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Beaches in Pensacola Beach


Beaches in Pensacola Beach

Casino Beach is busy, especially when the Blue Angels are scheduled for an air show.
Casino Beach is busy, especially when the Blue Angels are scheduled for an air show.
In the community of Pensacola Beach, there are quite a few stretches of shoreline to choose from, depending on your tastes. Just a short drive takes you from a rowdy party beach, to a calm kid-friendly one, to sand-dune protected solitude. The most popular beaches are on the south side of the island, facing the Gulf of Mexico, usually called Gulfside; these beaches have powdery white sand, clean water, and moderate waves, but there is a danger of rip tides and marine life. The north side faces Santa Rosa Sound, and is called Soundside; there are few waves here, and no rip current, but the sand isn't as nice, and the water is more polluted due to boats and runoff.
  • Casino Beach, Via de Luna Dr (south of intersection of Via de Luna and Fort Pickens Rd). Daily 24-hours. This is the most popular beach in all of Pensacola, and has the most amenities. Restrooms and changing rooms are available, there's a large lifeguard presence, police, vendors, umbrellas, a large fishing pier, and surfer-free areas. Portofino Boardwalk, with food and shopping, is within walking distance. During the summer and on weekends, the local radio station is often here, broadcasting music for the beachgoers. Volleyball courts are available here. The further you travel from the pier, the fewer crowds there are. You can even drive down Ft. Pickens Road and use one of the entry points on the left-hand side of the road to find less popular areas, although these areas may not have changing rooms. Free. �
  • Fort Pickens Gate Park, Soundside, Fort Pickens Rd (north of Fort Pickens Rd, at Fort Pickens Area gate entrance). Daily 24-hours. isn't terribly popular; with no waves, and no people, it's pretty lonely out here. The funky smell doesn't help its popularity either. It lies on the north side of the island, facing Santa Rosa Sound. It is mostly a parking area for the gulf side public beach. Although there are tons of interesting shells, shell-collecting here is a bad idea, since almost all the best finds are already inhabited by hermit crabs. There are rarely lifeguards at this beach, but you may run into students from Pensacola Christian College, who are only allowed to swim here, away from the temptations of Casino Beach. Free. �
  • Fort Pickens Gate Park, Fort Pickens Rd (south of Fort Pickens Rd, at Fort Pickens Area gate entrance). Daily 24-hours. This out of the way beach is located just before the Fort Pickens gate, and is one of the best beaches on the island. It has restrooms, lifeguard protection, ample parking, good waves, lots of white sand and shells, and has far fewer people than the busy Casino Beach. Make sure not to cross into the Fort Pickens park boundary; the shoreline there is off limits due to nesting shorebirds. Walking the shoreline further to the west will lead you into Gulf Islands National Seashore property. Beware of nesting bird areas and stay out of those areas. However, the shoreline is not otherwise closed to visitors. Free. �
  • Park East, Via de Luna Dr (follow main road east). Daily 24-hours. Park East is 1.25 miles eastof the Portofino Resort and Spa, this is the last beach on the island before you enter Gulf Islands National Seashore property and reach the Opal Beach area further to the east. There's a restroom and changing room here, as well as picnic pavilions and a lifeguard station. This beach tends to be less crowded than other beaches. Free.. �
  • Langdon Beach, Fort Pickens Rd (inside Fort Pickens Area). 8AM-sunset. Langdon Beach is one of the beaches open to the public in the Fort Pickens Area; most other beaches in the park are closed for shorebird nesting. There are no amenities, and no lifeguards. Like the rest of the Fort Pickens Area, there is no automobile access, so you'll have to hike, bike, or boat here. Since it's so hard to get here, the area is isolated, with very few people: just sea grass, sun, sand and waves. Free (until repairs are complete.). �
  • Opal Beach, Via de Luna Dr (past East Park barricade). 8AM-sunset. Further east than East Park is the hurricane-damaged Opal Beach, part of the National Park Service. The road from Pensacola Beach to Opal Beach and Navarre Beach is now open (April 2009). Opal Beach is currently under construction and some features might be out-of-service, but you can still walk or bicycle down the beach road or enjoy the sun. There are no amenities here, and no lifeguards until summer of 2009. Free (until repairs are complete.). �
  • Quietwater Beach, Quietwater Beach Rd (from Portofino Boardwalk to Pensacola Beach bridge toll booth). Daily 24-hours. Located on the sound side of the island, behind the Portofino Boardwalk. The beach here is narrow, and since the island blocks the waves from the Gulf of Mexico here, the water is quiet, with no waves. With no waves, no rip currents, and lifeguard protection, it's a great beach to take kids to. Free. �

    • The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Pensacola Beach

    Beach Names

    For decades, every stretch of sand on the island was simply called Pensacola Beach. Now, there's a colorful variety of names for the beaches, some old, some new, and some really weird.

    Opal Beach was created after Hurricane Opal wiped out the sand dunes there in 1995, so it makes sense that the beach was named for the storm.

    Casino Beach is named for the Casino Resort, the first tourist destination on the island, which opened on the same day as the first Pensacola Beach Bridge in 1931. With a bar, tennis courts, bath houses, and a restaurant, it was a popular resort until it eventually closed in the 1960s.

    Quietwater Beach's name is self-explanatory; the water of Santa Rosa Sound is much less wavy than at the Gulfside beaches.

    Langdon Beach is named for Lieutenant Loomis S. Langdon, a soldier stationed at Fort Pickens during the Civil War who eventually became commander of the fort. He was commander of the fort in the 1880s, during Geronimo's famous imprisonment there.

    Littering teenagers led to the joking name of Chicken Bone Beach. Late night parties often migrate here after dark, and island residents who disapprove of the resulting noise and litter came up with the name.


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    Pensacola Beach Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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