Waterside picnic pavilion seats 200. Dive shop on premises. The store also offers a 12-week spring and fall birdwatching course that features weekly field trips with an expert instructor. A one-day instructional backpacking class also is available in the spring and fall. Starting at the gate of the popular Gulf Islands National Seashore beach, it's a 7.5-mile ride to Fort Pickens at the end of the road.
Traffic is light.
There is a fee to ride in the park. Walking paths meander through wild areas and are also good for bicycling. The paved trail, which is closed to vehicles, opened in October 1998. State Road 399 traverses the sand dunes along the narrow beach between Santa Rosa Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Traffic can be heavy on summer weekends, but it's a fairly safe ride on weekdays.