The complete Gulf Shores guide
by Gulf Shores Retreats
Gulf Shores sits on a narrow ribbon of sand with the emerald Gulf of Mexico on one side and calm lagoons, bays and bayous on the other. Alabama's coast runs for 32 miles of white-sand beach through Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan, and the sand is almost pure Appalachian quartz — so white it glows at noon and so fine it squeaks under your feet. Our condos sit on West Beach, right on the sand, with Little Lagoon just out the back.
Whether you are walking the Gulf State Park Pier at sunset, paddling across Little Lagoon before the breeze picks up, feeding a giraffe at the zoo, standing on the walls of Fort Morgan where "Damn the torpedoes!" was shouted in 1864, or riding the Ferris wheel at The Wharf as the marina lights come on — everything here moves at beach speed.
Below — our handpicked guide to the icons, the beaches, the quiet corners, the day trips worth the drive, and the festivals worth planning a week around.
The coast's postcards brought to life.
A pier more than a quarter-mile long, a star-shaped fort that saw one of the most famous naval battles in American history, a beach bar on the state line since 1964, and a Ferris wheel lighting up the marina — the icons every visitor should stand in front of at least once.
Gulf State Park Pier
One of the longest piers on the Gulf of Mexico, reaching 1,540 feet out over the water. Walk it at sunrise for dolphins and pelicans, cast a line for king mackerel and redfish, or simply stand at the end at sunset with nothing but Gulf in every direction. Open around the clock — a small fee to walk, a little more to fish.
The Hangout
Right where Highway 59 meets the sand, The Hangout is Gulf Shores' beachfront meeting point — Gulf seafood, live music, a big open-air deck, and the public beach spread out in front of it. It's the address everyone knows, and a two-minute drive from our condos.
Fort Morgan
A star-shaped brick fort guarding the mouth of Mobile Bay. On August 5, 1864, Admiral Farragut sailed his fleet past its guns with the words "Damn the torpedoes!" — the Battle of Mobile Bay. Walk the vaulted casemates and the ramparts, then watch the ships slide by on the same water. A beautiful drive out the peninsula.
The Wharf
Orange Beach's waterfront village on the Intracoastal Waterway — a marina full of yachts and charter boats, a Main Street of restaurants and shops, concerts at The Wharf Amphitheater, and a 112-foot Ferris wheel that lights up the whole marina after dark. Go for dinner, stay for the lights.
The Flora-Bama
A legendary beach bar sitting right on the Alabama–Florida state line, serving up live music since 1964. Sand floors, stages on every level, a frozen Bushwacker in hand and the Gulf just outside — and home to two of the coast's most famous traditions, the Mullet Toss and the New Year's Polar Bear Dip.
Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
"The Little Zoo That Could" moved to brand-new grounds on higher land in 2020, and it's the morning the kids will talk about all year. Feed the giraffes from the deck, meet the sloths and lemurs up close in an animal encounter, and see the big cats — shady paths make it easy even in summer.
Two waters, one sandbar.
The open Gulf in front, a calm lagoon behind, and a nine-hundred-acre freshwater lake just down the road. Waves for the strong swimmers, glassy shallows for the little ones — all within minutes of the front door.
West Beach
The beach right outside our condos. Take the elevator down and you're on 99% quartz sand with the emerald Gulf rolling in. West Beach is quieter than the public beach a mile east — room to spread out, build the big sandcastle and stay until the sun drops into the water.
Little Lagoon
Calm, shallow saltwater just behind the condos — made for kayaks, paddleboards and crabbing off a dock while the Gulf rolls in out front. Little Lagoon Pass, where the lagoon meets the Gulf, is the local fishing spot, and the sunsets back here are the quiet ones.
Gulf Shores Public Beach
Where Gulf Shores Parkway runs straight into the sand — the town's main beach, with The Hangout and restaurants on the boardwalk, volleyball nets and room for everyone. Every October it becomes home to the National Shrimp Festival. Come early in summer; the parking fills by mid-morning.
Gulf State Park Beaches
More than three and a half miles of protected, undeveloped shoreline inside Gulf State Park — dunes, sea oats and boardwalk crossings instead of high-rises. The beach pavilions by the pier and the Cotton Bayou access towards Orange Beach are two of the prettiest stretches on the whole coast.
Lake Shelby
Sometimes you want a day without salt. Lake Shelby is a 900-acre freshwater lake in the middle of Gulf State Park, ringed by trails and pines, with kayak rentals right on the shore. Paddle out early, look for herons and ospreys, and you'll forget the beach is ten minutes away.
Alabama Point & Perdido Pass
Where the Gulf pours into Perdido Bay in Orange Beach. The rock jetties at Alabama Point are one of the coast's favourite snorkeling spots on a calm day — sheepshead, crabs and small reef fish among the stones — and the dolphin cruises out of the pass regularly meet bottlenose dolphins playing in the current.
