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 and easy walking trails. Bird-watchers will be in heaven, which goes for anyone who wants a little peace and quiet.
© Colin D. Young/Shutterstock
Big Lagoon State Park
Gulf Coast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
National Naval Aviation Museum
6.3 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
23.3 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…
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
25.09 MILES
Centuries ago, salt-lashed oak forest, inundated coastal prairie and great quilts of sawgrass covered the Gulf Coast. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge…
Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
3.55 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…
4.04 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…
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
26.36 MILES
This reserve seeks to protect the wetlands that spread between Mobile and Weeks Bay, an ecological smorgasboard ranging from salt marsh to flooded swamp…
Fort Barrancas & Advanced Redoubt
6.6 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…
12.98 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. Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
3.55 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…
4.04 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…
5.67 MILES
Be on the lookout for ghosts of past lighthouse keepers as you climb the 177 steps of this 160ft, 1859 lighthouse, rumored to be haunted. The views are…
4. National Naval Aviation Museum
6.3 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…
5. Fort Barrancas & Advanced Redoubt
6.6 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…
6.66 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…
9.58 MILES
Part of Gulf State Park, this beach, located just west of the Florida border, is usually a little more quiet than other local stretches of sand. It's…
12.85 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,…