Florida Panhandle
Glowing an otherworldly aqua and overhung with Spanish moss, the natural spring at the center of this 6000-acre state park feels like something from the…
Must-see attractions in Florida Panhandle
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…
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…
Florida Panhandle
This park is worth a stop for a dip into the 72˚F crystalline waters of the beautiful eponymous spring. On dry land – a spongy combo of sand and limestone…
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…
Florida Panhandle
Occupying 52 acres of pristine manicured gardens and wilderness on the outskirts of Tallahassee, near the airport, this wonderful natural-history museum…
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…
St Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Florida Panhandle
About 25 miles southeast of Tallahassee you'll find the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1931 to provide a winter habitat for migratory…
Florida Panhandle
You'll find over half a million acres of longleaf pine, bottom land forest, blackwater streams, cypress hammock, lakes, rivers, woody swamps, wiregrass,…
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…
Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge
Florida Panhandle
Home to 250 species of bird (including ibises, pelicans, egrets, herons and double-crested cormorants), 10 species of reptile and one romantic lighthouse,…
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…
Florida Panhandle
This wolf preserve and rescue sanctuary, the only one of its kind in Florida, should fascinate wildlife lovers. Visitors will see and have (limited)…
Florida Panhandle
The Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center & Museum was a forerunner in research on African American influence on US history and culture…
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…
Florida Panhandle
This is the former location of an 1814 British fort manned by African American and Native American soldiers armed and trained by the British to defend…
Florida Panhandle
More than 6 miles of trails and boardwalks marked with interpretive signs wind past sinks and swamps in this fascinating place. Be sure to stay on the…
Florida Panhandle
This park, at the confluence of the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, has Civil War fortifications, including naval guns intended for use against Union…
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…
Florida Panhandle
This eclectic museum features the historic house, remodeled to its 1902 state, of St Clair Whitman. A main player in both the pencil factory and the local…
Tallahassee Automobile & Collectibles Museum
Florida Panhandle
If you like motor vehicles, welcome to heaven! This museum houses a pristine collection of more than 165 unique and historical automobiles from around the…
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…
Florida Panhandle
This 60-acre site is home to a 17th-century mission that housed Spanish colonists and Apalachee tribespeople. The compound has been nicely reconstructed,…
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…
Stephen Foster State Folk Cultural Center
Florida Panhandle
With lush green hills and monolithic live oak trees, the park has a museum of Florida history that you'd swear is a 19th-century plantation. The three-day…
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…
