Camp Helen State Park Beach

Located in northwestern Florida, Camp Helen State Park is a state park that has a large unnamed white sand beach.  This beach is also sometimes known as Camp Helen State Park Beach, Soldier’s Beach, Veteran’s Beach, and Inlet Beach. An inlet named Philips Inlet is also present near this beach. This beach gets its alternate names (Soldier’s Beach and Veteran’s Beach) due to the fact that the area around this beach was often given as land grants to World War Two veterans. Wooden pilings are also present on the beach in Camp Helen State Park - these pilings are the remnants of a pier that stood here during the 20th century and was destroyed by a storm in the 1970s. 

The beach in Camp Helen State Park does not have lifeguards. However, the beach and the area around it have many amenities including picnic pavilions, nature trails, restrooms, and showers. Watersporting equipment rental facilities are also present in the state park. Dogs are not allowed on the beach in Camp Helen State Park. 

The beach in Camp Helen State Park offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, hiking, fishing, swimming, kitesurfing, windsurfing, bodyboarding, kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, jet-skiing, surf-skiing, boating, and parasailing. If you are planning to enter the water near Camp Helen State Park, we recommend being careful as the water here has unpredictable rip currents. Depending on the time of the year, you can view many kinds of animals in the water near this beach including dolphins and sea turtles. Loggerhead and green sea turtles also use this beach as a seasonal nesting spot. If you like birdwatching, you can also view many kinds of birds around the beach in Camp Helen State Park including brown pelicans and piping plovers. The least terns and snowy plovers also seasonally nest around the beach in Camp Helen State Park. If you are planning to fish in the water near Camp Helen State Park, please make sure that you follow the local fishing regulations.

Camp Helen State Park has many kinds of habitats including mesic flatwoods, sand dunes, and depression marsh vegetation - you can explore this park’s vibrant landscape via the hiking trails here. You can also view many kinds of animals and birds in this state park including bald eagles, least terns, white-tailed deer, and occasionally bears. The state park also includes a lake named Lake Powell - this lake is one of the largest dune lakes in Florida and it offers an amazing fishing, paddling, boating, wildlife watching, and kayaking experience. The state park also has multiple historic recreational buildings which were constructed during the early 20th century, when the area was used as a corporate resort by an Alabamian company named Avondale Mills (also known as Avondale Textile Mills). These buildings are a part of the United States’ National Register of Historic Places.

Getting to Camp Helen State Park is easy - the state park is present near 23937 Panama City Beach Parkway, and a parking lot is also present nearby. It is important to note that you need to pay an access fee to enter Camp Helen State Park.

There are many attractions near Camp Helen State Park. The Panama City Beach Conservation Park is spread over 2900 acres. This park has a vibrant landscape which can be explored by visitors via boardwalks, hiking trails, and biking trails. The park is also a great wildlife watching spot and you can view many kinds of native animal species here. In addition, the park also has restrooms, picnic areas, and drinking water facilities. Man in the Sea Museum has interesting exhibitions about the development of underwater navigational technology. The museum also has treasures from sunken 16th-century ships, maritime equipment and vehicles, and an artificial experimental habitat named SEALAB I. If you are looking for another attraction near Camp Helen State Park Beach, Gulf World Marine Park is home to a variety of interesting animals including sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, rare rough-toothed dolphins, seals, penguins, stingrays, and tropical bird species. In addition, the park also conducts interactive programs and animal shows.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Camp Helen State Park.  Firefly is an upscale restaurant which is 23 minutes away by car and offers amazing pastas, soups, salads, seafood, steaks, poultry, and sushi.  Bayou Bill's Crab House  is especially known for serving amazing seafood. In addition, the restaurant also serves fantastic dishes with Cajun and Creole culinary influences and it also offers amazing steaks, salads, sandwiches, and smoked ribs. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Camp Helen State Park, Sunnyside Grill has a bright and vivid decor and it also has interesting memorabilia. In addition, the restaurant serves excellent dishes for breakfast and lunch including eggs, burgers, pork chops, nachos, and country fried steaks.

If you are looking for a hotel near Camp Helen State Park, there are many great nearby options.  If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star Grand Panama Beach Resort by Emerald View Resorts is a 21-minute drive away and offers many amenities including a pool with a sundeck, a children’s pool, a tiki bar, an exercise room, a hot tub, and multiple restaurants. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Carillon Beach Resort Inn which offers many amenities including a spa, multiple restaurants, a gym, a wine bar, two tennis courts, two hot tubs, four swimming pools, and a complimentary shuttle service to a nearby beach area. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Camp Helen State Park, the 2-Star Beachside Resort Panama City Beach offers many amenities including a seasonal pool with a bar, a children’s pool, a hot tub, laundry facilities, and a fitness center.