Camp Helen keeps Bay County's company-resort story

Camp Helen uses a Panama City Beach mailing address, but the park is outside the city in Bay County’s Laguna Beach census-designated place. That postal shorthand is useful for finding it, though it is not the same as the park’s local-government geography.

The park sits by Lake Powell and the Gulf. Avondale Mills bought the property in 1945, opened an employee resort in 1946, and stopped using it in 1987. The old lodge, recreation hall, and cottages help explain why the park does not feel like a plain beach access point.

That old company-retreat layer changes the walk. You can be close to the Panama City Beach visitor map and still notice a quieter Bay County story in the buildings, the lake edge, and the way the park sits apart from the busiest vacation corridor.

Before going, check the current park page for hours, fees, beach access, trails, and any work around the historic buildings. Then leave time for the Lake Powell side, not just the Gulf. Camp Helen makes more sense when you see both pieces together.