Topsail Hill Preserve State Park - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (October 2021)

How can this be the first time we really camped in this park when we stayed here three times before? Let me try to explain that claim.

Our first camping experience in Topsail was a disaster. Something went wrong with the power stand and it melted the connector on our power cord and the plug on the stand. The park was full so we could not move to another site and the power stand had problems with no estimate as to when an electrician could fix it. We ended up moving to another Florida state park and buying a new power cord while on the way there.

The second and third times at Topsail were to attend Airstream rallies always held in January. It was cold and rainy both times; we stayed with our group and we didn’t explore the park.

That brings us to this trip. We had a spare power cord and there wasn't an Airstream rally taking place while we were there. The only potential problem was the weather. 

Sign at Topsail State Park

The weather was great as we arrived and setup our site. We were able to walk around and explore the campground that first evening. Then it started to rain. The rain turned into a thunderstorm later that night. It was still raining when we got up the next morning. It rained during lunch. It did stop raining for a few hours that afternoon. It was interesting to see everyone emerge from their campers to enjoy the park. 

We were surprised to see that some campground roads and sites were flooded with the water six to ten inches deep. Our site had standing water off the concrete pad, but it wasn’t flooded. Rosie, our Airstream trailer’s name, was dry and cozy. 

Streets and sites flooded

Standing water around Rosie

It started raining again after dinner. It rained all through the night and until mid morning the next day. We used the opportunity to wash clothes and to clean Rosie’s floor. We were able to slip in a bike ride before the start of the next rain cycle. 

According to a local TV station between ten and twelve inches of rain fell during the first four days camping in Topsail. In between storms, there were a few hours each day that allowed us to explore the park with our bikes. 

 

Multiple sites were flooded

Streets and sites underwater were the norm during our time in this park. The conversations while walking around the park during the interludes without rain usually focused on the other couple telling us how many years they have camped in Topsail and that they never saw any flooding in the park before. We believed them and decided the weather was unique during this visit. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. It seems that the interior loop is preferred by most, but this was were we saw the most flooded sites
• While not at the level of a KOA, most sites were much closer together than what you expect in state parks 
• Our site was a back-in 
• Our site was paved with concrete and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There were multiple trash dumpsters throughout the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse located near Rosie. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not check on its condition
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsites 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Circle, Grit, H&I, LAFF and ME-TV
• The campground provided basic TV cable at our site. We preferred watching live TV from Rosie’s antenna
• The campground was near Destin, Fla. That meant there were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 
• There were multiple signs warning about Florida Black Bears in the park. Our son was the first to notice that it was very unlikely that bears were near the park because campgrounds with bear problems have bear proof trash cans. This park didn’t have any bear proof items

This is a park that you need to bring your bikes to. There are a few hiking trails, but they were mostly under water during our visit. Bike trails were paved and led to an amazing beach and a rare dune lake. 

Selfie by rare dune lake

Dune Lake Campbell

Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson were able to join us over the weekend. It was great having them camp in Rosie and that made this trip very special. 

Our grandson visits

Our son's family inside Rosie

Having fun in the campground

Grandson reads a book

The bottom line is that this visit did change out minds about Topsail. I’m not ready to call it a “favorite,” but it has some beautiful beaches that are less crowded than other ones in the area. 

Looking for a snack along the shore

The dunes

The boardwalk

A warning flag for beach goers

Rosie in the campground

A few pointers about shuffleboard 

Suzy watching the trash truck