206. Gulf Islands National Seashore (2)

February 15 - March 10, 2026

Gulf Islands National Seashore is located on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island forty miles long that is also the home of the community of Pensacola Beach. Santa Rosa Island in on the western edge of the Florida Panhandle, not far from the Alabama border. The park occupies the westernmost seven miles of the island. Pensacola Beach is largely a tourist destination with a variety of restaurants, shops, and entertainment facilities.

I have been on the Gulf Coast for over three weeks, mostly at Gulf Islands National Seashore. This includes twenty-one nights at Fort Pickens Campground (part of Gulf Islands) and four nights at Big Lagoon State Park, which is on the mainland side of Big Lagoon.

I am having a wonderful time in an environment conducive to both activity and relaxation. One of the major attractions is the white sand beach that stretches the length of the park along the Gulf Coast on the south side of the island and an equal distance on Pensacola Bay on the north side.

The beach is a short walk from either of the two campgrounds. One  campground has Loop A (43 campsites) and the other has Loops B, C, D, and E (about 155 campsites). There is a boardwalk that leads from each campground entrance, crossing through the sand dunes to the beach. The Loop A boardwalk is about two hundred yards long, while the other campground’s boardwalk is about five hundred yards.

Like the beaches, the sand dunes run the entire length of the park. They rise to varying heights, mostly rolling up to five feet high, though there are some areas higher in the ten feet to even twenty feet occasionally. They are moderately covered with vegetation, grasses and bushes. They have a population of active birds, most often among them Northern Mockingbird, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, and Mourning Dove. But there are many other species scattered among the different environments in the park. Merlin, my bird app, has identified eighty-three species so far since I arrived here February 4.

I have written in the previous post that Gulf Islands is the sixth most visited park in the National Park Services system. It is clearly apparent to me that I am here in the off season. The parking areas and beaches generally have few cars and people. It must be very different in the summer, in hot weather, when people are looking for beaches to stay cool. Also, these would be times when school is out and families are traveling.

Though it might be the off season, the campground is nearly full every night. Having been here as long as I have, it is interesting to see how things change yet stay the same in the campground. Campers are arriving and leaving daily. Some for a one night stay, others for two weeks, and there is a range in between. As with most federal campgrounds, reservations can be made up to six months in advance. For those wanting to reserve on short notice, it is difficult to find a campsite with multiple days available. Frequently, campers jump around from site to site, able to create a longer stay by making a series of reservations.

There is a picnic area west of the campgrounds that has a large parking lot and there is a good deal of parking at the actual Fort Pickens, where there is a book and souvenir store and a canteen. There is also a pier for a ferry and boat tours (seasonal, never operating while I’ve been here in winters), a fishing pier, and a scuba diving area.

A second major draw for me is the road through the park. It is a great place to ride a bike in a setting that exudes nature, as it is surrounded by sand dunes, water, and all that can flourish in the environment. It is often bathed in bright sunshine and raked with wind. Over the five times I have visited here, it is a rare day when I have been riding without any wind. Today for instance, there was a strong wind coming from the east. I was working hard to ride 13 mph into the wind, then when I turned around it was easy to maintain 20 mph. From the park entrance to the campground, the road meanders through the barrier island, at times bordering close to the south side and the Gulf of Mexico, at times edging closer to the north side and Pensacola Bay. From the park gatehouse, the road goes for about five miles before reaching the campgrounds. It then goes about another mile and a half to the Fort. The entire circuit is about 13.5 miles. I generally ride 2-3 hours, doing three to four loops, but have done as many as six loops some days.

The island along the first five miles is less than half a mile wide with mostly just sand dunes along the way on either side with alternating views of the Gulf and the Bay. The island is a little wider from where the campground is to the end of the island, where the actual Fort Pickens is located.

Fort Pickens was built over a five year period in the 1829-34, mostly with slave labor imported from New Orleans. There are a number of battlements still standing and some big guns have been left in place from the Civil War, WWI and WWII. The NPS website has detailed information about it. There is also a map of the gun batteries and other fort structures. 

So, what do I do with my time here? It’s a generally relaxed, carefree existence. I usually wake early, around 6AM, to start my day. Often I take a walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. I may be gone for an hour or longer doing this. Some days I bring my chair and just sit there, watching the waves, the occasional seabird, waiting for the sun to rise in the distance over the water. Other days I walk along the beach for some distance, picking up seashells as I walk. Oh my, I have so many seashells!!!

The morning is a perfect time to taking photos. The light is just right. Some days the sky is clear. Other days there are clouds of varying variety. Some days wispy high cirrus, other days sparsely scattered small cumulus, often a combination of multiple types, and some days complete cloud cover. The result is a different mood, a different view, every morning. But it’s always amazing, be it dramatic colors or subtle greys. The soundtrack varies, too, some days large waves crashing other times gentle ripples, all driven by the winds of the day.

I am often the only person in sight. Occasionally there are some others, one or two walking along the shore. I guess in general people simply don’t like to get up early and walk to the beach.

At some point, I come back to the van and make breakfast. I go for a bike rode most days, too, varying between 25 and 75 miles depending on … well, on whatever strikes me. Some days are “short” rides and others are “long” depending on how I feel.

In the afternoons I take walks, usually on the Florida Trail that goes through the park. In the evenings I often go back to the beach for sunset and walk the beach some more. It doesn't grow old, the waves, the sun, and the clouds that are often present putting on a show of color, reflecting the day’s last sunrays.

Sometimes I go out at night and walk under the stars. Usually, the waves are big enough they can be heard falling on the beach from anywhere in the campground and certainly from the park road. It’s nice to walk the road in the dark or the moonlight and hear the waves.

Have a nice day ...

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