Gulf Islands National Seashore in Escambia County, Florida

Photograph: Gulf Islands NS.jpg by National Park Service · Public domain · Restored from the credited Wikimedia Commons file, normalized to the consistent attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Portrait originals retain their complete composition over a softly blurred extension of the same photograph.

Escambia County attraction

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Escambia County · Panhandle & Emerald Coast

White quartz barrier islands, old coastal forts and 135,000 protected acres running from Florida into Mississippi.

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ABOUT THIS PLACE

Gulf Islands National Seashore was authorized on January 8, 1971, and covers 135,457.89 acres across Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, with a wilderness area designated separately in 1978. The Florida district is the part reached by car: six areas open to vehicles, taking in white quartz beaches, historic fortifications and nature trails. Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island has a developed campground with hookups. Santa Rosa Island itself was a national monument from 1939 to 1946 before the seashore existed. The Naval Live Oaks Reservation sits on the mainland near Gulf Breeze, and the Perdido Key unit preserves shore batteries from both world wars. Okaloosa is the easternmost piece. The Mississippi district is mostly reached only by boat; Davis Bayou is the exception. Eight barrier islands are included, from Santa Rosa and Perdido Key east to Cat Island in the west. Just over 7.5 million people visited in 2025, which made it the seventh most visited unit in the National Park Service. Entrance is charged by the vehicle for seven days, with an annual pass available. Hurricanes in 2004, 2005 and again in 2020 with Sally did real damage, and the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 put oil and tar on every major island

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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