A night on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Posted in Mississippi, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State ParksTagged , , ,

Our day began driving south on I-65 to Mobile, Alabama and heading west on I-10 to Mississippi. Our home for the night  was Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, Mississippi.

This part of Mississippi suffered major damage in August, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina came ashore with winds of over 160 MPH and a storm surge of 30 feet. Damage from the storm was evident all along the beach. The remains of several docks are still standing as a reminder of the power of the storm.

Blondie always enjoys a walk on a beach
Laughing Gulls
Dock remains in Waveland, Mississippi
Walking along the beach in Waveland, Mississippi
On the beach in Waveland, Mississippi

All of the structures at this popular state park were completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Reconstruction of the park was completed in 2013 and the results are amazing. All of the buildings, water park, wave pool, and splash pool have been rebuilt and look brand new. It looks more like a resort than a state park. The large campground has several loops with paved pads and full hookups as well as a primitive camping loop. There are even some beach campsites with views of the Gulf of Mexico.

The hurricane also destroyed much of the vegetation in the park but some old oak trees survived the storm.

Majestic oaks in Buccaneer State Park
New Activities Building and Campstore at Buccaneer State Park
Office and registration building at Buccaneer State Park
Castaway Cove at Buccaneer State Park

As I walked on the beach and around the park I couldn’t help but think about what the area must have looked like before Hurricane Katrina came ashore 10 years ago. I also thought about how much work must have gone into the restoration of the state park and the private homes in the area. Kudos go out to the people of the state of Mississippi for doing such a great job with the rebuilding.

9 thoughts on “A night on the Mississippi Gulf Coast”

  1. The people of these coastal towns are resilient, strong and resourceful. So glad they rebuilt, it was probably not even a question. Howard and I grew up in the New Orleans area and have gone through a few hurricanes. Katrina was horrible. I remember driving to NOLA in October after it happened in August; things were still a mess. Anyway, the beach looks lovely as does the park! Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos with us. Safe travels!

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    1. Sheila, I agree with you about the people who live in the coastal towns. I can’t imagine what it was like to visit New Orleans so soon after the storm hit. I’m sure the damage was much worse in person than what we saw on the news.

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  2. I am curious as to whether the new construction was designed to better withstand another Katrina-force hurricane or if it will be destroyed again next time?

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    1. I don’t know the answer to that but all the buildings are brick and from the outside look really solid. Most are built up off the ground and the second stories are very high with metal stairs. As we drove around the area there are still some one story homes.

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      1. It sounds like they are more hurricane-proof. I was curious because so many of the new buildings along the North Carolina coast didn’t seem to be to hurricane code.

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