This was our first visit to Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama on Perdido Key. OMG–this state park is incredible!! As we approached we could see some pretty cool bike/walk paths. The sites are quite spacious and a lot of them! There are 396 full-hookup sites with paved pads and 11 primitive sites. We were on a paved corner lot site which gave us more space on our patio side, but there was a huge area that was just vegetation on our driver’s side. ~$50 a night. A LOT of people make reservations for the entire winter season and come back year after year! I had no idea you could do something like that in a state park! While there are some campsites that are waterfront, if someone wants a hotel-style stay there is an oceanfront lodge available.
There is even an amazing swimming pool! It’s HUGE! Great for swimming laps. Next to the pool is a large fountain/spray/splash play area. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive to us trying any of this out during out 3 night stay. High temps in the 40’s was not what we expected! Volunteers are found throughout the park working in various capacities. We met Susan & Jeff Phelps working up by the pool Saturday evening. What a great couple! Really enjoyed talking with them for quite a while. If it wasn’t so cold the entire time we were there we would likely have met up with them again before we had to leave.
There was pickleball, but we were out on our bikes and they were done for the day when we got back. 🙁 The next morning people were playing, but we were pulling out. Don’t think my arctic mittens would allow me to hold my paddle very well. Can’t believe how cold it is!! 29 degrees when we got up
Biking was awesome. We bundled up with winter gloves, hat, scarf and coat! I even had yoga-tights on under my jeans! Gulf State Park has 28 miles of trails! The main bike trails are either paved or elevated wood-boardwalks that traverse much of the over 6,000 acres of the park! We barely scratched the surface exploring on our bikes. We would definitely like to come back and spend some extended time here…and hopefully have warmer weather to enjoy it all. FYI – There are FREE rideshare bikes available for people to use!!
Part 1
Part 2 Crossing over the main road to the beach area!
Type of beach we’ve been wanting, but too cold to enjoy. 
Beautiful beach.. COLD temps. 
Currents not safe even if it was warm. 
Sea mist due to the amount of wind. 
Soft, powdery sand. 
Swings 
Pier 
Gulf State Park Pier 
First day the red flag flew–High Hazard! 
2nd day – Medium Hazard & Dangerous Marine Life! 
Dang! It’s COLD!
We tried a local oyster bar restaurant for some oysters… Oysters Rockefeller-1 dozen to share along with a great Bloody Mary with Tito’s Vodka (Gluten free). The bloody Mary came with pickled okra! That was a first for me. I thought it was a pepper of some kind, so I bit into it carefully. I liked it. When I asked the bartender what it was, and she realized I had never had it, but liked it, she brought me a couple more. I forgot to take a picture of the oysters till we had several consumed. LOL They were great!
