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 decades, with reports right along the coast. Local skywatchers (including members of the Mutual UFO Network) gather at this park with binoculars and lawn chairs in the hope of a close encounter: as good a reason as any to spread out a beach blanket and gaze at the stars.
Shoreline Park UFO Spotting
Gulf Coast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
National Naval Aviation Museum
7.66 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…
Gulf Islands National Seashore
9.54 MILES
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…
13.8 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
13.65 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…
17.67 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…
Fort Barrancas & Advanced Redoubt
7.29 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…
4.49 MILES
Pensacola's rich colonial history spans more than 450 years. This fascinating and attractive village is a self-contained enclave of photogenic historic…
3 MILES
This section of Gulf Islands National Seashore doesn't actually contain (much) seashore – instead, it consists of groves of local maritime hammock (forest…
Nearby Gulf Coast attractions
1. Naval Live Oaks Reservation
3 MILES
This section of Gulf Islands National Seashore doesn't actually contain (much) seashore – instead, it consists of groves of local maritime hammock (forest…
4.49 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,…
4.49 MILES
Pensacola's rich colonial history spans more than 450 years. This fascinating and attractive village is a self-contained enclave of photogenic historic…
4. Pensacola Children's Museum
4.49 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…
5. TT Wentworth Jr Florida State Museum
4.52 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…
4.56 MILES
Part oral history archive, part interpretive center, this museum highlights, via videos and audio recordings, the different cultural groups that have…
7.16 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,…
7.19 MILES
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…