Camp Helen Stopped Renting Kayaks. Here's How Inlet Beach Gets on Lake Powell Now.

The first thing on the Camp Helen State Park homepage these days is a kayak notice: "Effective May 13, 2026: Kayaks are not offered for rent at Camp Helen State Park."

If you live in Inlet Beach and used to drive over, pay at the honor box and push a rental boat into Lake Powell, that easy habit has moved. A rental boat on this lake now starts at the Bay County boat ramp on Lake View Drive, and you check it out with your phone. Camp Helen is still a good place to paddle, but it now mostly serves people who bring their own boat.

What Camp Helen still offers on the water

According to Florida State Parks, personal watercraft are still allowed, and the park's public kayak launch is at the North Trailhead, about 375 feet from the parking area. If you have a kayak on a roof rack, you can still launch here.

The basics haven't changed. The park at 23937 Panama City Beach Parkway is open from 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. Entry is $4 per vehicle or $2 per pedestrian or bicyclist, paid at the honor box. The park's own paddling page still shows older rental prices and a year-round rental schedule. The notice on the main park page is the one that applies.

The state has also started looking for someone to run services at the park. The Florida Park Service issued a call for business plans, SUP-BP #04-26, for a concession at Camp Helen. Its scope "may include, but are not limited to: Recreational Equipment Rental, Food and Beverage, Special Event Management and Merchandise Resale." The mandatory on-site meeting was Sept. 9, 2026, and proposals were due Sept. 30.

The rental moved to a kiosk on Lake View Drive

The other side of this change is at Bay County's Lake Powell Park. County GIS records put the park at 23104 Lake View Dr and show a boat ramp there. WJHG described the location as the Lake Powell boat ramp off Back Beach Road on the west end of Panama City Beach. The park also has parking, picnic areas, and restrooms.

In late August 2025, WMBB reported that Bay County had partnered with Rent.Fun on a self-serve kayak station there. It was planned with eight kayaks, at $25 for two hours or $40 for four. Bay County Parks and Recreation called it the first self-serve kayak rental in the county.

Rent.Fun's Bay County page lists the station at 23104 Lakeview Drive, Panama City Beach, with eight kayaks, paddles and life vests. It runs daily from sunup to sundown, at $25 for under two hours and $40 for under four. Here is how a rental works, according to the vendor:

1. Download the Rent.Fun app and create an account.
2. Check live availability in the app before you drive over.
3. Scan the QR code on the station to unlock a kayak and gear.
4. Return everything to the station and end the rental in the app.

Step two matters more than it looks. With eight boats and no attendant, the app is the only way to know whether a kayak is free before you arrive.

Three ways onto the same lake

Without the Camp Helen rentals, how you get on Lake Powell depends on what you already own and how much of the lake you want explained to you.

Two of the three options now leave from the county ramp, not the state park.

The guided version leaves from the ramp too

Get Up And Go Kayaking – 30A runs guided small-group paddles in clear-bottom kayaks, starting at the Lake Powell Public Boat Ramp. The company says plainly that it offers guided tours, not rentals. The route covers marshy flats and dune-lined shores and stops at the beach where Lake Powell meets the Gulf. Along the way you may see birds, fish, turtles and crabs. Tours run about 2 to 2.5 hours.

There's no parking at the launch itself. The booking confirmation email gives you the parking address. This weekend, the booking calendar shows 8:30 a.m., noon and 3:45 p.m. departures on both Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7. If guests are in town and want to see the lake from the water without arranging gear, this is the simplest option.

Why the lake rewards the extra step

Lake Powell is the main reason Camp Helen exists. Florida State Parks calls it one of the largest coastal dune lakes in Florida, and the lake is designated an Outstanding Florida Water. The water can look brown. The state explains that the color comes naturally from tannins in leaves and from minerals.

The lake's link to the Gulf comes and goes. Lake Powell has an intermittent outfall, and when it's open, the state park's paddling guide describes both saltwater and freshwater fishing: redfish, speckled trout, mullet and bass. The guided tour's stop at the spot where the lake meets the Gulf is a close look at that connection.

After Isaias, a quick check before you go

On Oct. 7, WJHG listed Camp Helen State Park among the parks closing ahead of Isaias. As of Oct. 30, the Florida State Parks storm update page lists one full closure, Blackwater Heritage State Trail in Santa Rosa County, and closed overnight accommodations at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County. That page is posted for this kind of question. Check it, or call the park at 850-233-5059, before loading the car.

On foot, the park's calendar fills in this month

Without kayak rentals, Camp Helen is now mostly a park you visit on foot. The trail guide lists the 1.8-mile North Trail and the 0.5-mile Oak Canopy Trail. A marked sandy route, about 0.75 mile round trip, leads to the beach. The historic Lodge and the Rainbow Cottages are on the National Register and are still the park's best-known buildings.

Two November dates are on local calendars:

• Ranger-guided nature hike, Thursday, Nov. 5, 10 to 11 a.m. SoWal's listing says the hike happens the first Thursday of each month, which puts the next one on Dec. 3.
• Monthly bird count, Saturday, Nov. 28, 6 to 10 a.m. Bay County Audubon runs the count. Because it starts before the park opens, you need to RSVP to get in.

The bird count is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, an easy early-morning outing if family is still in town. It also gets you inside the park before the 8 a.m. gate.

Along the east end of 30A, the small details of daily life tend to matter most, like where the kayaks moved and which ramp to use on a Saturday morning. If you're weighing a home near Lake Powell and want someone who follows how these places actually work, The Jonathan Hill Team would be glad to walk the shoreline with you. Schedule a Consultation whenever you're ready.