Things to do
Dolphin Tours in Gulf Shores
Alabama's coast is two bodies of water stacked one behind the other, and that is the single fact that decides how you should go looking for dolphins…
6 places
Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama
Alabama's whole coast, and how to spend a week on it
Thirty-two miles of quartz-white sand, a state park big enough to hold three lakes and twenty-eight miles of paved trail, a pier that runs a quarter of a mile into the Gulf, and a roadhouse on the Florida line that has been there since 1964. Here is what to do, what it costs and when to come.
- 32 milesof coast — the entire Alabama shoreline
- 6,150 acresof Gulf State Park sitting between the two towns
- 28 milesof paved trail across nine distinct ecosystems
- 1,540 ftof state park pier reaching into the Gulf
Today
Today's flag, wind and water temperature
Check the flag before anyone goes in. Double red means the water is closed and both cities will fine you for ignoring it, and purple means jellyfish rather than surf. In summer the storm builds inland over the pine flatwoods late morning and comes back over the beach in the afternoon, which is why the boats and the pier run on a morning schedule.
Conditions on Gulf Shores
85°
Sunny · feels like 93°
TodayHigh 87° · Low 72°
Near-perfect conditions for dolphin cruises and beach time across Gulf Shores today.
Humidity75%
Wind7 mph SE
Rain4%
Sunrise 6:38 AMSunset 6:48 PM
Updated
Full forecast and tidesBest time to go outside today
Early morning, 7 AM – 9 AM
Near-perfect conditions for dolphin cruises and beach time across Gulf Shores today.
Outdoor comfort100 out of 100 · Excellent
Sweet spot around 7 AM at 72°F.
Updated
On the water
Water87°F
WavesGlassy — 0.5 ft
Swell period4.5s
BoatingGood
Seas around 0.5 ft, wind 10 mph. Comfortable on a larger boat, a little bouncy on a skiff.
SwimmingExcellent
Water at 87°F with 0.5 ft of surf — warm, and calm enough for children.
FishingExcellent
Seas 0.5 ft, wind 10 mph on a 4s swell — offshore is on the table.
Updated
Start here
Twelve things worth a morning, ranked
What we tell a family who have taken a condominium for a week and have six days to fill after the first beach day. The state park carries more of that week than most visitors expect: the trail, the lakes and the pier are three separate outings inside one boundary, and none of them costs much.
Things to doFishing Charters in Gulf Shores
The seabed off Alabama is mud and sand. That sounds like bad news for anyone who came here to catch a reef fish, and for most of recorded history it…
6 places
Who it suitsFamily Activities in Gulf Shores
Calling something family friendly in Gulf Shores tells you nothing. Practically every visitor here is a family, most of them in a rented condo with…
6 places
Things to doThe Wharf, Orange Beach
Alabama's coast never grew a town centre. Gulf Shores developed around a crossroads where a highway met the sand, Orange Beach was a fishing…
6 places
Things to doBoat Tours in Gulf Shores
Look at a map of Alabama's coast and the thing that should catch your eye is not the beach. It is the line running parallel to it a mile or so…
6 places
Things to doNature and Wildlife in Gulf Shores
Alabama has the shortest coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, and that turns out to be the reason its wildlife is worth a trip rather than a footnote. A…
6 places
Who it suitsThings to Do for Couples in Gulf Shores
Be honest with yourself about what this place is before you book it. Gulf Shores is a family beach destination in the most literal sense: condo…
6 places
Things to doDining & Seafood in Gulf Shores
Most visitors eat the same three meals here that they would eat at any beach in the Southeast: fried shrimp, a grouper sandwich, and something with…
6 places
BudgetFree Things to Do in Gulf Shores
The beach in Gulf Shores costs nothing. Standing next to it in a car costs money, and that single distinction is what decides whether a week here is…
6 places
Things to doJet Skis & Watersports in Gulf Shores
Almost every jet ski hired on this coast is handed over on the sheltered side of the land, not the beach. The liveries sit around Cotton Bayou…
6 places
Things to doKayaking and Paddleboarding in Gulf Shores
Nobody paddles the Gulf here, and the people who try generally do it once. The open water off Gulf Shores has a sandbar system, a shore break and a…
6 places
Things to doParasailing in Gulf Shores
From the sand, Alabama's coast reads as a wall of condominium towers with a beach in front of it. From a few hundred feet above the water it reads…
6 places
Who you are with
Who is in the car
This is a family destination in the most literal sense: a gently shelving beach, warm shallow water from May to October, a flat paved trail a six-year-old can ride, and a week-long rental rhythm built around all of it. Two of you without children have a quieter version available at the Fort Morgan end.
