Orange Beach, AL

The Lodge at Gulf State Park
Saturday, September 19 - Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Sweet home, Alabama - where the skies are so BLUE!!

Connect with your soul, loved ones, and new friends in the natural beauty of The Lodge. Shed your stress and focus on fun with your family! Every detail has been thoughtfully designed to help bring your HOPE and for you to know that you are not alone on your journey!

Below is detailed information about your trip. There is also a video about the resort. Please let us know if you have any questions! We are praying for you and hope these few days away is exactly what you need!

If for some reason you need to cancel, please let us know right away! (See cancellation info at the bottom of the page.)

where

The Lodge at Gulf State Park, A Hilton Hotel

Address: 21196 E Beach Blvd, Gulf Shores, AL 36542

The Lodge is on CST.

ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE

Arrival time: Saturday, between 4pm - 5pm CST, Saturday, September 19

Departure time: 10:00am CST, Wednesday, September 23

If you are running late, please contact Bri Wigley,

our Site Director @ 251-504-0868.

what to pack

You won’t need much! Pack casual clothes, bathing suits, flip-flops, and your toiletries. Remember to bring all of your family's routine medications like Advil, Tylenol, bandaids, etc. along with any prescription medications, medical supplies, equipment and swim diapers if you have little ones. You may want to bring a refillable water bottle. There are water stations setup around the property.

We will provide:

  • Beach towels (provided by the resort)

  • Your meals and snacks

  • Sand toys, rafts, and pool toys

schedule

Here’s a link to our schedule and roster for camp!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1onwu1H6S3O2nOKTmF7S1Ur-A30Z5j6sAjJBYkBa_Cew/edit?gid=0#gid=0

MEALS

Blue Skies will provide your meals. You’ll receive a breakfast bag with bars, yogurt, bagels, etc. We will have drinks and snacks for the beach and picnic lunches on site. Dinner our first night will be a cookout at the hotel sponsored by a local church. Our second night dinner will be hosted at Rotolo’s Pizza. It has become a beloved tradition spending the evening at Rotolo’s. They have a big party for us with music, mermaids, pirates, face painting and more! Monday evening is family night to enjoy the evening with your family. We will provide Chick-fil-A meal cards if you would like to use them or feel free to venture out for seafood or other local food! Our last night together will be at The Pavilion Park/Art Center. A local is sponsoring BBQ dinner for our Red, White and Blue Skies party!

FaceBOOK GrouP: JOIN TODAY!

Click here to join the Orange beach official Facebook group that will be a great way to get to know one another and hear updates before camp starts!

GET YOUR CAMP T—SHIRT

We have fun camp t-shirts designed uniquely for the Orange Beach camp. You will receive a text with a link to a google form along with a picture of the shirt to let us know if you would like one and your preferred size. (We get it, not everyone is a t-shirt person OR you may not see yourself wearing this year’s shirt. No worries! Just click on the link to the google form and select, no thank you. It will help us be good stewards to give shirts only to those who would like one:))

what to expect

You can expect lots of smiles and excitement! Our team of volunteers will be ready to greet you with open arms! When you arrive at The Gulf State Lodge, pull up to the valet area. A member of the Blue Skies team will greet you and help you get checked in.

The hotel valet staff will take your luggage and then you will park your car in the lot and meet us back at the lobby of the resort. (Blue Skies will provide you with funds for self-parking. You are welcome to valet if you would like. The hotel will bill your credit card for valet as an incidental.)

We will escort you to the desk for your room assignment. The hotel requires to see your driver’s license and also will take a credit card for any incidentals you purchase. Blue Skies will take care of your room, taxes, resort fees and self-parking fee.

We will grab a quick picture of your family and meet everyone once you get back to the lobby. Throughout the retreat, our volunteers will greet you at activities and will be available to answer questions, point you in the right direction, and help you have an amazing week with your family!

Each day begins with fun and togetherness at Good Morning Blue Skies and Chapel! When Chapel finishes, parents gather to get to know each other and share their journeys while the kids play and have fun! Afternoons are spent lounging at the beach and pool - and there’s plenty of time for naps or sightseeing, too, if you like. After dinner, get ready for lots of laughs and fun family time at of our evening activities! After watching a glorious sunset, you can climb into your comfy bed for a peaceful night’s sleep.

It's gonna be a great time! And hopefully, exactly what you and your family need!!

We ask every guest family to attend our welcome dinner and participate in our first and last Kindred Journeys sessions. We encourage guest families to participate in all camp activities, but, take from this week what your family needs and participate in what you choose.

housing

At our Orange Beach camp location, guests and volunteers will be staying in hotel rooms at the resort. Room assignments will be given at check-in.

travel

We wish we could blink you down to camp, but each family must provide their own transportation. The nearest airport to Orange Beach is Pensacola (PNS) Airport which is 26 miles away. Other nearby airports include Mobile (MOB) (48.3 miles), Valparaiso (VPS) (63 miles), Gulfport/Biloxi (GPT) (90.3 miles) and Panama City (ECP) (106.5 miles).

COST

Thanks to the fundraising that our volunteers participate in and the generous donations of others, this retreat is provided at no cost to you and your family. You will have to provide your own transportation to and from camp.

guidelines

To help keep everyone safe, please review our guidelines for camp by clicking HERE. We ask all campers to abide by these guidelines to ensure we all have an incredible week together!

podcast

Click here to hear Melinda’s heart behind the ministry and the hope Blue Skies brought to the Dryden family as they join Christy Nockels on her podcast!

a letter from melinda

Click here to read a welcome from Melinda!

check out the resort and get ready for an amazing retreat!

dinners will be at local restaurants and venues near the hotel!

Cancellation Policy

Please let us know right away if for some reason you can not make it to camp. We want to make sure every room is filled with families who need a little Blue Skies! Email Mary Nicholl, our Guest Family Coordinator, signmeup@whereskiesareblue.org.