If you're looking for a more natural beach experience in Gulf Shores, consider Gulf State Park. There are 2 miles of beach here, as well as a nature center (9am to 4pm Monday to Friday), a dog park and roughly 25 miles of hiking and cycling trails – keep an eye peeled for gators.
Gulf State Park
Alabama
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
National Naval Aviation Museum
22.63 MILES
A visit to Pensacola is not complete without a trip to this enormous collection of military aircraft muscle and artifacts. Adults and children alike will…
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
8.99 MILES
Centuries ago, salt-lashed oak forest, inundated coastal prairie and great quilts of sawgrass covered the Gulf Coast. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge…
Audubon Bird Sanctuary – Dauphin Island
25.21 MILES
A 3-mile trail wends through 137 acres of maritime forest, sand dunes and wetlands, marking a small space that's a big deal to the world's bird population…
16.34 MILES
Get a taste of the wilds on the Panhandle at Big Lagoon, a quilt of salt marshes, pine forest, bays, ponds and beaches, all interconnected by boardwalks…
Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
17.74 MILES
This fascinating park preserves ecosystems that run from wet prairie to sandy shoreline to the eponymous Tarkiln Bayou, an eerie, alluring spill of dark…
12.39 MILES
This alluring coastal state park protects the 247-acre barrier island of the same name, a windblown, sand-strewn landscape of rolling dunes, tufts of…
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
15.14 MILES
This reserve seeks to protect the wetlands that spread between Mobile and Weeks Bay, an ecological smorgasboard ranging from salt marsh to flooded swamp…
24.72 MILES
The Estuarium acts as the public education space for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama's primary marine research facility. There are over 100 species on…
Nearby Alabama attractions
1.45 MILES
There are over 500 animals at this zoo, including tigers, lions, bears and wolves. The exhibits are well kept and attempt to copy animals' natural…
2. Gulf Shores Main Public Beach
1.47 MILES
This is the most commercial beach-y bar in greater Gulf Shores. You'll find open-air pavilions, picnic areas, volleyball nets, and during the summer, a…
6.77 MILES
Part of Gulf State Park, this beach, located just west of the Florida border, is usually a little more quiet than other local stretches of sand. It's…
4. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
8.99 MILES
Centuries ago, salt-lashed oak forest, inundated coastal prairie and great quilts of sawgrass covered the Gulf Coast. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge…
12.39 MILES
This alluring coastal state park protects the 247-acre barrier island of the same name, a windblown, sand-strewn landscape of rolling dunes, tufts of…
6. Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
15.14 MILES
This reserve seeks to protect the wetlands that spread between Mobile and Weeks Bay, an ecological smorgasboard ranging from salt marsh to flooded swamp…
16.34 MILES
Get a taste of the wilds on the Panhandle at Big Lagoon, a quilt of salt marshes, pine forest, bays, ponds and beaches, all interconnected by boardwalks…
8. Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park
17.74 MILES
This fascinating park preserves ecosystems that run from wet prairie to sandy shoreline to the eponymous Tarkiln Bayou, an eerie, alluring spill of dark…