Naval Support Activity Panama City Family Campground and Marina

We stayed at the South Side park off base. It was a little inconvenient to go on base, check in then have to travel further down the road to the park, but was easy in the end. The sites are level concrete, very wide and easy to back a 35' fifth wheel into. The location is gravel roads with mostly sandy grass. Lots of sand burrs made it tough walking the dogs and the road outside the gate was busy with no sidewalks. Wifi was down the entire time we were there, even though we were told it would be up the second day of our stay. Had to use our Verizon Hotspot which had a great signal. Cable was ok, but would blank out every so often. The laundry facility was small, 3 washers and 2 dryers. We washed 2 loads of clothes, which didn't come clean at all, the washers barely agitated, so we had to use a coin laundry out in town. The location is great in regards to all Panama City has to offer. If you are looking for Exchange or Commissary services, its about a 40 minute drive to the AFB for those. Great value for the location, but amenities could be improved on.

Check in called us beforehand to make sure we were still coming and to let us know they were closing early the day before Thansgiving, (which was good on my part). Can't add to much more to what all others have written. We like the South Side alot better than the Base Side. Base Side awful tight quarters, South has plenty of room,concrete pads, full hookups , wifi, and cable, and a key card gate. Camp host met us at gate, took us to our site, give us info and handouts on everything around, even come back around and said the mess hall on base was going to serve Thanksgiving dinner to retirees and dependents. Never had a holiday meal that good for $7.50 a person anywhere. Everybody we have met has been very nice, didn't seem to mind working the holiday at all. Might cancel every where else and stay here rest of winter.

Great place to stay - we parked our 25 ft travel trailer at the Marina campground on base and had one of the four spots on the grass area right near the beach/water. There is no sewer hookup at these four spots but it was worth it to us to be close to the water. The other sites behind the cabins seemed a bit tight, hidden, and boring. We probably would not have picked one of these four spots in the warmer months due to lots of people but it was relatively quiet while we were there. All of the people working here are very friendly and helpful even taking the time to help us back into our spot. Everything was kept very clean and tidy. Checking in is easy and there is a nice big temporary parking spot for your rig while you do that and plenty of room to go from there. The base itself is very small with a tiny exchange and no commissary but Tyndall AFB is nearby. There is nowhere on base to get decent food but a zillion places in the area. I am a little confused why this website labels this installation as "Panama City CSS" when all of the signs, brochures, etc call it "Naval Support Activity Panama City". Regarding finding the main gate - the GPS coordinates given above worked but my GPS tried to take me into a disused gate before the main gate on Thomas Drive. This street address works well - 1029 Thomas Drive, Panama City, FL (main gate on Thomas Drive). You will turn left onto Crag Rd off of Thomas Ave into the base (Crag Rd would not come up in my GPS). Also, in case you didn't know, the Navy has now stopped requiring you to get a pass at Visitor/Information Centers. All you need is one military ID. There is a 100% ID check so everyone in your vehicle needs an ID - military or civilian (not sure about kids...). The Wi-Fi in the Marina area is now available everywhere and is called gowifi. You have to completely sign out of it each time and sign back in - otherwise you will be redirected to a page that wants you to create an account, etc. Signal strength is great. Again, nice place to stay. We like that they take reservations. I wish all military campgrounds would wake up and at least take some reservations.

My wife and I stayed at this campground for the first time. We stayed at the Southside and really enjoyed our stay. The camp host is great and takes great pride in her position and area. The campers were super friendly and the location is great. This campground is a well kept secret. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH don't tell anyone. We will definitely be returning.

My family and I absolutely LOVE the Panama City Beach Area and spend as much time as possible down there. The Panama City CSS Family Campground and Marina is one of the best places to camp. It is located just minutes from one of the most beautiful state parks in the world (St. Andrews State Park). We have camped at both the on post and off post campsites and now request the off post campsites because of the dog park, the larger lots, and the washer and driers. The off post campground needs some more shade trees around the sites, but besides that, we LOVE it there. There are walking trails that lead directly down to St. Andrews Bay. The off post campground is just down the road from several large supermarkets, stores, and restaurants. They have a nice pavilion to BBQ near and there is exercise equipment. My family and I spent the entire month of July there and cannot wait to go back.

