7 Most Inviting Towns On The Gulf Coast
The most inviting towns on the Gulf Coast share open fishing piers and seafood counters that know the regulars. On Grand Isle, Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island, the late-July Tarpon Rodeo has gathered fishing families at the same docks since 1928. Bay St. Louis turns its Old Town over to live music and open galleries on the second Saturday of every month. At South Padre Island, a nonprofit hospital has nursed injured sea turtles back to the Gulf since 1977. These seven towns reach across all five Gulf states.
Grand Isle, Louisiana
Every late July, the International Tarpon Rodeo takes over Grand Isle, the oldest fishing tournament in the United States and a fixture here since 1928. The docks host weigh-ins and children's crab races all weekend. Grand Isle is Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island, a seven-mile strip of fish camps on stilts at the end of Highway 1. At the eastern end, Grand Isle State Park has a public fishing pier and campsites raised above the dunes.
Across Caminada Pass, Elmer's Island Wildlife Refuge opens onto quiet beaches and saltwater marsh. Each spring, the fallout brings birders to watch warblers and tanagers drop from the sky. New Orleans is about two hours north. Dinner is whatever came off the boat that day, usually shrimp or redfish cooked Cajun style.
Biloxi, Mississippi
Families have spread along Biloxi's Mississippi Sound beachfront for generations, the sand and the seafood kitchens a short walk apart. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville established the town in 1699, one of the oldest sites in the country. Frank Gehry designed the low metal campus of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, home to the free-form pottery of George Ohr, the self-styled Mad Potter of Biloxi. The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum recalls when Biloxi was the seafood capital of the world.
The Biloxi Bay Bridge crosses to Ocean Springs, a walkable neighbor of galleries and coffee shops. Casinos line the Biloxi beachfront behind the sand.
South Padre Island, Texas
Sea Turtle Inc. has cared for injured turtles on South Padre Island since 1977, when Ila Loetscher took in her first patients at home. People still call her the Turtle Lady. The hospital is open most days, with self-guided tours past recovering loggerheads and green turtles. Free summer hatchling releases bring families to the sand to watch the smallest ones reach the water. Dolphin-watching boats leave from the bay side.
The Queen Isabella Causeway crosses to Port Isabel on the mainland, where a restored lighthouse looks out over a working shrimp fleet. Down the coast at Boca Chica, less than an hour away, SpaceX sends rockets up within sight of the island. On launch nights, islanders gather on the beach to watch. The catch of the day comes grilled or folded into tacos.
Orange Beach, Alabama
In Orange Beach, families gather at the Wharf in the evenings, an open-air strip of shops and restaurants where a Ferris wheel turns over the marina. Gulf Shores joins it for Mardi Gras parades and a spring arts festival. Orange Beach Waterfront Park puts free playgrounds and picnic tables on the bay.
Gulf State Park stretches along the coast with a long fishing pier and shaded trails. In Gulf Shores, the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo gives hundreds of animals a 25-acre home, with a giraffe feeding station. It earned the nickname the Little Zoo That Could by taking in animals that needed a home.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Fort Walton Beach has welcomed the same marine park since 1955. The Gulfarium, one of the country's oldest marine parks, still brings families to its dolphin and sea lion shows on Okaloosa Island. Its rescue center nurses sick sea turtles back to health. The Okaloosa Island Pier reaches more than 1,200 feet into the Gulf, lined with anglers most mornings. The Boardwalk has seafood shacks and benches facing the water.
Destin lies next door with its harbor and charter fleet. The Emerald Coast Science Center gives kids hands-on exhibits. The local menu leans toward smoked mullet and Gulf snapper.
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
On the second Saturday of every month, Bay St. Louis turns Old Town into a street party, with gallery doors propped open and live music on the corners. Shopkeepers greet regulars and first-timers the same way. Old Town is walkable and low-slung, lined with porches and live oaks. The old rail depot now houses a Mardi Gras museum of Krewe of Nereids gowns and a folk-art collection.
The 100 Men Hall has hosted live music since 1922, a Mississippi Blues Trail stop that once booked Etta James and Ray Charles. The Washington Street Pier doubles as a fishing spot and a sunset gathering for the neighborhood. To the west in Waveland, Buccaneer State Park has a campground and a wave pool. Saturday mornings, the farmers market sells local shrimp and homemade tamales.
Naples, Florida
In Naples, cafes and small galleries line Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, a short walk from the beach. Restaurants set tables on the sidewalk past dark. Live music carries down the street. The 1888 fishing pier, a local landmark for generations, is being rebuilt after Hurricane Ian and is due back in 2027. The Naples Botanical Garden lies a few minutes south.
Cambier Park lies in the heart of downtown, a public green just south of Fifth Avenue South. The Naples Concert Band has played free Sunday concerts at the band shell for more than fifty years, November through April. Families bring lawn chairs and blankets to the grass. On the first Saturday of the month, local artists show their work at Art in the Park.
Easy Places to Feel at Home on the Gulf
The friendliest towns on the Gulf take their share of hurricanes and still show up for one another. Biloxi rebuilt its beachfront and its Gehry-designed museum after the water went down. In Naples, a free band plays the green on winter Sundays. The welcome here is the kind people build on purpose and rebuild when they have to.
