In this blog, we’ll review Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Florida’s Panhandle on the Emerald Coast. Topsail sits between the resort towns of Destin and Seaside and right at the western start of coastal route 30A.
With 3.2 miles of outstanding white-sand beaches and 10+ miles of trails through various terrain, the 1,640-acre park also has unique in-land coastal dune lakes that afford multiple recreational activities. The hiking and biking opportunities abound at this beautiful park.
The Gregory E. Moore RV Resort campground at Topsail Hill is a converted high-end RV Resort with 156 campsites, all of which have full hookups and can accommodate larger RVs. The sites here most resembled Disney’s Fort Wilderness compared to any other place we’ve stayed. The premium campsites also have picnic tables and fire rings and are level. There is also a large laundry room at the campground. Many of the sites were occupied by large fifth wheels and large (expensive) Class A motorhomes. Most of the sites had some privacy, but not near as much as at many other Florida State Parks. Topsail was also considerably more expensive verse other state parks.
There are five criteria we look at when rating a campground. First up, Hospitality and Check-In. We give this a 4 out of 5 as it was easy to check-in. We had to leave our vehicle and enter the main building to confirm our reservation and receive our site tag, but it was a simple process.
Next in our review is Infrastructure & Amenities, which we are giving a 4 out of 5. The main roads and campground loop roads were paved and in fair condition, and it was easy to maneuver with the truck and trailer. However, some parts of the paved roads were in disrepair. The campground buildings, pool, bathhouse facilities, and laundry were well-kept and in good condition. Some infrastructure did need upkeep. A tram runs hourly from the front of the park to the beach area that anyone staying at the park can use as a convenience to avoid the ½ mile one-way trek.
There is a nice restroom and foot shower near the tram stop at the beach area. There is also playground equipment near the campsites. There are also modern cabins to rent and a tent camping area to enjoy. This would be nice for a family traveling by RV to meet up with friends or family who don’t have RVs. Like most Florida State Parks, there is a security gate at the park entrance to enter when the ranger station is closed.
Site Quality gets a 4 out of 5 as the campsites were in good shape, with most sites being large, level and gravel. Some campsites had more privacy than others, and most were pretty close together vs. the average Florida State Park campsite. It is apparent that this campground was once an RV resort, as many of the sites lacked some of the separation that many Florida State Parks enjoy. In this regard, privacy is limited. All campsites are full hookup. We did run into mosquitoes at the campsite due to the standing muddy terrain behind our campsite. Unfortunately, this made sitting outside a difficult thing to enjoy and was not common to other campsites, even locally, at the time of year we visited.
Our Exercisability rating is 5 out of 5 as there are plenty of ways to exercise at the park. There is no need to leave this large state park and its many miles of paved bike trail to get a long run or bike ride in. There are also many miles of good hiking trails that meander through a variety of terrain. There is, of course, the world-class white-sand beach to explore, enjoy and frolic in. There is even shuffleboard and a campground swimming pool to enjoy. Overall, we thought Topsail had outstanding ways to exercise and stay active.
For our final rating, we are giving a 5 out of 5 for Workability as the bandwidth on Verizon was excellent. Using an iPhone 13 Pro, we had speeds of 44.9 Mbps down and 6.3 Mbps up. Using a Verizon 8800L Mifi, we had speeds of 92.5 Mbps down and 7.8 Mbps up. This made it very easy to work from and stream content. There is also Wifi available at the park, but we were not able to connect to it from our campsite.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. The Park is well maintained, has access to a world-class beach, has excellent opportunities to recreate in various ways, and has outstanding bandwidth for work. The main drawbacks are the limited privacy at the campsites and the high price. Daily rates at Topsail are considerably higher than at other Florida State Parks, at $42 per day before fees. As a comparison, Grayton Beach State Park, just 10 miles down the road, is only $30 per day with full hookups and access to the same great beaches. In this regard, we didn’t see Topsail as the best value exchange and would look elsewhere to other better-priced Florida State Parks.
All the best in your camping endeavors!
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