My brother lives in Lynn Haven which is on the north side of Panama City, and he said St. Andrews State Park is really popular, so for the New Years holidays we are staying there for a small family get together. From the pictures it looks really nice, I haven't read any reviews but I will bet it might get loud with the Tyndall Air Force base right in the same area, but for me and my kids we love the sound of our military air power
Panama City beach is really nice, and there is plenty of shopping and water parks, and other things too keep everyone happy.
The roads I travel down is US-231 because we are in Georgia, and it's smooth and flat, so it's a easy tow. I can't speak for the roads coming from the west