you have to watch adventurous toddlers! Will definitely be back next time we're in town. read more

Very small and no wildlife seen other than squirrels and 2 ducks. Breezy off the ocean. I recommend a sweater.

Erie little former getaway for some company is some how a cool state park. The beach it sits on is beautiful as well as the dune lake to its east. read more

This is a somewhat small but very interesting state park (183 acres) with a wide diversity of things to see. The park is surrounded on three sides by the Gulf of Mexico, and also features a large coastal dune lake called Lake Powell (such features are apparently only found in this area of Florida and in South Africa). There is freshwater wetland, a salt marsh, maratime hammocks , pine scrub, and of course; the coastal dunes of the beach.. This very quiet stretch of beach is quite a relief if you are coming from Panama City Beach, which has been almost completely obliterated by endless condos, hotels, etc ad nauseum; and this park will give you an idea of the natural setting prior to all that overdevelopment.. These different wildlife habitats visible in the course of a short hike mean that you have a good chance of seeing a lot of different wildlife here (I saw many deer there, supposedly there are some alligators, and there is kinds of birdlife, including eagles apparently).. This park also is very interesting for historical reasons, aftering entering the park you will walk through a collection of restored 1940s era buildings along Phillips Inlet which served as a company resort of employees of an Alabama textile mill; the buildings are really cool to explore, especially the very impressive main lodge! There is also some old (4000 yrs we are told) Native American mounds and middens in the park. The hike all the way out to the beach is indeed in very soft sand, as noted in the previous review, so it is mildly strenuous. But it is worth it , because hardly anyone seems to go out there and the beach here is thus a very different, serene experience.. read more