National Naval Aviation Museum
Gulf Coast
A visit to Pensacola is not complete without a trip to this enormous collection of military aircraft muscle and artifacts. Adults and children alike will…
Must-see attractions in Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast
Offshore from St Andrews State Park, this sandy 'desert' island is fantastic for sunbathing, swimming and snorkeling. There are neither facilities nor…
TH Stone Memorial St Joseph Peninsula State Park
Gulf Coast
This lovely park, a quilt of beach and pine forest, brackish bays and fuzzy salt marsh, is a fine slice of increasingly rare Gulf Coast wilderness…
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Gulf Coast
The highlight of the Florida Panhandle, this 150-mile stretch of mostly undeveloped white-sand beach is a prime example of what the Gulf Coast looked like…
Gulf Coast
An 1133-acre stretch of marble-colored dunes rolling down to the water's edge, this state park's beauty is genuinely mind-blowing. The park sits nestled…
Gulf Coast
St George island at its undeveloped best is found here, in the 9 miles of glorious beach and sand dunes that make up this pristine park. A 2.5-mile nature…
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park
Gulf Coast
This park features one of Florida's loveliest and least touristed springs. The spring has clear, almost luminescent waters, like something from a fairy…
Gulf Coast
Just a few minutes from Apalachicola, but accessible only by boat, lies this pristine island. Its pearly dunes reveal 5000-year-old geological records,…
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
Gulf Coast
There's some 1640 acres of natural beauty to discover at Topsail, including quiet white-sand beaches, sun-battered wetlands, sand pine scrub forest, a 2.5…
Gulf Coast
Get a taste of the wilds on the Panhandle at Big Lagoon, a quilt of salt marshes, pine forest, bays, ponds and beaches, all interconnected by boardwalks…
Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
Gulf Coast
This fascinating park preserves ecosystems that run from wet prairie to sandy shoreline to the eponymous Tarkiln Bayou, an eerie, alluring spill of dark…
Gulf Coast
This alluring coastal state park protects the 247-acre barrier island of the same name, a windblown, sand-strewn landscape of rolling dunes, tufts of…
Gulf Coast
Our favorite beach area in Destin is this state park, which includes a 0.8-mile nature trail. There are also some excellent beachside campsites ($30),…
Gulf Coast
Although all of Destin's beaches are family-friendly, this beach is maybe a little more family-friendly, given the presence of restrooms, a picnic area…
Gulf Coast
This sub-section of gorgeous Gulf Islands National Seashore includes parking, beach access and a picnic area.
Gulf Coast
This peaceful 1260-acre park is graced with nature trails, swimming beaches and wildlife, including foxes, coyotes, snakes, seabirds and alligators (fear…
Gulf Coast
Just over an hour from Tallahassee or Panama City, on Hwy 166, the 1300-acre Florida Caverns State Park on the Chipola River has fascinating caves unique…
Gulf Coast
One of the most sacred sites for local Native American culture to this day, the 17ft-tall, 223ft-wide ceremonial and political temple mound, built with…
Gulf Coast
Inland from 30A on a peninsula jutting into Choctawhatchee Bay, manicured gardens and lawns front the 1800s estate home of the Wesleys, a wealthy Florida…
Fort Barrancas & Advanced Redoubt
Gulf Coast
On a dramatic bluff overlooking Pensacola Bay, 19th-century Fort Barrancas was built by slaves atop an abandoned 18th-century Spanish fort. The fort, now…
Gulf Coast
Towering a cloud-kissing (if by cloud-kissing we mean fog) 64ft-high, 'Blue Mountain' is supposedly the highest point on the pancake-flat Gulf Coast. Be…
Gulf Coast
Owned by the Institute of Diving, this museum takes a close look at the sport. Interactive exhibits let you crank up a Siebe pump, climb into a Beaver…
Gulf Coast
Pensacola's rich colonial history spans more than 450 years. This fascinating and attractive village is a self-contained enclave of photogenic historic…
Gulf Coast
This section of Gulf Islands National Seashore doesn't actually contain (much) seashore – instead, it consists of groves of local maritime hammock (forest…
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve
Gulf Coast
Just over the bridge from Apalachicola, in Eastpoint, this reserve provides a great overview of its research site, which encompasses more than 246,000…
Gulf Coast
Part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, this 1834 historic fort perched at the western extent of the Santa Rosa barrier island has survived wars and…
Gulf Coast
Named for its eponymous coastal dune lake – a body of water that sits inland from the Gulf, but is connected to it – this park is rich in scrub oaks,…
Gulf Coast
This is one of the larger beach access points in South Walton. Inlet Beach itself is hugged by high dunes and old-school A-frame houses, both of which you…
Gulf Coast
Simply one of the more pleasant beaches along South Walton, Dune Allen is a family-friendly slice of sand that's great for the kids, or adults who just…
Gulf Coast
Part oral history archive, part interpretive center, this museum highlights, via videos and audio recordings, the different cultural groups that have…
Gulf Coast
In the city's old jail (1908), this lovely art museum features an impressive, growing collection of major 20th- and 21st-century artists, spanning cubism,…
Gulf Coast
Designed to look like an upside-down building (complete with an upside-down lawn and palm trees), this wacky interactive museum and fun center is…
Gulf Coast
Maybe it's activity from the nearby Pensacola Naval Air Station, but this stretch of the gulf has apparently had hundreds of UFO sightings in the past few…
Gulf Coast
One for military buffs. The exterior of this hangar-style museum, flanked by fighter planes, appears small, but inside are extensive weapons displays –…
Okaloosa Island Pier & Boardwalk
Gulf Coast
Stretching out almost a quarter of a mile into the Atlantic, this popular recreational-fishing pier is open 24 hours in the summer and is illuminated for…
Gulf Coast
This small museum, which rests on the banks of the Apalachicola River, gives a breakdown on the history of oystering, fishing and boat building in…
Gulf Coast
Love it or hate it, the ubiquitous Ripley's is very Panama City Beach – loud, crowded, tacky-but-fun. In a building designed to look like a ship, the …
Gulf Coast
Learn about more than 450 years of local history and have some fun along the way in this compact museum occupying two floors of the historic (and…
Destin Boardwalk & HarborWalk Village
Gulf Coast
This tourist mecca of timeshare condos, boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs and a marina is worth a stroll, especially if you have kids. Most of the area's…
Gulf Coast
Off Pensacola Scenic Bluffs Hwy, this 32-acre park has wooden boardwalks that lead you along the side of the steep bluffs, through clutches of live oaks,…
