Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation
Offers Two Camping Alternatives in Pensacola

By Ron Westlake, Regional MWR Marketing Director, Naval Air Station Pensacola, and Robin Hillyer Miles, Navy MWR Communications Group

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Home of stunning sunsets, white beaches and the Navy’s premiere Flight Demonstration Squadron, Pensacola, Fla., also features two unique, family-oriented campgrounds, managed by Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR).

Complete with rental cottages and recreational vehicle amenities, Naval Air Station Pensacola’s Oak Grove Park and Naval Technical Training Center Corry Station’s Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area offer vacation fun for singles, couples and the entire family.

Nestled in the trees near the white sand beach of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway, Oak Grove Park offers recreational vehicle (RV) and camper sites that include electrical, sewer, and water hook ups. Primitive tent sites are located under the large oak trees directly along the beach. Other amenities include a bathhouse, customer laundry, and cable television.

Sybil and Dave Jones are enjoying their sixth year as camp hosts at Oak Grove. “Snowbirds came early this year. We have residents from Washington, Vermont and the New England states,” said Sybil. “When the weather is colder we do socials daily and when warm weather kicks in, we drop down to a weekly social.”

Oak Grove RV sites and tent camper sites are available, with rental rates ranging from $6 to $26 per day. Weekly and monthly rentals are also available for the sites.

Less than a mile from the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Oak Grove is newly renovated with one and two-bedroom cottages located directly on the beach. The fully-equipped cottages rent for $85 to $100 per day, with a two-day minimum and two-week maximum stay. Reservations are accepted up to three months in advance for active military, reserves and retirees, and two months in advance for DOD employees.

Located on Perdido Bay, the Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area offers complete camping facilities with water and electricity -- from primitive sites for those who enjoy “roughing it,” to the more elaborate RV sites for those who enjoy their satellite television. Dump stations are also available, along with a store and rental center.

Linda and Jim Houtman, camp hosts at Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area for a third summer and fall, are originally from Michigan but have a home in Pensacola. “People laugh when we tell them we have a house here in Pensacola too, but this park feels like a big family to us and we enjoy being hosts here,” said Linda.

If four walls and a roof are what you prefer, you can rent one of 15 completely furnished two-bedroom trailers. For a little exercise, bring your mountain bike and ride along the two miles of waterfront property or meander to the bike trail for a more challenging ride.

There is an admission fee for daily users of Blue Angel Park, which ranges from $1 to $1.50 for the first person and 50 cents for each additional person; children 12 and under are free. RV sites range from $10.00 to $19.00 per day. Mobile homes are $45 to $50 per day. Camping cabins are a bargain at $15 per day from November to March, and $25 a day April-October.

“We have activities for the more adventuresome individuals. Blue Angel Park has a Pro Disk golf course, a miniature golf course, and a mountain bike trail,” said Jim Houtman. “Blue Angel Park is an outdoor recreation center too, not just a campsite.”

Blue Angel Park offers not one, but two 18-hole, par-3 Pro Disk golf courses these courses are rated the best on the Gulf Coast. If you prefer a round of traditional golf on a smaller course, try the 18-hole miniature golf course also located at Blue Angel Park.

Blue Angel Park offers a variety of watercraft to rent for the angular or you might just want to spend a leisurely day cruising beautiful Perdido Bay. Fuel is extra.

Numerous standard golf courses are also available on the Gulf Coast, including the recently overhauled 27 championship holes at A. C. Read Golf Club located on Naval Air Station Pensacola. The A. C. Read Golf Club also offers an 18-hole executive course.

For reservations and information, call Oak Grove at 850-452-2535, Blue Angel Recreation Park at 850-572 3432.