Fall is the best-kept secret in Florida camping. The summer crowds thin out, the Gulf water stays warm well into October, and the temperatures finally drop enough that you can enjoy a campfire without sweating through your camp chair. We tell buyers this at the lot all the time. If you bought a Ram 1500 to tow a camper or loaded down the Jeep Wrangler for a beach weekend, the first week of fall is when those vehicles start earning their keep.
The plan runs three parks over one long weekend, with a realistic drive sequence out of Panama City. Two vehicles, two use cases, matched with no fluff to what each park demands from your rig.
What's the Route?
The route runs northwest to east, starting inland and finishing on the coast, so the hardest driving (tight campground roads, sand, and dune access) waits until you know how the trailer handles and the crew is settled in.
| Stop | Drive Time from Panama City | What to Do | What to Pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falling Waters State Park, Chipley | ~1 hr via US-231 N | Hike to Florida's tallest waterfall (73 ft into a sinkhole), swim the campground lake, easy trails | Hiking shoes, camp kitchen, rain gauge (waterfall is rainfall-dependent) |
| Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach | ~45 min from Chipley via US-90 W / Scenic Hwy 30A | Kayak Western Lake, walk the beach, fish for redfish off the dunes | Kayak or rentals, fishing gear, reef-safe sunscreen, beach chairs |
| St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach | ~1 hr from Grayton Beach via US-98 E | Snorkel the jetty, fish Grand Lagoon, hike Heron Pond and Gator Lake trails | Snorkel gear, rod and reel, binoculars for osprey and wading birds |
Stop 1: Falling Waters State Park, Chipley
Falling Waters sits about an hour north of Panama City on US-231, just off I-10 near Chipley. The park sits inland, which catches people off guard when they're used to chasing the Gulf. The draw is that waterfall, 73 feet straight down into a cylindrical sinkhole, the tallest in Florida. Check the rainfall before you go. A dry summer can leave it trickling, and a wet stretch makes it genuinely dramatic.
The Ram 1500 earns its spot at the very first stop. The campground loops at Falling Waters are compact and gravel-surfaced. Sites sit level and spaced out nicely, but a few reviewers on camping forums note the road is tight for long rigs. Ram lists the 2026 Ram 1500 with a maximum towing capacity of up to 11,320 lbs with the 5.7L HEMI V8 (properly equipped), which gives you more than enough margin for a travel trailer or pop-up. One honest tradeoff is worth flagging. If you're towing something longer than 28 feet, pilot the campground loop before you commit to a pull-through versus a back-in site. The Ram handles the pull, but what you're negotiating is the loop's radius, not the truck's power.
Falling Waters has 24 sites, each with water and electric hookups, picnic tables, and fire rings. The park stays quiet and well outside the spring-break radar, so fall reservations come easier here than at the coastal parks.
See Current Inventory Specials
Stop 2: Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach
Grayton Beach is where the Wrangler conversation starts. Hop on US-90 west from Chipley, drop south to Scenic Highway 30A, and you're there in about 45 minutes. The coastal dune lakes along 30A rank among the rarest ecosystems on the planet (found in only four countries), and Western Lake at Grayton Beach is the centerpiece. Kayaking the lake and walking up through the dunes to the Gulf beach runs about two hours of legitimate outdoor time, not a photo op.
The 2026 Jeep Wrangler is built for exactly the terrain between that campground road and the beach access paths. Standard ground clearance sits at 10.0 inches on most Wrangler trims, and Jeep rates the approach angle on 4-door models at 47.4 degrees. That matters at Grayton Beach because the sand between the upper campground loop and the Gulf isn't always packed tight. Engage four-wheel drive and the Wrangler keeps moving where a lower-clearance vehicle gets tentative.
The campground runs 59 sites. Max RV length is 40 feet, per Florida State Parks.
Book the lower loop along Western Lake for the views, since it's genuinely beautiful and fills first, and take the upper loop for full hookups and more room to maneuver bigger rigs. Grayton Beach fills fast for fall weekends, so lock your site the moment the 11-month reservation window opens.
Stop 3: St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach
The loop closes at St. Andrews, three miles east of Panama City Beach off State Road 392. This is the big one. The park sits on a barrier peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Grand Lagoon on the other, so you're never more than a short walk from water in two completely different moods.
A couple of vehicle notes belong here. Jeep puts the four-door Rubicon's towing rating at 5,000 lbs. If you've got a small teardrop or a rooftop tent setup on a trailer, that's plenty. If the family is hauling a larger travel trailer, this is a Ram stop. The campground at St. Andrews takes RVs up to 40 feet with water and electric hookups at every site, two full loops in the pinewoods along Grand Lagoon, and 176 total sites. On our lot, we notice buyers who tow a camper pick the Ram's Crew Cab bed length once they figure out how much gear two nights at three parks generates.
Is early fall worth timing your trip around? Absolutely, because snorkeling the jetty at St. Andrews is legitimately excellent then. The water's still clear, the summer crowds are gone, and the park's two hiking trails (Heron Pond and Gator Lake) feel far better at 75 degrees than at 93.
Pack-and-Go Checklist
- [ ] Reserve all three parks on the Florida State Parks reservation site (opens 11 months ahead; Grayton Beach fills first)
- [ ] Confirm Falling Waters waterfall conditions via park phone before departure
- [ ] Ram 1500: verify Trailer Tow Group installed if towing over 7,000 lbs (adds integrated trailer brake controller and sway control)
- [ ] Wrangler: check tire pressure and engage 4-High before any soft-sand sections at Grayton Beach or St. Andrews
- [ ] Tent stake mallet and extra guy-lines for the overnight cold front that may arrive mid-October
- [ ] Kayak or plan to rent at Grayton Beach (ranger station offers rentals seasonally)
- [ ] Fishing license (Florida freshwater and saltwater, if doing both Grand Lagoon and Western Lake)
- [ ] Snorkel gear for St. Andrews jetty
- [ ] Firewood (most state parks sell on-site; confirm availability at each park before arrival)
- [ ] Day-use vehicle entry fee at each park (a small per-vehicle fee; bring a card)
Tweak It to Your Crew
Three parks in three days is the full version, and not every crew needs that pace. Here are a few honest adjustments based on what we hear from buyers after they've used these rigs.
If you're towing a larger camper with the Ram 1500: Start with St. Andrews. It's the closest to Panama City, the campground loops suit longer rigs, and you can sort your trailer setup before heading to the tighter access at Falling Waters. Ram's spec sheet puts the 2026 Ram 1500's payload capacity at up to 2,360 lbs in the V6 configuration, so load the bed strategically before you hitch up.
If you're going Wrangler-only, no trailer: Skip Falling Waters and base two nights at Grayton Beach, then day-trip to St. Andrews for the jetty snorkel. The Wrangler's storage is real but finite. Two nights of gear for two people is about its practical ceiling without a rooftop box or a small pull-behind utility trailer (the Rubicon handles a 5,000-lb tow, again per Jeep).
If you want to add a fourth stop: Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna sits between Panama City and Chipley, about 70 miles from each. Cave tours run daily. The road into the campground's paved and manageable for full-size rigs. Build it into the drive to Falling Waters as a half-day detour. The Wrangler fits right in on the campground's wooded roads.
Solo or couple versus a family crew: The Ram's Crew Cab gives you real back-seat room for sleeping gear, coolers, and whatever you refuse to put in a wet trailer. A Wrangler 4-door seats five, but three adults plus camping gear's a genuine tetris puzzle. Know that going in.