1. Graphically by means of our interactive maps. Select the state from the MAP, above. You will be presented with a strip map of I-10 in that state. Primary cities which have RV parks are designated by gold diamonds (◊). Other cities, to help orientation, by gold sunbursts (). Click on a gold diamond to view a list of RV Parks near I-10 exits in and near that city.

2. From lists sorted geographically. Select a state from the lists of states in the INDEX, below. You will be presented with list of cities along I-10 in that state. Cities which have RV parks are displayed in blue type; the other cities are displayed in green type. Click on a city of interest to view a list of RV Parks near I-10 exits in and near that city.

About I-10

Arizona
   Arizona is much more interesting than California along the I-10 right-of-way. Ehrenberg, which is exit 1, has nearly half a dozen RV parks. That's starting off with a bang. Driving on we encounter Quartzsite at milepost 17 and well over a half dozen more RV parks. Quartzsite is frequent host to numerous rallies. Understandably, when a rally is taking place the prices go up — way up. Finally, some 140 plus miles into Arizona, we encounter the first large city: Phoenix. In Phoenix I-10 heads Southeast to Tucson.
   Tucson is one of our favorite places. If you enjoy horseback riding you can rent horses for a few hours or a day and go riding to places like Saguaro National Monument. True, this is desert, but it is beautiful desert and these magnificent cacti are the ancient sentinels of the desert. You'll find that, when riding through this area, if you can refrain from talking you'll see an amazing variety of wildlife — especially birds. They don't seem to be afraid of the horses but they hide from noisy people. For those folks without horses :-), we recommend Saguaro East where the National Park Service has a Visitors' Center and an 8 mile scenic drive. For more information phone 520-733-5133.

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   If you love horses, you'll love Covington. Some of the finest horse farms in Louisiana are located in this area. They raise mostly Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and quarter horses. If you want to give your seat muscles a different workout, Amelia Farms not only rents horses but will teach you how to ride. Take exit 63, head 3.3 miles north on US-190 to LA-21 (Military Rd), turn right and go about 5 miles northeast to LA-1084. Turn right and go 1.5 miles east to 1083, turn right and follow the signs to Amelia Farms. We suggest you phone them, first, at 504-893-2380.
   At Slidell (exit 85) we rejoin I-10. From here it is a beautifully scenic ride of about 6 miles to the Mississippi border.

Mississippi
   The Mississippi Gulf Coast is an economic center for Mississippi. If you've ever been to the Mississippi beach you certainly realize why this is true. And for this same reason, even most of the RV parks are located along the coast — which is US-90, not I-10. So we are going to bend the rules a little bit. We will cite the RV parks along I-90 but list them under the nearest I-10 exit. If, however, you wish to sign into one of these RV parks, our recommendation is that you take exit 2 and follow MS-607 to its junction with US-90. Then follow US-90 to your destination. So it's not freeway but it is a good highway and makes for a very enjoyable drive. After all, who wants to tear through this beautiful area at 75 miles per hour :-)
   There is a web site, Official Guide, listing most of the casinos and other entertainment centers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is not 'official' as in from the State of Mississippi but it is an excellent guide. That lets us off the hook for that is not the function of the RV Park Guides.
   We start with Bay St. Louis. Several RV parks are available; you can chose on which is also a Marina, one that has its own casino, or one which is designed to give you quiet, relaxed shelter overnight, the weekend or a week or more. Bay St Louis, with Waveland, is a peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico on the one side and Catfish Bayou on the other.
   Crossing the US-90 bridge puts you on one of the main beaches. Passing Diamondhead, Pass Christian and Long Beach we come to Gulfport (exits 31-38), the largest city on Mississippi's Gulf Coast (in fact, the second largest — after Jackson — in Mississippi). Like any city of 70,000+ people you can find about anything in Gulfport; but for the same reason, it is very urban. Gulfport has RV parks near I-10 as well as near the beach. You chose.
   North of I-10 exit 34-B we have a contrast to beach life; De Soto National Forest has an excellent campground on the banks of the Big Biloxi River just 8 miles north of the exit. Their fee is also much less than the parks along the beach.
   Biloxi (exit 46-A, population 50,000+) is also a large urban area. And urban development, as with Gulfport, stretches right up to the beach. Biloxi even has its own Interstate highway (I-110).
   Ocean Springs (exit 50) has a little gift from Uncle Sam: Gulf Island National Seashore complete with a RV friendly campground. Bisected by Stark Bayou, this is a quiet, pleasant oasis to relax and recuperate.
   Gautier (exit 61) also has a park of its own: Shepard State Park. Facing Twin Islands in the mouth of the Pascagoula River, this, too, is in contrast to beach life. So, folks, even on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, you have your choices.

