HO HUM RV PARK, CARRABELLE, FLORIDA

Our Opinion: Rave.  We would love to return here.  Scenic, friendly, unpretentious.

Date of Stay: March 18 through 21, 2010

Weather During Stay:  Two days of cool sunshine, one day of PERFECT 70 degree sunshine, and one stormy, cloudy day.

Site Description:  This small campground has 50 level, graveled sites, 15 of which face St. George Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.  We were in site 38, facing the water and the campground’s small fishing pier, with 50 amp FHU.   The 35 sites off of the water are 30 amp FHU.  All sites have included cable TV and included WiFi.

Sites on the water have no shade; sites off the water are developed in a sparse stand of tall pine trees.  Site sizes are typical for a commercial park: close neighbors but enough room for your slides and awnings.  Big rig friendly, and there is plenty of space for your tow or towed vehicles.  We didn’t check the recreation hall, laundry or bathhouses - couldn’t tear ourselves away from our fabulous view - but they are available.

Two interesting notes: We saw more dogs here than most parks, all on leashes (required) and well-mannered.  We saw NO children here; the park “caters to seniors and adults” and the Ho Hum RV Park website makes a point of saying that there is not much for children to do here.

Rate: $33/night or $198/week for beach front, 50 amp sites; $29/night or $174/week for 30 amp sites.  10% discount for AAA and Good Sam.  Monthly rates are available, but not posted and we didn’t ask. With the AAA discount plus taxes, we paid just under $33/night.

Phone/radio/TV:  Our Verizon phones worked well, but the aircard had occasional problems, dropping the signal as it switched from Broadband to National Access.  We used the free WiFi some of the time and found it to be reasonably reliable.  No obstacles for our satellite TV, and we watched local shows on the included cable TV.  NPR on 88.9.

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain: This is a flat campground a few feet above sea level.  A small pier juts into the water, and a few small palm trees line the narrow “beach” area. Not really much of a beach here, but you can walk the narrow strand for a short distance (where most of the dog walking took place).

Lighting/noise: Half a dozen bright streetlights illuminate the campground at night, somewhat annoying.  Even though the campground is sandwiched between the ocean and Highway 98, the main highway along the “Forgotten Coast”, road noise at night was non-existent.  

Favorite Sites: We LOVED our view, and considered it money well spent to have a 50 amp, pull-in, beachfront site. Site 35 probably would have been our favorite, since it is on the end of the row and would have no neighbor on the patio side.

Hiking/Walking: Not much opportunity for walking in this little park, though we did stroll down the narrow beach during low tide.  Hiking is available in Tate’s Hell State Park (within 10 miles); miles of beach walking available at Carrabelle Beach, 5-6 miles west.  Fabulous beach walking and a nature trail at St. George State Park, about 20 miles away, on a barrier island.

Comments:  When Odel made our reservation, he asked the owner if there was much to do around here.  Her answer? “It’s not called Ho Hum for nothing!”  We were looking for downtime, and found it here - though we found plenty to do each day. Carrabelle (3-4 miles back to the west) is a small town with a big marina – seems geared to fisher folk.  Small, well-stocked IGA.  I hope we’ll be able to visit again