With children
Who it suitsFamily Activities in Gulf Shores
Calling something family friendly in Gulf Shores tells you nothing. Practically every visitor here is a family, most of them in a rented condo with…
Two of you
Who it suitsThings to Do for Couples in Gulf Shores
Be honest with yourself about what this place is before you book it. Gulf Shores is a family beach destination in the most literal sense: condo…
Spending nothing
BudgetFree Things to Do in Gulf Shores
The beach in Gulf Shores costs nothing. Standing next to it in a car costs money, and that single distinction is what decides whether a week here is…
Rained off
Who it suitsRainy Day Activities in Gulf Shores
Two things are true about this page and they pull in opposite directions. Gulf Shores is an outdoor destination with a genuinely thin list of indoor…
Index
Browse by what you came here to do
Twenty-two ways into these thirty-two miles, from an hour on a paddleboard in Little Lagoon to a full offshore day on the artificial reefs. The outdoor categories run deepest here, because the state park and the refuge are what separate this coast from every other condominium strip on the Gulf.
Explore
- Things to DoAlabama has about thirty-two miles of coast. That is the whole of it, from the Florida…
- BeachesAlabama has less Gulf front than any other state on it — about thirty-two miles of it…
- AttractionsMost destination attraction lists are padded. Ours would be too if we counted every…
- Orange BeachAlmost everyone who books a holiday on Alabama's coast has the same moment of confusion…
- The WharfAlabama's coast never grew a town centre. Gulf Shores developed around a crossroads where…
Tours
- ToursStart with the fact that will save you an afternoon: this destination has almost nothing…
- Dolphin ToursAlabama's coast is two bodies of water stacked one behind the other, and that is the…
- Fishing ChartersThe seabed off Alabama is mud and sand. That sounds like bad news for anyone who came here…
- Boat ToursLook at a map of Alabama's coast and the thing that should catch your eye is not the…
Outdoors
- Gulf State ParkAlabama owns about thirty-two miles of coastline, less than any other Gulf state, and six…
- Nature & WildlifeAlabama has the shortest coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, and that turns out to be the…
- Jet Skis & WatersportsAlmost every jet ski hired on this coast is handed over on the sheltered side of the land…
- Kayak & PaddleboardNobody paddles the Gulf here, and the people who try generally do it once. The open water…
- ParasailingFrom the sand, Alabama's coast reads as a wall of condominium towers with a beach in front…
- GolfThe useful thing to understand about golf on the Alabama coast is that it runs on a…
Who it suits
- With KidsCalling something family friendly in Gulf Shores tells you nothing. Practically every…
- For CouplesBe honest with yourself about what this place is before you book it. Gulf Shores is a…
- Free ThingsThe beach in Gulf Shores costs nothing. Standing next to it in a car costs money, and that…
- Rainy DaysTwo things are true about this page and they pull in opposite directions. Gulf Shores is…
Plan
- Best Time to VisitThe short answer is May, then late September and October. The long answer is the rest of…
- Dining & SeafoodMost visitors eat the same three meals here that they would eat at any beach in the…
- Getting AroundAlabama's coast is served by three roads, and once you understand that, everything else…
Book it
The few boats you can actually book here
An honest warning first: the bookable tour market on the Alabama coast is tiny. Measured against live inventory there are roughly seven products across Gulf Shores and Orange Beach combined, most of them under fifty dollars. That is not a failing of this page. It means the good trips here are arranged by phone with a captain, and we would rather say so than pad a grid.
Some links below go to Viator, our booking partner. We earn a commission on bookings made through them — at no extra cost to you, and with no influence on what we recommend.
Best for Families
Best big-boat morning with young children
Why we chose it
With a four-year-old, the deciding factors are shade, a restroom and a deck that does not move much. A larger catamaran on an early departure delivers all three, and the bay route means the boat is rarely in open swell. Ask whether the trip stays inside the pass and how long the narration runs before the first stop.