Alabama
   Coastal Alabama, too, is very special to us. The Gulf Coast of Alabama is unique. Its next door neighbors share many features of Alabama' coast but not all. Some of these features no longer exist; Mother Nature wiped them out in a few moments of wind-driven water. One very special feature, however, will probably be around a very long time but has become so popular it can no longer be enjoyed by us. That is the beautiful bluff, Red Bluff it was called, overlooking Mobile Bay. We couldn't park there but were within strolling distance. We could stand there, a hundred feet above the Bay and watch the waves struggle as they rolled over shallower and shallower water. You could see the currents change. The water was so busy it was actually exciting to watch.
   There is an RV park, now, in Fairhope. It is about 4 miles from the coast and that is about as close as you're going to get. The property in the area has swelled in value. Yes, things change.
   We bent the rules for Mississippi; it is only fair that we do the same for Alabama. In Mississippi there was, typically, only about a half dozen miles between I-10 and the coast (US-90). Both I-10 and US-90 are a long way from the coast on the east side of Mobile Bay; we have US-98, instead. From the point of land on which Fort Morgan is situated, to Gulf Shores, to Orange Beach at Wolf Bay is a stretch of coast line that has become very popular and for good reason. The weather is usually good, the temperature much milder in the summer than one would expect and the people — well, most of them — actually welcome visitors.
   Eastbound travelers can get there via AL-59 (I-10 exit 44), an excellent highway, and westbound travelers would take I-110 (I-10 exit 12 in Pensacola FL) to US-98, then west to AL-59 in Foley and south to the shore. All are excellent highways and Class A rig friendly.
   RV parks are scattered all over the area. There is even an excellent KOA just off US-98 on Perdido Bay (near the Florida border). The slope to the Bay is more gradual but the park is about 70 feet elevation and does have a great view.
   Gulf State Park, a 6,150 acre recreation area set aside by the State of Alabama for folks like us to enjoy, straddles Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The facilities include a resort hotel, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, golf, a kids playground and, most importantly, a campground. The campground is on the west side of the park (in Gulf Shores). It has been virtually rebuilt recovering from hurricane damage. The Gulf Park is now our favorite spot.
   You can get more information from the Alabama Gulf Coast Visitors Bureau. Phone 800-745-7263, e-mail info@gulfshores.com. Their web site is www.GulfShores.com.
  We haven't forgotten those of you who wish to drive straight through. At exit 53 of I-10 (about 18 miles east of the east end of the Mobile Bay bridge) there is a trio of RV parks very convenient to the Interstate. There's more information on our Robertsdale page.

