The Hideaway Retreat

The Hideaway Retreat markets itself as a boutique waterfront campground, and the label fits: this is a small, waterfront focused property at 9807 Navarre Pkwy on the Santa Rosa Sound in Navarre, sitting roughly midway between Destin and Pensacola Beach on the Emerald Coast. The campground controls 742 feet of Sound front beachfront, a lot of shoreline for a property this size, and it gives every tent or RV site here easy walking access to calm, protected water instead of Gulf surf. The whole property is compact by design, with 50 RV sites, 10 tent sites, and a single Sound-view cottage, so it never feels like the sprawling mega-resorts found elsewhere on the coast.

RV camping here is organized into eight site tiers rather than a single flat rate, running from Standard and Premium Standard sites up through Waterview, Premium Waterview, Waterfront, and Premium Waterfront categories, each priced according to how close the site sits to the water and how much privacy it offers. A Premium Plus Waterview pairing, marketed as a Buddy Site using sites 4 and 4a, lets two connected parties book adjoining spots with the second site discounted 50 percent, a useful setup for two families or couples traveling together who want to camp side by side without paying full price twice. Guests who want a change of pace from their own rig can even rent Shabby Shasta, a restored 1958 Shasta travel trailer kept on-site as a retro rental unit.

Tent campers get their own standard, waterview, and premium waterview options, each including power and water hookups rather than the primitive tent only pads found at some Gulf Coast campgrounds. Every site is allowed four people at no extra charge, with additional guests permitted up to six for a fee, and one vehicle per site comes free with a second vehicle allowed for an added cost. Pets are welcome at $5 per pet for up to three pets. Anyone booking around a holiday should expect a $20 per night surcharge, and Friday and Saturday nights carry a standard $10 per night weekend rate bump, on top of whatever special event pricing applies during peak festival or fishing tournament weekends in the area. Check-in runs from noon to 6:00 p.m. Central time, checkout is by 11:00 a.m., and cancellations made 14 days or more before arrival get a full refund minus a $25 fee, while anything closer to arrival is non-refundable.

Because the campground sits directly along Highway 98 within a short drive of both Pensacola Beach and Destin, it works well as a base for exploring the wider Emerald Coast rather than just the immediate Navarre area, while still putting Navarre’s own uncrowded public beach and fishing pier within easy reach. The waterfront setting on the Sound side, rather than directly on the Gulf, also means calmer water for casting a line off the property or letting kids wade without dealing with surf or a strong undertow. The property has also finished rebuilding its seawall after storm damage, and a rebuild of its fishing pier out to 400 feet is in the works, a sign of ongoing investment in the waterfront that draws people back.

For rates, availability, and reservations, the office can be reached directly at 850-939-2717 between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Central time, since the tiered site pricing and seasonal rate adjustments are easiest to sort out with staff who know which sites are open on specific dates. Given the property’s small footprint and heavy repeat business among Sound side campers, booking well ahead of a summer or holiday weekend stay is worth doing rather than showing up hoping for a walk-in spot.