Best for FamiliesFree cancellationInstant confirmation
AquariumsMobile Area Multi-Attraction Pass (opens in a new tab)
67 reviews
Experience a selection of the best attractions in Mobile/ Dauphin Island/ Spanish Fort/ Theodore - all in one money saving ticket! This…
1 day
Prices checked
from $25
Best Value
Best two-hour trip for the money
Why we chose it
On a coast this short, a two-hour trip out of Orange Beach reaches the pass, the back bays and a stretch of beachfront without padding. That is the whole habitat. Anything longer is usually adding a swim stop or an island landing rather than more dolphins, so pay for the shorter one and go early.
Best ValueInstant confirmation
Weather Dependent - ModerateGulf Shores stand up paddle boarding lesson and tour (opens in a new tab)
14 reviews
Explore the waters of the Bon Secour National Wildlife refuge on this guided tour which includes a land and water lesson on how to paddle…
1–2 hours
Prices checked
from $75.90
Two ways to do this
Joining a departure, or taking the boat yourself
Shared trips are the cheaper ticket for one or two people. Once you are a party of four or more, a private charter is often close to the same money per head and runs to your schedule rather than the operator's. Both are listed here so you can do the arithmetic.
Best value for a group
Best ValueFree cancellationInstant confirmationTop ProductSegway Guided Eco Tour through Gulf State Park (opens in a new tab)
18 reviewsCruise through the beautiful Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry on a Segway tour designed for exploration and family fun. This 2-hour guided Eco…
2–3 hours
Prices checked
from $93.50Private — just your party
Best Private TourFree cancellationPrivate tourWeather Dependent - ModeratePrivate Vacation Photoshoot with Photographer in Gulf Shores (opens in a new tab)
1 review⭐ Top-Rated Vacation Photoshoots 2025 We’re not just photographers, we’re storytellers capturing your holiday exactly as it feels. With…
1 hour
Prices checked
from $162.55
Places
The places, and which end of the coast they are on
An 1834 fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay. A refuge protecting the last undeveloped dunes in Alabama and a mouse that lives nowhere else. A pier running a quarter of a mile into the Gulf. A bar sitting on the state line. We say which town each one is in and how far apart they really are, because on a linear coast that is the only number that matters.
ParkGulf State Park
Six thousand acres of dune, lake and pine between two beach towns, with 28 miles of paved trail and a village-sized campground.
2–8 hoursTrails and the Nature Center are free. Parking at the Gulf beach and pier lots is a flat daily rate per vehicle, recently around $15.
FreeBeachGulf Shores Public Beach
Where Highway 59 runs out of land: pavilions, showers, volleyball nets, The Hangout next door and hourly parking since July 2026.
2–7 hoursThe beach is free. Parking is not: non-residents pay by the hour through a phone app during the paid season.
LandmarkGulf State Park Pier
1,540 feet of concrete over the Gulf, rebuilt twice after hurricanes, with a three-dollar walking ticket most visitors never notice.
1–5 hoursTwo tickets: all-day fishing around $10 for an adult, and all-day sightseeing around $3. Children 11 and under are free for both.
Historic siteFort Morgan State Historic Site
A brick pentagon at the end of a 22-mile peninsula, where Farragut ran the Union fleet into Mobile Bay in August 1864.
1–3 hoursRecently around $8 for an adult, about $5 for students, seniors and children aged 6 to 18, with a family rate and free entry for military with ID.
FreeNature preserveBon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Alabama's last large stretch of wild coastal dune, walkable on foot only, and protected largely for a nocturnal mouse.
1–4 hoursFree. There is no entry fee and no parking charge at the refuge trailheads.
FreeShoppingThe Wharf
A 220-acre marina and entertainment complex on the Intracoastal Waterway, with a 112-foot Ferris wheel and an amphitheatre behind it.
1.5–5 hoursFree to walk around. The Ferris wheel, cinema, adventure attractions and concerts are all ticketed separately.
FreeWater featurePerdido Pass
The only gap in thirty-two miles of Alabama barrier coast, armoured with granite, and the wrong place to let anyone swim.
1–3 hoursFree to visit. Parking at the adjoining Gulf State Park beach accesses is charged per vehicle per day.
FreeEntertainmentThe Flora-Bama
On the state line since 1964, with three stages, a November songwriters festival and a competition to throw a dead fish into Alabama.
1–4 hoursNo general admission charge most of the time. Cover charges and ticketed events apply at some hours and on event weekends.
