Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park offers a wide variety of options for nearly every kind of camper. RV sites, tent sites, and a miniature neighborhood of cabins are all available to rent. Though the sites are not on the beach, visitors can bike or walk to the sugar sand or take a free tram provided by the park. Many sites are on small ponds, and the campground offers a swimming pool, shuffleboard courts, digital cable, and more. Notably, the campground has Trailer Life & Woodall's highest rating, earning the resort a spot in the top 1% of locations in the United States.

Campers and visitors can also rent canoes or kayaks to paddle within two of the region's rare coastal dune lakes. Dune lakes exist only in New Zealand, Australia, Madagascar, and in the United States along the coasts of Oregon, South Carolina, and here in Northwest Florida. Located close to the Gulf of Mexico, they periodically burst their sand barriers and exchange water with the gulf, creating a brackish water environment that hosts a unique community of flora and fauna species.

The 1,640-acre park encompasses the campground, hiking trails, dune lakes, and 3.2 miles of Gulf of Mexico beach access. The beach is within the famous "Emerald Coast" of Florida, and when conditions are right the surface takes on a gorgeous, emerald-green hue. The sand itself is fine and bright white, originating as quartz in the Appalachian Mountains before eventually making its way to Northwest Florida via the Apalachicola River. Lifeguards are not present along the beach, but fishing is permitted.

Because of the varied habitats found within the park, Topsail Hill Preserve is a birding hotspot and an official site on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. Over 170 species have been recorded here, from tiny songbirds to giant brown pelicans and bald eagles.