Pensacola Beach, FL.

                    Saturday 2/15/2014

While in Pensacola, we wanted to see Pensacola Beach.We had heard that Pensacola Beach was a really nice beach, and we are trying to see how many beaches we can claim to have walked on during our adventures. We had to drive from the SW corner of Pensacola to the SE corner, then drive across the 3 mile bridge that crosses the Pensacola Bay to Gulf Breeze.

Why is the beach called Pensacola Beach, if it is in Gulf Breeze, FL.?

From Gulf Breeze, we had to cross another bridge over the intracoastal waterway to the barrier island of Pensacola Beach.

To get on the island, it cost $1 at the toll booth.

We finally arrive at Pensacola Beach.

Once on the island, we turn to the right or west,

to the Gulf Island National Seashore.- Fort Pickens Area. If you go into the park you can visit Fort Pickens. There is also a campground here that has electric and water and can accommodate up to 55 ft RV's. The campground has 20,30, and 50 amps, and is $26 a night. Truth be told, if we knew this, we would have stayed here instead of Big Lagoon State Park. Just a heads up for anyone looking for camping on Pensacola Beach.

View of the Gulf Breeze peninsula across the intracoastal waters.

Of coarse we didn't pay the $8 to get into the National Park, when we could walk on the beach free.

We turned around and headed back and found a state park entrance to the beach.

There were at least 3 different areas of parking and beach access from the national seashore back to the bridge, so if you don't have a lot of time to spend or don't have a pass, there are lots of other beach accesses.

It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around 64 degrees.

Lots and lots of shells, though most of them were broken. I am sure there are more to pick from if you are the early bird that gets the worm in the AM!

There were tons of huge broken sand dollars.

There was even a section of the beach that was designated as a dog park, between two signs. We saw another couple who had their dog not between the two dog park signs. They said that the rules were not enforce strictly in the winter. But to be on the safe side, you can always go to the dog park beach.

We didn't know that Pensacola Beach had a dog park, or we would have brought Mallery. (though even the 60's can be too warm for her)

As we drove back to the T where the bridge dumps you, I noted a nice walk/bike path across the street all the way.

Just before we got to the T, we saw Margaritaville Beach Hotel. Looks like a fun and nice place to stay.

At the T, we turned left or east to check out more of the island in the other direction.

About a mile from the T we saw the Pensacola RV Resort on the main drag amongst all the shops, restaurants hotels and condo's. A good place to stay if you want to be on Pensacola Beach where all the action is.

We continued down the strip past all the shops and restaurants to

a housing district. Now this was a strange looking house.

At the end of the housing district we came to this resort,

called the Portofino Resort Residence and Spa.

From the Portofino, you enter into the rugged beach dune. There were walking and bike paths along the road.

Further down the road we came to the Gulf Island National Seashore- The Santa Rosa Area. After getting home, I looked at a map, and it looks like this road, Hwy 399, goes all the way to Navarre Beach.

We turned back and stopped at one of the many beach access, to check out the beach on this end of the barrier island. It had the same amount of shells, so either end seems to be good shelling.

On the way home we drove through the old downtown of Pensacola. It has a New Orleans feel, with lots of fun looking shops, and restaurants to explore. Unfortunately the sun was setting, and it was time to head home. Click on the link below to see a map of the area we were exploring.

http://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/upload/Gulf%20Islands%20National%20Seashore%20Park%20Map.pdf