Pt. St. Joe Florida- Hints?

[Chaplain Kent]

With day after day of sub zero temperatures and wind chills to freeze your bones, we need to warm up. I took a ruler and drew a straight line south from our house to the ocean and Pt. St. Joe, Florida was at the end of the line. There was one open spot in St. Joseph Peninsula State Park and we reserved it. We arrive March first for ten days. Has anyone been to this park, what can we expect to find open? What suggestions for the area?

[perryg114]

It is a real nice park. There are lots of things to do there. The beaches are perfect and usually not crowded. Here are some photos from there. If you have any specific questions let me know. The town of St Joe is about 30 mins away and Apalachicola is close and has lots of places to eat. There is an Estuary Research Reserve museum on the way to St George Island in Eastpoint (just past Apalachicola), take a right off 98 onto Island Drive (Rd 300) and it is on the left before you get to the next body of water. There are lots of small shops and places to eat in the town of St Joe as well.

st_joe_state_park_fl Photo Gallery by Perry at pbase.com

Perry

[69Silvrbelle]

The park is wonderful! I believe the highest dunes in Florida. You have to try Paul Gantts BBQ. It is only open a few days a week and when they run out, they close. It is a trailer concession and it is in PSJ. I agree with the remarks of Perryg114 about the Estuary research center, it is free to get in but they ask for a donation. It is well worth your time. The beaches of St. George Island are rated as a top ten beach in the US so check it out. You can camp there too, but make a reservation. Lots of good food in Apalach. Try The Owl Cafe and their Tap Room (if you want a good microbrew), Up the Creek Restaurant and Raw Bar, Tamara's Cafe. Try Eddie Teaches' Raw bar on SGI. The people in PSJ and Apalach and SGI are wonderful and will help you with anything you desire, just ask!

[tsunami]

Stayed there in May 2013 for a couple weeks. Very nice camp hosts, very clean restrooms and facilities. Lots of wild life so take your camera. There are two campground within the park, we chose to say in the first one as your heading through the park. It's closest to the beach and has more camping spots that can handle bigger rigs. It's a hike to Port St. Joe, but it's a quaint little town. Try the Costal Sunset Grill. Great food and service. Also, on the island there's a convenience store (beach side of road) with yummy pizza and theres also a little booth/shop next to it that makes wonderful donuts in the morning. It's a hike down the road, but try eating at Indian Pass Raw Bar. Great food, very eclectic place to eat. You have to get your own beverages, crackers, and tell them at the counter what you'd like to eat. Limited menu. When you check out, just tell them what you had at the cash register. See attached photo of our campsite. We have stayed at the campgrounds twice. Enjoy

[TouringDan]

Looks like you picked a winner. You plan your trips just like I do. Warm up and have fun.

Dan

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by perryg114

st_joe_state_park_fl Photo Gallery by Perry at pbase.com

Perry

Wow! Great photos Perry.

Thanks, Dan

[perryg114]

Thanks Dan

Perry

Originally Posted by TouringDan

Wow! Great photos Perry.

Thanks, Dan

[az-streamer]

we just returned from 3 days at st. joe s.p.
weather was cold but clear except for the last day which had heavy overnight rain.

before you get to the park you might want to stock up on supplies since once you are inside it's a long drive out to get stuff.

no wifi and tv reception is spotty at best - but that's what beaches and beer is for.

beach is very nice - see pics. we spent some time watching a group of dolphin playing offshore.

some of the spots at a bit tight but most are very nice.

have fun!!

[perryg114]

I was able to get spotty AT&T reception and was even able to use my phone as a WiFi hot spot. I would have to put my phone on top of the pole for the cloths line to get good WiFi. If you go across the street to the picknic area on any place on the bay side you can get good cell phone reception.

Perry

[cwf]

Fresh sunscreen...

Have a safe, blessed journey!

[Chaplain Kent]

Originally Posted by perryg114

It is a real nice park. There are lots of things to do there. The beaches are perfect and usually not crowded. Here are some photos from there. Perry

Perry,

Thanks for the photos. We leave next Friday and it could not be quick enough. Today is 25 degrees with a 50MPH wind. This winter has been brutal. I have the AS shoveled out and hopefully there will be no more snow until we leave.
We Plan to spend a coupe nights at Birmingham on the way down, any suggestions for a close by campsite? Does not need to be pretty just close since we are doing museums and churches in Birmingham.
In Milwaukee we have a campground right in the center of the city, can I find something like that in Birmingham?

[perryg114]

There is Oak Mountain State Park South of Birmingham. We have a nice state park here in Huntsville, Monte Sano State Park. The Space and Rocket Center is here and Jack Daniel's Distillery is close and they have tours.

Perry

[Chaplain Kent]

Originally Posted by perryg114

There is Oak Mountain State Park South of Birmingham. We have a nice state park here in Huntsville, Monte Sano State Park. The Space and Rocket Center is here and Jack Daniel's Distillery is close and they have tours.

Perry

Thanks again, looks like it will be Oak Mtn. How could we pass it up when they show an AS on their web site? My wife and I were active in the civil rights era of the 60's and want to visit the museum in Birmingham as well as attend services at 16th Street Baptist. Last time we were in Alabama, 50 years ago, it was not very inviting, we are really looking forward to this trip.

[Chaplain Kent]

We just returned from a fabulous trip. All that was s aid about Peninsula State park is true, the park could not have been better. We stayed in site 67, a little tight but plenty of room in the back and private. The people we met were all friendly and like us escaping the cold. On the way down we stayed at Stone Mountain in Birmingham and this park is on our return list. The people in Alabama are first class, the friendliest we have ever met. Our brakes failed coming into the park. The re[pair shop stayed open to fix the brakes and return us to our trip. We were visited by several people at the park asking if e needed anything since we had no transportation. We got the truck back in time to eat the best fried chicken ever made.