Mid Bay Shores Maxwell/Gunter Recreation Area

Still no wifi in the RV's, managers are nice people but no improvements have been made in the park in all the years I have been coming here. A few homesteaders are still allowed to stay in the park, lax enforcement it appears and good old buddy network appears to exist in getting sites for more than a few days. This could be a beautiful park due to the location but it needs major attention from Maxwell brass, appears that will not happen.

Recently stayed May 31 - June 4. The cabins were great and the staff very helpful. I have been coming to Mid-Bay yearly since 1984. This rec facility has been going downhill over the years. Yes, the cabins are a great replacement for the old trailers. However, this was Memorial Day weekend and the dock was closed; the stairs leading to the deteriorated beach were closed and they looked like they had been closed for quite a while. The beach is pitiful; no one takes care of it. Used to, we had a beach and someone (the Caretaker) used a 4-wheeler and swept the beach of litter. The beach today is about 2 feet wide because of the rocks filled in. I understand the years past hurricanes that took a toll, but it has been years since that happened and not many improvements made other than the cabins. I love the area, but over the years it has gone downhill.

This is my fourth time at Mid Bay Shores. It is a most pleasant place to relax and spend some time. Eggy and Rock are the absolute best. They and their staff have done everything they could to make my stays comfortable, relaxing and easy. The amenities I desire are here with the exception of Wifi throughout the campground. A fitness building is there for rainy days (with Wifi). And the great outdoors beckons when the days are clear. That's when I indulge in my hobby - plug an audio book in my ears and head out picking up trash along the roadsides and picnic areas. If you feel like going out there are lots of choices for meals, movies, shopping and beach; and if you feel like staying close you can relax, fish, exercise, watch one of the free DVDs on loan at the office, or take a nap. Mid Bay Shores may be a bit rustic for some but I love it here and plan to be back every chance I get. "The Trash Lady".

This is a real gem of a military RV park. They have good signage to direct you to the entrance of the park. The entrance road needs to be re-paved though, it's a bit bumpy and unlevel , be careful with your RV and tow vehicle. This place is like all the slick RV brochures, where you wake up in the morning with the sun coming up over the bay , all in your front window (in a motorhome that is, sorry fivers...) all under a canopy of moss shrouded oaks. You really can't find much to not like about this park. The bathrooms were clean, the hosts were friendly, you can get to Niceville or Destin easily, and the rates are good for daily visitors. Not sure if I would stay here monthly because there is no monthly rate. Satellite reception is tough on all the sites, you can't have mossy covered oaks and good satellite reception, so for a few days, I enjoyed the solitude.

This was our first RV camping trip ever, with a new class A motorhome. We found it to be fast and easy to reserve a camp site, the sites are drive though so there was no backing required. The sites have all the hookups you need to accommodate any size and type RV, water, cable, sewer and electrical, with picnic tables and grills, with a patio. All sites face the bay with lots of shade. It was a great experience, can’t wait for the next time.

Operated by Maxwell-Gunter on Eglin property. There are no manicured grounds here. Nor are there any concrete pads; or any amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry ... and kayak rentals from the campground office for $5/hour. The campground is rustic — and more than a little rundown ... doubtful it will be upgraded anytime soon. That said, we really enjoyed our stay, and Eggy was a wonderful, friendly hostess. There are plenty of shade trees; so not all sites are big-rig suitable. As well, the trees block satellite signal in some sites, but with our tripod dish, we had no problems getting the feed. There’s no wi-fi, but our Millenicom Mi-Fi (Verizon service) got a good 4G signal. There is free cable. The beach is little more than a strip of sand, and at the time of our visit, was filled with beach wrack. Campers who'd been there for a while told us the beach had been pristine just weeks before, so must be a seasonal thing. Fishermen were out all day ... some in kayaks, and some in waist deep water fishing with nets. Nice variety of bird life. Destin and the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf are just across the Mid-Bay Connector ... $3/car each way to cross, but convenient. Quite a drive to get to the commissary at Eglin.

