Gulf Islands National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore
On a sunny day we decided to go through Pensacola over the 3 mile bridge through Gulf Breeze to the area designated by the National Parks as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The National Seashore runs from Florida to AL and then onto MS. The drive along the National Seashore is outstanding since there is water from the Gulf on one side and the water from the Bay on the other side. The white sand definitely stands out. After the 7 mile drive you come to Ft. Pickens where there is a lovely campground and the remains for the Fort.
Only one of the 5 sections of the campground was open due to Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and the other hurricanes in 2005. All 5 areas should be open this year in 2010.
After the War of 1812 it showed how vulnerable the ports were and congress decided to build forts to protect the ports. The fort was begun in 1829, completed in 1834 and was used until 1947. It took over 21.5 million bricks to build this fort. There were a total of 4 forts built in this area to protect Pensacola Harbor. This is a lovely area and we gathered enough information on the campground to possibly come and stay at a future date.