Naval Support Activity Panama City Family Campground and Marina

NSA Mainside RV park was great! Wish we were staying longer. MWR staff were all fantastic, I was given directions to the Southside park by Google maps, I called the office and Robb told me how to get to the correct park. After not making it to the Marina for about an hour, he had called me to make sure I was not lost. RV spots were nice, all concrete, some are harder to get into, but not impossible. Park is well maintained, clean, grass cut, and a very short walk to the marina and beach. For those with small children, a very nice playground is on site and fenced in. I was able to contact the office for reservations with ease prior to arriving. We will definitely be back.

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!

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!

Calm quiet stay. Large sites, concrete pads, picnic table and grill at each site. Trash can at each site. Small dog park with bench and poop bags. Lots of sand spurs, check paws frequently. Camp host very helpful and kind. We would return!

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.

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 review is strictly about the Southside NAS Panama City. WIFi was pretty much available throughout the campgrounds. Bathhouse was kept clean. Other than horseshoes (horseshoes provided), there are NO activities for children. No walking or biking trails available at the site. Hardly any vegetation between sites for seclusion, but also none for shade in the summer. Great location for Panama City activities. We attended the Beachball Drop at Pier Park New Year's Eve night. That was fun. Each site was occupied pretty much the whole week we were there. Each site is paved with water, electric, sewer and cable. There's a nice fire pit for the campground and wood is provided. Total of 24 sites there.

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.

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

We have a Class B Sprinter RV which fits perfectly in this campground. The facility was the best campground we have stayed in so far. It was very clean and well organized. Checking in was great and easy, someone helped you set your RV to your site. The staff was all helpful and jolly, which helped make our stay pleasant. Beach, picnic area, and playground were clean and well setup. We will definitely be back to this campground...we loved it...

This campground is very nice and our stay was very comfortable. Concrete slabs were great to keep things clean and the full hookup was great. They also provided Wi-Fi and cable. the restrooms and laundry were very clean. Convenient to downtown and area attractions. the campground is secure with a gate that you need a key card to get into. While we were there this gate was broken and they were waiting on parts. Camp host was very nice and helpful. The only downfall we had was the check in process. We had to go to the main Naval base to register and getting through the gate was a little tricky. Staff at the gate seemed to be "put out" that they had to move the cones and use another lane to get us through. Other than that all other staff were very helpful. When we come back to Panama City Beach we will not hesitate to stay here again.