This campsite is a great location! It is close enough to Destin without being in Destin. The campsite was clean. The office team was very nice and welcoming. The bathrooms were very clean and not too dated. There were 3 washers and 3 dryers for a $1.00. The view just can't be beat. And the weather this time of year was perfect 70s each day. We stayed in site #18 which was a full hook pull through. Some sites have just W/E. They also have tent locations and some boondocking sites. None of the sites have concrete or gravel. They are all bare ground and not level. Our site was really sandy. We had to use blocks to level the rig. This was my only negative about the location. There was a concrete patio that had a table and grill. The area is very shady. The cost was $40 night which was reasonable for the location and the setting/views. The toll to use the bridge to get over to Destin is $4.00. But this is reasonable since going the other ways to get over to Destin would result in using more than $4.00 worth of gas. Overall, this is a great location. We will definitely come back again. This will be one of our frequent getaway locations.

Just returned from a weekend at Mid Bay Shores. I had a blast. My entire family enjoyed the stay especially the view fo the water. The location was great. The cabin was very clean and the staff was friendly and polite. It had all the basic comforts of home. My overall experience was positive and I would highly recommend it to all of my military friends and family.

4-9 March 2012. First time visiting Mid-Bay Shores! Really enjoyed our visit! Weather didn't exactly cooperate but we got to explore the area some and definitely read & rest. One great point: We had no idea about finding a good recommendation for a charter fishing trip and staff did not know but we found out and visited the U.S. Army Destin Recreation Area (again open to all services) which is just across the bridge; they have charter fishing boats that are dedicated to the military and you can sign up for fishing trips! Mid Bay Staff was great, helpful, pleasant and easily accessible w/ radio at gate shack. We rented a cabin (#10) and we had 7 people. This worked out great to have a full kitchen available and a charcoal grill available for each cabin. Some issues that could be considered for improvement: 1) We needed the queen-size fold-out sleeper couch in the main room; it had a horrible mattress but finally asked staff who promptly switched out mattress w/ brand new one; Staff may need to check all couches in every cabin on regular basis for condition of the mattress. Also, spings in couch when closed were broken....entire couch may need replaced. 2) The access road going to park and also the road in the park are in very bad need of repair. Dangerous to navigate when coming in to park and navigating in the park in the dark. I would think that the road from the highway to park entrance would be covered by state since it leads to the state park right next door to Mid-Bay. But, the road inside the park would be Air Force and really could use an upgrade. 3) The fishing pier: Really nice "private" pier; pier does need some attention- the railing is "fragile" and a potential safety hazard; also lights not working or not enough on the pier. 4) Signs for park entrance should be repainted each year. 5) Would be nice to have high-speed internet or even WI-FI service available throughout park as it is definitely close enough to civilization for easy hook-up; very small "rec" center was only area w/ and was constantly occupied for hours. Thanks again so much for a great area to vacation - beautiful! quiet! well cared for overall! Colonel Nancy W.

We would probably visit again. The road off the main highway to the campground is recently paved which is a big plus. The Location is also good and love being on the water. It was pretty rustic, almost rough but it turned out to be OK. Looks like there have not been any upgrades or real maintenance on the property in a while. That being said, it was a good location. The trees prevented us from getting satellite coverage but I saw that a few with mobile dishes got a signal. My neighbor let me use his cable connection so we had TV for the weekend.

We stayed the weekend of 4/24-25-26 and it was beautiful. We absolutely love this park, beautiful sunsets, wonderful location and peaceful area.

This is the first time we have stayed at this campground. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Our site had a great view of the water as most of them do. Dog friendly. Cable TV and onsite sewer. Even though the weather could have been better we had an enjoyable time. On New Years Eve morning the staff had a Polar Bear swim for anyone staying at the campground and/or cottages to participate and advertised it well. After the swim the staff grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, chips, drinks and desserts for anyone who was interested for free. Can't wait to go back in the spring and enjoy the beach.