Beautiful facility, well maintained, nice group of people both at the marina, visiting and acting as camp host. Bath house was as clean as I could have made it myself. Wild herds of deer wander throughout the base and helicopters take off and land thru the day. The SAND BURRS are WICKED and positively crippled my pooch when we went on walks This was my inaugural RV trip and I didn't take a car- big mistake because there is nothing to do- other than enjoy the sun and scenery. The Exchange is about the size of a 7/11 with similar offerings and prices, but it is within walking distance of the marina. I thought that a fishing boat would be available for rent, based on the description of the marinas services, but, no joy there. Canoes, paddle boats, etc. are available but both of my shoulders need surgery and I'm not going to hasten that event by rowing around the bay. I would go again, next time with a car. Rockb19

Close to the beaches and Panama City. We stayed at Mainside. Concrete RV pads are 18ft x 14 ft augmented with gravel. Surprised the sites did not have a picnic table or fire ring. Lots of ants that climb up the jacks so bring insecticide! Walking trails nearby, and a variety of items to rent from the office. I rented fishing gear and bought bait from office. Store staff were very friendly and helpful! It would be nice if there was a trail / road to the BX since it is close, but as it is you have to drive. Main Deck Club is next to RV park. Good food and drinks at reasonable prices overlooking the bay. Facilities were clean. One mens room was O.O.S., and there was no ice at the office. RVers must park in the parking area, but cabin renters can park at the cabin. Making reservations is FRUSTRATING to say the least. It took me multiple (10+) phone calls to finally reach a person to make the reservation, and another 8 calls to confirm the reservation later since they DO NOT send an email or text confirmation. Tip: The nearby Sheraton at Bay Point offers a $10 daily pool pass. Two beautiful pools with a pool bar!

Second time for us to visit this facility. Stayed at the "south-side" park. All the positive comments about this great place are true. Sheila is the best Camp Host that we have ever come across and deserves the credit for making this a most enjoyable stay. All of the winter guest that were present during our stay were great. Will be returning here for sure.

Facility just reopened this month. Lots of new staff, so lots of learning happening. That said, still and excellent facility. we have stayed there numerous times and will again! As of the date of this most recent stay, office hours are Wednesday through Monday only. Getting through on the phone is hit or miss, so keep trying!

B.C. left this review using the Directory software: On 3 to 8 May my wife and I stayed at the off base RV site. We were as usually greeted by the site Host Sheila. She had a hand full of information about the site and local area. We were also invited to go out to eat along with the other site guest at a local restaurant she set up. We would have but had other plans. She keeps the facilities very clean. She always checks on the guest to make sure there are ok. She is a Class one Host and MWR should know they are lucky to have her. The personnel at the rec office are very professional and friendly also. The off base sites only bad mark is it needs trees and grass around the sites so sand is not tracked into the rv. It is nice to have nice laundry equipment and the cost is free. Thanks Shiela! Faye & Brian

R.L. left this review using the Directory software: - We have a 37' fifth wheel and didn't have any problems checking in at the marina or getting into Southside. I can see if the marina was very crowded it would be hard to maneuver but you can pull off to one side and circle around back out. Wouldn't care to stay there...too crowded for us. Southside is great. The host is the most ambitious personable one we've encountered. She came around our first night handing out literature on the area and providing information. She does a great job keeping the grounds in shape too. One day there will be shade trees and privacy planting between sites. If the base had a commissary things would be complete. Wifi at the camp is outstanding and there are many cable channels. We'd stay again.

GPS coordinates for the “Mainside” RV Park are 30.1053, -85.4514. All of the current pictures on ‘militarycampgrounds.us’ site, with the exception of the Marina, are of the “Southside” RV Park. Unfortunately we could not visit the “Southside” location as it requires an access card for the gate and these are only issued to registered campers of that facility. Overall, the “Mainside” FamCamp rates a 3.5 and the only reason I would not assign an overall 5 is due to the very restrictive parking conditions. Concrete pads are cracked and much too small for modern RV’s. There are no picnic tables, grills, or fire rings. The lack of these items is dues to the congested nature of the pads – as an example; our awning (patio area) is almost on-top of our adjoining neighbor. Their sewer, water, and power connections are very close to our motorhome. The staff, marina, beach, and other amenities are all outstanding. There is no room for expansion of the current “Mainside” FamCamp. The marina offers pontoon, fishing, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats for rent, as well as bicycles, diving gear, and miscellaneous outdoor recreation equipment. This FamCamp is well worth a visit for the marina and beaches, as well as the close proximity to the commercial beaches/fishing. Suggest all the current pictures, with the exception of the marina bay picture, be identified as “Southside”. I’m providing Larry with several “On-Base” photos to use at his discretion.

The location is good (close to the beaches in Panama City), but I would not call this location "big rig friendly". We pull a 43 foot fifth wheel and checking in at the marina was tricky given some tight turns. The South Point campground (where all of the pull-thru sites are located) has a very narrow gate at the entrance. To make matters worse, there is a V-shaped planting area in front of the gate which prohibits you from pulling straight in or straight out of the gate. Bottom line: it is very easy to scrape your coach on the way in or out of the campground. Given the aforementioned facts, I would probably not stay here again because of the size of our fifth wheel.

Sites are very close together, and you have to park your truck across the street in the parking lot. Make sure to bring extra long hoses for sewage, and cable for the tv. It is a nice place, just very hard to get a travel traler in the spot. Tight spots, but nice place.