Hidden Island

Nov 27, 2022, our 9th and last day at Island Retreat RV Resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This hidden island has quickly become one of our favorite destinations. I'm almost afraid to share it with you.

We were in Murfreesboro, TN November 14 - 19, 2022 and miserable! The small campground we were in was indeed small. We chose it because of the location and that was the only thing that was in its favor. More on that one later. After freezing temperatures in TN we were not looking forward to the trip back home in Kentucky where it was reported to be snowing. Now, it wasn't a huge amount of that 'white crap', my term for it, but with it came cold temps and we didn't want to be cold. So, in an almost joking tone, I suggested we head South...below I-10. Next thing I knew, we were booking a stay for 9 days (got a discount) at this HIDDEN ISLAND!

Off to Gulf Shores we went.

The drive was pretty straight and RV friendly. Warning though, I-65 through/around Birmingham is absolutely AWFUL!!! It will rattle your bones and everything in your soul! Luckily, we don't have a lot of stuff on the walls of our camper but things that normally don't fall, FELL!

We arrived at 7:55pm CT. It was raining just enough to make it uncomfortable. The wonderful staff met us and escorted us to our spot. Very nice and professional.

The next morning, we were pleased to see sun!! The temps were not the ideal 70's as we were hoping but it wasn't freezing and there wasn't any chance the 'white crap' would fall from the sky. The first few days were spent hanging out in the camper, laundry was done and after work, a grocery trip was made. Knowing that Thanksgiving was ahead of us, we tried to have food to cook and have in the RV. At night the temps were a little cool to us, but fortunately the electric fireplace and heater saved our propane and kept us warm. We had a few gloomy and drizzly days. By Wednesday, after a half-day of work, we went to explore. We also had to get the dogs some food, as we hadn't planned to make this trip so they were getting low. After a quick drive down Ft. Morgan Road all the way to the end and snapping some beautiful photos of the view, we made our way into Foley, AL. We decided to grab a dinner out, eating at Lambert's Cafe then picked up dog food. The one thing we struggled with was the getting dark early....between time change and being on Central Time, we found it confusing to our body clock when it was practically pitch black by 6pm. Nonetheless, that also forced us to actually get some rest. A welcome change to our normal life pace.

Thanksgiving Day, we decided to get out and take a walk. Unsure of where dogs can and can't go we elected to leave them behind while we check out the small portion of the Fort Morgan Trail that was our easy access to Mo's Landing Park, just across from the campground. Even though it was overcast, it was a nice place to walk to and enjoy the ocean waves. There were beautiful wooden swings and a small beach access for fishing. You are not allowed to walk on the docks unless you were launching/retrieving watercraft. There's a parking lot, 48hr limit. There was also a small covered picnic area with a grill. I think the building was for bathrooms. Hope to explore it more later.

That Friday we took a drive over to Pensacola which took us through Gulf State Park. We would circle back and check that out later to learn of the campground and really cool walk/bike path. Definitely a place we would like to check out on a long term basis. We did check places in Pensacola and was not impressed. Most of those parks were cramped, weren't pet friendly and didn't offer overflow parking. For our current travel needs, we didn't find one better than Island Retreat RV Park.

All in all the area is definitely a hidden gem. Gulf Shores is not overly touristy. The trip down to Fort Morgan was a nice rather straight drive allowing access to beautiful beach views. There are some pull-offs to walk to the beach as well. Again, we hope to explore more later.

On our scale... we think this is a 4-star Wheel Epic Adventures RV park! Just so you know, 4-wheels is GREAT!