Gulf Islands National Seashore

Just over 13 months after I originally planned to visit Gulf Islands National Seashore, I finally made it! This is the third “National Seashore” that I have visited (the first two were back-to-back on my second trip) and all three have offered something more than just a nice stretch of beach.

Gulf Islands National Seashore runs along the Gulf of Mexico coast on barrier islands near Pensacola in Florida’s panhandle. A second unit of the park is located along Mississippi’s short Gulf coast (with Alabama, despite being between Florida and Mississippi, being completely shut out!

I visited the Florida unit, which occupies the western end of a barrier island (among other locations). At some points, the island becomes very narrow – maybe 200 feet from the road to Pensacola Bay on the north and 200 feet to the Gulf on the south. The island widens at its western end, where the remains of Fort Pickens provide the history lesson of the day.

The fort was built in the early 1800s as part of the United States’ coastal defenses. The fort remained active through World War II, seeing its armaments upgraded from smooth-bore cannon to the artillery of the 1940s. Much of the fort and other bunkers are still present though some are in disrepair and closed for safety.

In addition, several outbuildings remain, some serving as a Visitor Center, a Discovery Center, and accommodations for park workers. The Visitor Center was unimpressive and was mostly just a small store. They did not even carry the standard NPS park brochures. Those were available in the nearby Discovery Center. That building stressed not only the history of the fort and island but the various wildlife found in the area and the ongoing shifting of the coastline with each passing hurricane and tropical storm.

Though it was a nice, warm day when I visited, it was still a month-of-March day. Still, the beaches had quite a few sunbathers and swimmers enjoying the bright white sand of the pristine beaches. The sounds of the islands were periodically interrupted by the sounds of a jet fighter flying overhead – naval aviators from the Pensacola Naval Air Station, where U.S. Navy pilots are trained. Fortunately, most have climbed sufficiently high enough that the sound was not annoying.

With this site now checked off, I’ve visited all sites in Florida. Before this trip is over, I will add Mississippi and Arkansas to completed states (joining Louisiana, Delaware, Missouri, Kansas, and North Dakota).

Steve