Destin Army Infantry Recreation Campground (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Destin, Florida (April 2024)

This is a campground that assigns campsites when you arrive. We were assigned small sites in the outer loop of the campground on our three previous visits. By the luck of the draw, we were assigned a larger site inside the loop this time. 

Office at the Destin Army Recreation Area, which includes the campground and hotel

It looked like an Airstream rally when we pulled up to our site. There were two other Airstream trailers next to Rosie, our Airstream trailer. Plus, there was another Airstream trailer a few sites over. Two more Airstream trailers arrived a few days later. This was a small campground and Airstream trailers stood out in it. 

Three Airstream trailers in a row!

Most people would describe this as a very tight campground. We were pleased that we didn’t have to ask anyone to move their trucks to give us room to back in. We ended up having to move our truck several times to help our new camping neighbors back into their sites. 

It was easy to see that we were there during Destin's Spring Break season. Traffic around Destin was painfully slow and there was an abundance of children in the campground and in the cottages.

Maybe another Spring Breaker

 

Another reminder of Spring Break was the number of trailers leaving the campground during the weekend so that the kids could be back in school on Monday. It seemed that new campers arrived as quickly as others left bringing with them more school aged children on Spring Break. Well, almost all of the campsites were soon filled. 

Along the shore and pier

The pier at night

This has always been a difficult campground to get reservations in, until this year. There were four to six open sites during this visit. Maybe the recent price increases at this military FamCamp had something to do with the empty sites in this campground. 

It was cold several nights while camping in this park.  Rosie’s heat pumps were welcome and kept us cozy inside. 

One of the things we enjoyed at this park was riding our bikes. There were several scenic areas along the Bay that were perfect for bike rides. 

Selfie along the Bay

Another thing we enjoyed while at this FamCamp was going to the beach. The Florida and Alabama Gulf Coasts have some of the prettiest beaches in the country. 

It appeared that we have a new family tradition of being in Rosie during solar eclipses. We were at the Top of Georgia Airstream Campground during the 2017 eclipse. That park was in the 100 percent coverage area and that was a memorable time for us.

During the 75 percent solar eclipse

This 2024 eclipse was a 75 percent partial coverage in Destin and it paled when compared to the 100 percent eclipse in 2017. To make things worse, it was mostly cloudy during the peak of the eclipse. Still it was worth the experience.  Our favorite moment during the eclipse was the night sounds of the frogs in what we call the frog pond. 

We must have camped in this park close to the same week last year. We remembered that the FamCamp had a fire drill then. It was mostly for the hotel part of the complex, but the campers were told about it. We were told about a fire drill again this year as we registered. Fire drills must be unique to this FamCamp.

As before, we enjoyed our time in this FamCamp. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• We found one loop in this campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had some shade
• Most sites had very little space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and concrete
• Our site was level and we didn’t need use any leveling tools
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpster was at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. It was very clean 
• There was a laundry room in this campground 
• The park provide WiFi service. It was very slow and frequently required you to sign back in 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch CBS, CW, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were H&I, ION, ME-TV, Movies
• The FamCamp provided a cable TV connection. We normally use the antenna and skip the cable connection, but hooked up to it to watch Iowa's Women’s March Madness Basketball games. 
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Sunset from the park

Selfie at a seafood restaurant

Chick-fil-a delivering orders to boaters in the Crab Island area

It appears that pirates still roam the Bay

Sunset

 

Rosie in Destin Army FamCamp's campground