Florida
   For many of us who lived through WW-2, Pensacola evokes many memories, the least of which is Pensacola as a vacationer's Paradise. But here it is and Pensacola seems to have it all. Perdido Key on the Gulf sucks them in by the hundreds. In addition to the usual hotels and condos, Pensacola has quite a few RV parks — some quite deluxe. Of course we list those more easily accessed from I-10 — US-98 (Gulf Breeze Hwy, here) is not convenient to I-10 and, as you go east, it gets more distant. Pensacola is the nearest I-10 will get to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. From the moment you roll onto the Escambia Bay Bridge you are heading northeast and away from the Gulf. Part of the reason is that I-10 has to skirt the huge Elgin Air Force property. Before we get away from Pensacola, there is a very different RV park (actually much more than an RV park) about a dozen miles north of Milton (a suburb northeast of Pensacola). It's called Adventures Unlimited.
   Floridians frequently get a little upset when I tell this story but it does a good job of making my point. A chap from New England told me he hates Florida (he vacations here every Winter:-). I finally got him to tell me why: "People go there to die. They leave never to come back. You visit them and they are just sitting around playing bridge or, at the highest energy level, playing shuffle board. And that's why they die; they have quit living."
   You'll find the people in Florida, for the most part, are very active. Not only does the weather encourage it but the spirit seems to be contagious. Speaking of active, another RV park (they prefer to be called 'resort') is northwest of De Funiak Springs: Sunset King Lake Resort. You want activity? There, you have it.
   Only a few miles south of I-10 exit 120 in Chipley is Falling Waters State Park. The center of attention is a cylindrical pit, like a missle silo, 20 feet in diameter and about 100 feet deep. A small spring-fed stream flows into the pit dropping about 73 feet to the bottom never to be seen again (as far as we know). There is much more in the park: a very cool lake, three easy nature trails, a butterfly garden (which can be exciting when the little guys are migrating). And they have a 24 site RV friendly campground with water, electricity and a dump station. Camping fee — only $15.
   It seems almost every state has a spectacular cavern they want you to see. Some are really exquisite; other are about as interesting as a subway station. Florida also has caverns, many of them. One, just north of Marianna (eastbound use exit 136; westbound exit 142) offers guided tours (considered 'moderately strenuous') and a visitors' center with an audio-visual program. We didn't go (our favorite is in eastern Nevada far, far away from any Interstate highway) but, if you're interested, check out their web site.
   There's another great, state operated, campground at Three Rivers State Park just north of Sneads (exit 158). It is on the Florida side of Lake Seminole (the impoundment of the 'three rivers'). Here, again, you have water, 50 Amp electric, generous-sized spaces and a dump, — plus a very beautiful park.
   Now to change channels, there is a spectacular garden 1/2 mile north of exit 203 in Tallahassee: Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park. (Sorry, no campground here.) If you'd like to stretch your legs, the park has some 8 miles of trails. The park is on the south and west shores of  Lake Hall. We were told that, though the lake is not within the park grounds, it is used by park visitors.
   Changing channels, again, here's something for music lovers (perhaps not all of them): Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. And, yes, they do have camping; how about 600+ improved campsites with water and 50 Amp electric hookups? Each campsitre is about 40' by 60' and they have both pull-throughs and back-ins. The real attraction, however, is the long list of music venues they present through the year. You'll have to visit their web site to see what is coming, when. The pricing for camping during a specific venue depends on that venue. Pricing when there is no concert scheduled is reasonable (around $30 - $40 inclusive).
   "Are we there, yet...?" Yes; Jacksonville is the eastern end of I-10. Jacksonville is the largest (counting acres) city in Florida. I would guess that half of those acres are water (St Johns River). It also seems like Jacksonville has more major bridges than anyone else. The best way (my opinion) to see Jacksonville — the city — is from the St Johns River. And there just so happens to be several river cruise companies that are ready to offer you that opportunity One web site of interest is JaxRiverCruises.com. We have 'sailed' with them several times to watch the fireworks but they regularly have dinner cruises with dancing to a live band, etc.
   One last diversion: we reached the end of the Interstate — but — there is more: Jacksonville Beach (and its neighbors). Getting there is on again, off again freeway hopping but even the non-freeways are four-lane and excellent highways. For the route with the most freeway head south on I-95 to exit 344. Turn left at the end of the off-ramp and follow FL-202 west all the way to the beach. The first 2.3 miles are good road but not freeway; the remaining 2.3 miles are freeway. Note: Unless they've just been changed, the signs directing you to Jacksonville Beach along I-95 direct you to US-90 — none of which is freeway. It is a good highway, though. You chose.
   Hope you've enjoyed your trip as much as we do.

contributed by Bob Masters

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