This season
What this coast is doing right now
Snowbirds in the towers from January and alligators easy to spot on the trail. A mullet thrown across the state line in April. Turtle nests marked on the sand from May. Changeover Saturdays gridlocked in July. And the October weeks that locals quietly regard as the best of the year.
- FallSeptember – November
- 79°F / 61°FAverage high / low
- QuietVisitor numbers
- Low season ratesWhat it costs
The season locals would keep for themselves. Schools go back, the towers empty, and the Gulf stays in the low eighties well into October. A Tuesday on the public beach in the first week of October is a different planet from the same beach in July, and charter captains who were booked solid in June have space the same week.
September is the honest asterisk. It is the statistical peak of hurricane season on a coast that has taken two direct hits on the same calendar date: Ivan on 16 September 2004 and Sally on 16 September 2020. Sally's worst damage was on the back bays and the canal neighbourhoods rather than the Gulf-front dune line, which is the opposite of what most visitors assume. Rates in September are low because the risk is real, so read the cancellation terms rather than skimming them.
October is the payoff. Warm water, cool mornings, the National Shrimp Festival on the public beach, and by November clear dry days in the low seventies with the trail to yourself.
On in fall
- Gulf water in the low eighties into October with the summer crowd gone
- September is hurricane season's peak here — Ivan in 2004 and Sally in 2020 both landed on the 16th
- The National Shrimp Festival fills the Gulf Shores public beach each October; check dates
- Sea turtle nesting season closes at the end of October
- November brings dry seventies, the year's lowest rates and empty trails
Worth doing in fall
- Things to do
Fishing Charters in Gulf Shores
The seabed off Alabama is mud and sand. That sounds like bad news for anyone who came here to catch a reef fish, and for most of recorded history it…
Guide hubGulf State Park
Alabama owns about thirty-two miles of coastline, less than any other Gulf state, and six thousand one hundred and fifty acres of it are a state…
Guide hubOrange Beach
Almost everyone who books a holiday on Alabama's coast has the same moment of confusion, usually about two weeks out, usually while looking at a…
- Things to do
Boat Tours in Gulf Shores
Look at a map of Alabama's coast and the thing that should catch your eye is not the beach. It is the line running parallel to it a mile or so…
- Who it suits
Things to Do for Couples in Gulf Shores
Be honest with yourself about what this place is before you book it. Gulf Shores is a family beach destination in the most literal sense: condo…
News
Flags, closures and ferry status
Beach flag and water-closure notices, whether the Mobile Bay Ferry is sailing this week, trail and boardwalk status after a blow, festival dates once they are confirmed rather than rumoured, and any change to the parking rules. Short items, checked before we post them.
FeaturedFestivalThe Shrimp Festival Takes Over the Beachfront for Four Days Every October
Four days of food stalls, craft booths and live stages at the foot of Highway 59, free to walk into, and by some distance the busiest weekend of the Alabama autumn.
October 8 – October 11
FeaturedTravel alertBeach Parking in Gulf Shores Is Now Charged by the Hour
The flat day rate is gone. Since the first of July, the city charges by the hour at its public beach parking areas, which changes the arithmetic of a long beach day.
FeaturedBeach updateWhen Two Red Flags Fly, the Gulf Is Legally Shut
Visitors read the double red flag as strong advice. Inside both city limits on the Alabama coast it closes the water, and you can find out today's status before you leave the condo.
Travel alertCheck the Ferry Before You Drive Twenty-Two Miles to Catch It
Two boats, one crossing, and a service that halts in a stiff wind. The ferry is one of the best half-days on the Alabama coast and the one most often ruined by not checking first.
Last updated . We date every item so you can tell how old the information is.
Where things are
Thirty-two miles, two bridges and a road that dead-ends
The beach is effectively an island: the Intracoastal Waterway runs behind it and only two bridges cross. West of Gulf Shores the road runs twenty-two miles down a peninsula to a fort and a ferry slip with no other way off the end. The map is the fastest way to understand why a twelve-mile trip here can take half an hour.
