Here's a bunch of info and images for you on PINS.
I drove on the beach at PINS with my heavy-assed van and trailer without problem.
It was parking that got me, up high near the brush and dunes. It can be a bit softer up there, with old hidden firepits that have been covered over. The sand is then a lot looser over the old pits.
In moving forward after setting the trailer one night, my right rear was over one of those pits and dug in so deep and fast my differential was in the sand; back bumper resting at grade. Rocking it back and forth a bit to try and climb out I heard a sudden, loud crack and snap. Holy shit, I thought, I snapped a spindle or something.
I got out both my Maxtrax and Traction Jacks, dug a big escape ramp for that side, beveled it out towards the other side, and managed to extract myself, by myself, in the dark with no winch or tow. I was pretty tickled and was super pleased I'd come prepared. My long handled shovel proved to be a life saver. Turns out I'd parked the right rear right over an old firepit, and the loud crack was me breaking a partially burned piece of firewood. Big relief.
If the beach is busy, you can't always camp outside the highest tide line along the whole beach. It's pretty narrow in spots. You'll get surge tides, too, bigger around full moon, and bigger with Gulf storms. There are places you can look up the tide charts, which are really helpful.
"Spring" tides are generally the ones you want to watch for most. They happen just after both new and full moons. The difference between high and low tides then is the greatest.
I had the tide come up within about 5-6 feet of my van. Some days the Rangers will come through and alert folks they need to move because of unusually high tides coming.
Nothing quite like camping on the beach right next to such an expanse of salt water.
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Dug myself in pretty deep, pretty easily.
The next morning I realized how much of a mountain of sand I'd moved.
That long-handled shovel proved invaluable in reaching way under the van to move sand. You can see I had to dig sort of a shelf to the right of the traction boards that was 10-12" lower than the surface, to be able to work it all right.
There is an ever-present and steady wind that comes in off the Gulf. It's billowing up my awning in the image above.
There can also be extreme humidity; so much so that my awning would drip from the condensation (not rain). A lot of the folks I met over the week I camped on the beach said they never stay longer, because the constant salt spray can be so disastrous on gear. It rusted the chain on my bike in that short of time.
Packed up the awning because of high winds. This shot gives you an idea of the travel lane, how hard-packed it is, and shows how narrow the strip you can camp on is in most areas.
My
Kestrel recording 22mph wind. Didn't blow that hard every day, but it sure can get pretty gusty; sandblasting my glasses, etc. Was 100% humidity.
Another shot showing travel lane and camping strip.
One of my collapsible
traffic cones out to mark my guy line for the
SlumberJack Roadhouse tarp. I parked my van on that side to block the wind from my kitchen area.
Hope you have a blast down there!
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Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
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