Everything else is close.
A car ferry across Mobile Bay, a bayside town of flowers and sunsets, a battleship you can climb aboard, and Pensacola's historic streets — all within an hour. Staying here puts the whole Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast within an easy morning's drive.
Dauphin Island
Drive out to Fort Morgan and roll your car onto the Mobile Bay Ferry — a 40-minute crossing with dolphins in the wake and oil rigs on the horizon. On the island: Fort Gaines, the Estuarium at the Sea Lab, the Audubon Bird Sanctuary and quiet beaches. One of the great days out on this coast.
Fairhope
The jewel of Mobile Bay's Eastern Shore — a walkable downtown of flower-filled streets, bookshops, galleries and good restaurants, and a long municipal pier where the whole town gathers to watch the sun go down over the bay. On the way, stop at Weeks Bay Reserve for its boardwalks and pitcher plant bog.
Mobile & the USS Alabama
Climb aboard the battleship USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum at Battleship Memorial Park, then head downtown to the city that claims America's first Mardi Gras, back in 1703. Oak-lined streets, historic homes, and the city that gave the Gulf Coast West Indies salad.
Pensacola
Historic downtown streets, Pensacola Beach and the National Naval Aviation Museum — free, with more than a century of aircraft and the Blue Angels' practice flights from its flight line in season. The museum sits on Naval Air Station Pensacola: bring a REAL ID or passport, and check the base's visitor rules before you go.
Foley
The rainy-day answer, just up the road. OWA has a theme park and Tropic Falls, an indoor water park; Tanger Outlets fills an afternoon of shopping; and Lambert's Cafe — "Home of Throwed Rolls" — sends hot bread flying across the dining room to your table. Go hungry.
Orange Beach & Perdido Key
Follow the beach road east through Gulf State Park into Orange Beach — The Wharf, the charter fleet and the dolphin cruises — and keep going to the Flora-Bama on the state line, with the protected dunes of Perdido Key stretching away into Florida beyond.
Time your visit to a celebration.
A free shrimp festival on the beach for more than fifty years, Mardi Gras parades with moon pies flying, a fish thrown across the state line, and the Blue Angels roaring over the sand — the coast's calendar is worth planning a week around.
National Shrimp Festival
Gulf Shores' own festival since 1971, and free to get in. Four days on the public beach with hundreds of art and craft booths, live music on several stages and, of course, shrimp every way you can imagine — drawing as many as a quarter of a million visitors. The best week of the fall.
Mardi Gras
This is Mardi Gras country — Mobile claims America's very first celebration. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach both throw their own parades in the days before Fat Tuesday, with beads, moon pies and floats rolling right through the beach towns. Family friendly, and a lovely reason to come in winter.
Flora-Bama Mullet Toss
For around forty years, people have lined up on the beach behind the Flora-Bama to throw a mullet — yes, the fish — from Alabama across the state line into Florida. Thousands come to toss, cheer and dance in the sand. Gloriously silly, and one of the great beach parties on the Gulf.
Orange Beach Festival of Art
More than fifty years of art on the water. Painters, potters, jewellers and glass artists set up along the Orange Beach waterfront for a weekend of art, music and food. A gentle spring weekend, and an easy way to take home something made on this coast.
Pensacola Beach Air Show
The Blue Angels, the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, fly their home show low over the Gulf at Pensacola Beach — six jets wingtip to wingtip just above the waves. Bring a chair, find a spot on the sand and feel it in your chest. About an hour from the condos.
Polar Bear Dip
Start the year the Gulf Coast way: thousands of people in costumes and swimsuits charging into the Gulf behind the Flora-Bama on January 1st. More than forty years running. The water is cold, the crowd is warm, and everyone leaves with a story.
Distances at a glance.
The beach: Steps · Little Lagoon: 5 min walk · The Hangout & Public Beach: 2 min · Waterville USA: 3 min · Wade Ward Nature Park: 5 min · Pirate's Island Adventure Golf: 7 min · LuLu's: 7 min · Gulf State Park Pier: 8 min · Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo: 12 min · Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge: 15 min · Lambert's Cafe, Foley: 18 min · Tanger Outlets: 18 min · OWA & Tropic Falls: 20 min · The Wharf: 20 min · Flora-Bama: 25 min · Fort Morgan & Mobile Bay Ferry: 30 min · Fairhope: 50 min · Pensacola: 55 min · Mobile & USS Alabama: 1 hr · Pensacola Airport (PNS): 1 hr · Mobile airport: 1 hr 15 min · New Orleans: 3 hr
Your Gulf Shores story starts here.
Three beachfront condos on one quiet stretch of West Beach — each looked after with the same care as this guide. Booked direct, hosted personally, and ready long before you walk in.
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