Every place shown on this map is also listed below as a link, grouped by area.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
What the pins mean
- Beach5
- Water feature3
- Nature preserve2
- Park2
- Trail1
- Wildlife1
- Historic site1
- Landmark4
- Museum1
- Entertainment1
- Neighbourhood2
- Shopping1
All 24 places in Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores12
Orange Beach9
- Orange BeachFree
- Cotton BayouFree
- Romar Beach
- The WharfFree
- Perdido PassFree
- Alabama PointFree
- Robinson IslandFree
- Coastal Arts CenterFree
- Waterfront ParkFree
Bon Secour1
- Bon SecourFree
Dauphin Island1
- Dauphin IslandFree
Pensacola1
- Flora-BamaFree
Guides
Longer reads from our editors
How to ride the Backcountry Trail end to end with children, which beach access suits which kind of day, whether Fort Morgan and the ferry are worth a whole day, and what a week here actually costs once the parking, the groceries and the charter are in.
FeaturedGuideA Week in Gulf Shores, Saturday to Saturday
Nearly every rental on this coast turns over on a Saturday, which means the week has a shape whether you plan one or not. Here is the shape, and how to stop it costing you two days.
9 min readYvonne Ramsey
FeaturedGuideGulf State Park: 6,150 Acres in the Middle of a Beach Town
Most beach towns keep the nature reserve out past the last traffic light. Gulf Shores built itself around one, and the visitors who never walk into it are paying beachfront rates for half a holiday.
9 min readDale Whitaker
FeaturedGuideGulf Shores for the First Time: All of Alabama's Coast, on One Island
Alabama has about thirty-two miles of coastline and this is all of it. Once you understand that the towns sit on an island with a state park in the middle, the rest of the week arranges itself.
8 min readBrandi Cochran
GuideThe Best Time to Visit Gulf Shores, Month by Month
This coast has four distinct populations across the year and they barely overlap. Working out which one you want to be in the middle of is most of the decision.
9 min readBrandi Cochran
GuideSea Turtle Season on the Alabama Coast: What the Dawn Patrol Is Looking For
Alabama has about thirty-two miles of nesting beach, which is small enough that volunteers can walk all of it before breakfast. From the first of May, they do.
8 min readDale Whitaker
GuideFort Morgan and the Mobile Bay Ferry: The Day Trip West
Twenty-two miles of road west of Gulf Shores with almost nothing on it, ending at a masonry fort, the emptiest sand in Alabama and a ferry that may or may not be running today.
9 min readDale Whitaker
Last updated . Guides are revisited when prices, hours or access change.
Keep in touch
One email a week: the weekend forecast and likely flag colour, Gulf water temperature, whether the ferry is running, what is on at The Wharf and the state line, and anything that changed on the trail. Nothing else.
Weekly Alabama coast email. Unsubscribe from any issue. We do not sell or share your address.
About us
How this guide is written
We report from this coast. We say which city an access belongs to, what parking actually costs this season, what a flag colour legally means in Alabama, and when we have not been able to confirm something. We also say when there is nothing to book, because pretending otherwise would waste your afternoon. Where a booking earns us a commission, the link says so.
We are a small editorial team that covers Gulf Shores and nowhere else on this site. Everything here — the descriptions, the comparisons, the reasons one boat suits a family of six better than another — is written by us. Nothing on this page is an operator’s marketing copy reprinted as if it were ours.
We name what costs money and roughly how much, we say when a car park fills by mid-morning, and we say when a boat only runs between April and October. Where we have not been able to confirm a price or an opening time ourselves, we say that too rather than guessing — hours and fees change seasonally, so check before you travel.
Our news items are assembled from verified sources and are labelled where they were machine drafted; every one is checked against the source before it is published. Our editorial standards page sets out the whole method, including how we correct an error once we know about it.
Last updated — the date an editor last went through this page end to end.
Who writes this
- Brandi CochranSenior EditorBrandi grew up in Foley and has covered Baldwin County for fourteen years, long enough to remember this beach before the Beach Express toll came off and after two direct hurricane hits. Her beat is the detail that costs a reader money when it is wrong: which city an access belongs to, what the parking rules changed to, what a storm actually closed.
- Dale WhitakerOutdoors & Fishing EditorDale has fished Perdido Pass and the nearshore reefs since he was old enough to hold a rod, and he reads this coast by tide and wind rather than by calendar. He covers the charter fleet, the pier, the Backcountry Trail and the refuge, and he will tell you plainly when the pass is too rough to leave and the trail is the better day.
- Yvonne RamseyFamily & Practical EditorYvonne writes for the parent standing in a rental kitchen at eight in the morning deciding what the day is. She tests the logistics with her own two in tow: which access has shade and restrooms, what the flag means, whether Fort Morgan is worth the drive with a toddler. If a place is small, she says so in the first line.