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 before human settlement (which, to be fair, can often be seen in the form of high-rises in the distance). The National Seashore is not contiguous, but you'll find portions all along the coast: long swaths of sugar-white dunes crowned with sea oats, a perfect example of pristine flatland beach.
Shutterstock / Colin D. Young
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Top choice in Gulf Coast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
National Naval Aviation Museum
17.2 MILES
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…
23.3 MILES
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
23.14 MILES
This fascinating park preserves ecosystems that run from wet prairie to sandy shoreline to the eponymous Tarkiln Bayou, an eerie, alluring spill of dark…
27.09 MILES
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…
27.45 MILES
This sub-section of gorgeous Gulf Islands National Seashore includes parking, beach access and a picnic area.
24.65 MILES
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…
Fort Barrancas & Advanced Redoubt
16.84 MILES
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…
12.24 MILES
Pensacola's rich colonial history spans more than 450 years. This fascinating and attractive village is a self-contained enclave of photogenic historic…
Nearby Gulf Coast attractions
1. Naval Live Oaks Reservation
6.73 MILES
This section of Gulf Islands National Seashore doesn't actually contain (much) seashore – instead, it consists of groves of local maritime hammock (forest…
2. Shoreline Park UFO Spotting
9.54 MILES
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…
11.38 MILES
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,…
12.24 MILES
Pensacola's rich colonial history spans more than 450 years. This fascinating and attractive village is a self-contained enclave of photogenic historic…
5. Pensacola Children's Museum
12.3 MILES
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…
6. TT Wentworth Jr Florida State Museum
12.33 MILES
Housed in an enormous historic mansion, this state museum showcases two floors of Florida and Pensacola history, and one floor of Wentworth's collection…
12.33 MILES
Part oral history archive, part interpretive center, this museum highlights, via videos and audio recordings, the different cultural groups that have…
12.33 MILES
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,…