Gulf Islands National Seashore

March 27-31, 2025                                              Most Recent Posts:
Davis Bayou Campground                          I Do Love Ocean Springs
Gulf Islands National Seashore    Walter Anderson and Shearwater Pottery
Ocean Springs, Mississippi

The Davis Bayou Campground in the Gulf Islands National Seashore is for me the perfect place to stay to visit Ocean Springs and all it has to offer.  The Seashore has more to offer than just the campground.   But I do like the campground.  You can judge for yourself. 

Spaces are not on topo of each other.

Though some sections are closer than others.  But I spend little if any time in my site so it’s all fine with me.

As you can see from the map below, Davis Bayou (red arrow) is a tiny part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  This National Seashore is one of the largest National Parks stretching from Mississippi to Florida.  Over 80% of the park is under water. The park includes all the barrier islands off shore which protect the mainland.

One of the first things I always do at any park where I might be able to kayak, is to check out the dock and put in.  

On this day I decided to walk from the campground to the Visitor’s Center and stop at the boat dock on the way.   You can see my route.  I started at the top left blue arrow which shows the campground loops.   Next stop second blue arrow which is the boat dock.  The third arrow at the bottom is the Visitor’s Center.

Note on this map the dotted blue lines, that is the Davis Bayou Blue Way for paddling.

This appears to be their idea of a kayak put in and take out.  How I would get my kayak on that thing is a mystery to me.  Maybe if there were two of us we could lift it.  But why?  So you don’t have to put your feet in the water I guess.

Other people obviously felt the same way.  This is my idea of a put in.  Nice parking space next to the shore and a spot to just slide yourself in.

It was overcast every day I was in Ocean Springs.  Those are the marshes which look rather dull in this light.  But you can see that it was also windy on this day and every day I was in Ocean Springs.  The upshot of that was no paddling.  The wind just would not go into single digits.

I’m really sorry for that as it looks like a very interesting place to paddle.  I guess I need to figure out when I can return and make some deal with the winds.

Here’s a close up of the marsh grasses.  As spring progresses they will get very green.  You can see they have had some cold weather here.  The palmettos look like they have freezer burn.

Next stop is the National Seashore Visitor Center.   To me the building is just so so.  Not sure why if they are going to spend the money they don’t make it attractive.

But inside is another story.  The mosaic on the floor is outstanding.

As with most visitor centers, there is an overload of information here.  For instance,  the Gulf of MEXICO formed 300 million years ago. Scientists think the sea floor sank, creating the scooped out, dish like shape of the Gulf.   It is the 9th largest body of water in the world containing 649 QUADZILLION (wow!) gallons of water.  Twenty major river systems empty into the Gulf with the Mississippi providing almost 65% of the Gulf’s Fresh Water.  

Ocean Springs now favorite son is well represented.

His most beloved  place on Earth was Horn Island where he spent weeks at a time and did many of his drawings.  Horn Island is one of the string of barrier islands that make up the Mississippi part of the Seashore which was created in 1971, 6 years after the death of Walter Anderson.

I am certain he would be thrilled to know that his beloved island is being protected from the development that has happened on the mainland.

Notice the wooden fish hanging to the left of the Anderson banners above. 

This carving and dozens of others were done by John Segeren a Dutch born National Park Service Master Woodcarver.  The link from his name will take you to an amazing life story and incredible works he created.  He made all the wonderful wooden animal sculptures displayed in the visitor center.  They were the highlight for me.
There are better pictures of them in the link above.   These carvings were among the last he did.  He retired in 1984 and lived until 1997.  He was 96.

I couldn’t decide which ones to omit so I just included all the ones of which I was able to get a decent if not great picture.

The animals are made out of different woods and look more or less “polished” depending on the lighting.

The detail is wonderful, the blending of woods.  The racoon even has a “mask”.

Life size alligator.

I was able to do some hiking outside of all the walking in Ocean Springs.   The map below shows the two hiking trails.   I’ve marked the campground and both hiking trails with red arrows.   There is also a biking trail, the dotted red line.   I don’t carry a bike with me any more as I found I was off of it more than I was on it stopping constantly to see something along the way.  So now I just hike.

The Nature Trail is a lovely quiet woodsy trail.  

It was lush even this early in the year.  I would love to see it in the height of its fecundity ….except for the heat.

The trail to the CCC Overlook is longer and as indicated has views of the bayou. I’m not sure about that sign.  It is certainly more than .2 mile.  Though not 2 miles.

This foundation marks the location of a dining recreation pavilion built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the great depression.  A CCC camp here provided jobs and training for about 300 Mississippians and other Southerners from 1938 to 1941.  Crews built the camp, planted trees in eroded areas, built roads, cabins, piers and other structures. 

There are numerous views of the bayou on this hike.  
I love that rich black bayou mud.   It looks so rich.  Like black gold.

I’ll end with my favorite view from the trail.

As you can see from my last three posts, there is a lot to see and enjoy here between the park and the town.  I have one last post from Ocean Springs before moving on to New Orleans.