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Gulf Islands NS - Davis Bayou, MS

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Davis Bayou Campground is located just off US-90 in Ocean Springs, MS. It's a smaller campground with only 51 sites, but is very pleasant with lots of grass and some large old trees. We always enjoyed stopping here - not only is it great campground, it was (until 2014) a first-come, first-served campground. Now with most sites (49) reservable, it's nigh impossible to get in on the spur of the moment, which is our preferred method of travel.

228-875-3962

Most Recent Visit: Dec 2015

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As you enter the campground, you'll see the small office on the left. Actually this is the old office - it has recently been replaced with a rather ugly cement-block building. When not open, you self-register using the Iron Ranger out front. Off to the right is site 2. This is our third visit to Davis Bayou.

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This is our first time here since the implementation of the reservation system. Normally we hate being forced to make plans so far in advance, but we played the game for this stay, booking our site back in August. Most of the year the length of a stay is restricted to four weeks, but it's only two weeks during January-March. We were able to reserve our site for the last two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January and get a total of four weeks. When we were last here in 2012, we had picked site 25, and did so again for this visit.

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2012 comment: Davis Bayou is strictly first-come/first-served all year round . Park management, however, is making noises about going to the reservation system next year. We filled out a camper's comment card to urge them not to do so. The other campground in Gulf Islands NS, Fort Pickens, went to year-round reservations for ALL sites, not even setting a few aside for first-come, first-served.

In 2011 we spent the first few days of our visit on site 7.

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Sites 11-18 are located on a short road ending in a turn-around loop.

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Looking from the turn-around loop we see sites 7-9 on the left and 21 on the right.

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Sites 25-31. As you can see, some are shaded while others are quite sunny.

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Site 38 is probably the most scenic, with its view out over the bayou.

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Sites 41-45 on the east side of the campground.

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Sites 1-3 are in the northwest corner of the campground.

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We stayed a week and then left for a night to visit friends. We returned the next day and chose site 47. Some mornings one awakens to pretty thick fog, but it burns off fairly quickly.

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During our last visit in 2012, construction had just begun on a new bathhouse. It is quite an improvement over the old one and is handicapped-accessible. It was clean and offers free hot showers in individual shower rooms.

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If you want to bring your boat, there's a boat ramp just a short distance from the campground.

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There are a number of hiking trails at Davis Bayou, with a number of scenic overlooks around the bayou.

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A Visitors Center offers exhibits dealing with the Gulf Islands. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit in 2011 while displays were being upgraded. It is well worth a visit; be sure to watch the movie about the Gulf Islands. It's just over a mile from the campground.