City of Pensacola Florida

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Florida's fun can be found in Pensacola Florida located on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Pensacola Beach is a 40 mile barrier island with sugary white sand. The eight and one-quarter square miles of land that comprise Pensacola Beach was originally owned by the United States Department of the Interior, but was deeded to Escambia County in 1947, on the condition that the land would never be sold. As a result, there are no property owners in the community, only long-term leaseholders.

Casino Beach is busy, especially when the Blue Angels are scheduled for an air show.

Beach Names For decades, every stretch of sand on the island was simply called Pensacola Beach. Now, there's a colorful variety of names for the beaches, some old, some new, and some really weird. Opal Beach was created after Hurricane Opal wiped out the sand dunes there in 1995, so it makes sense that the beach was named for the storm. Casino Beach is named for the Casino Resort, the first tourist destination on the island, which opened on the same day as the first Pensacola Beach Bridge in 1931. With a bar, tennis courts, bath houses, and a restaurant, it was a popular resort until it eventually closed in the 1960s. Quietwater Beach's name is self-explanatory; the water of Santa Rosa Sound is much less wavy than at the Gulfside beaches. Langdon Beach is named for Lieutenant Loomis S. Langdon, a soldier stationed at Fort Pickens during the Civil War who eventually became commander of the fort. He was commander of the fort in the 1880s, during Geronimo's famous imprisonment there.

In the community of Pensacola Beach, there are quite a few stretches of shoreline to choose from, depending on your tastes. Just a short drive takes you from a rowdy party beach, to a calm kid-friendly one, to sand-dune protected solitude. The most popular beaches are on the south side of the island, facing the Gulf of Mexico, usually called Gulfside; these beaches have powdery white sand, clean water, and moderate waves, but there is a danger of rip tides and marine life. The north side faces Santa Rosa Sound, and is called Soundside; there are few waves here, and no rip current, but the sand isn't as nice, and the water is more polluted due to boats and runoff.

• Casino Beach, Via de Luna Dr (south of intersection of Via de Luna and Fort Pickens Rd). Daily 24-hours. This is the most popular beach in all of Pensacola, and has the most amenities. Restrooms and changing rooms are available, there's a large lifeguard presence, police, vendors, umbrellas, a large fishing pier, and surfer-free areas. Portofino Boardwalk, with food and shopping, is within walking distance. During the summer and on weekends, the local radio station is often here, broadcasting music for the beachgoers. Volleyball courts are available here. The further you travel from the pier, the fewer crowds there are. You can even drive down Ft. Pickens Road and use one of the entry points on the left-hand side of the road to find less popular areas, although these areas may not have changing rooms.  
• Fort Pickens Gate Park, Soundside, Fort Pickens Rd (north of Fort Pickens Rd, at Fort Pickens Area gate entrance). It lies on the north side of the island, facing Santa Rosa Sound. It is mostly a parking area for the gulf side public beach. Although there are tons of interesting shells, shell-collecting here is a bad idea, since almost all the best finds are already inhabited by hermit crabs.  
• Fort Pickens Gate Park, Fort Pickens Rd (south of Fort Pickens Rd, at Fort Pickens Area gate entrance). Daily 24-hours. This out of the way beach is located just before the Fort Pickens gate, and is one of the best beaches on the island. It has restrooms, lifeguard protection, ample parking, good waves, lots of white sand and shells, and has far fewer people than the busy Casino Beach. Make sure not to cross into the Fort Pickens park boundary; the shoreline there is off limits due to nesting shorebirds. Walking the shoreline further to the west will lead you into Gulf Islands National Seashore property. Beware of nesting bird areas and stay out of those areas. However, the shoreline is not otherwise closed to visitors. 
• Park East, Via de Luna Dr (follow main road east). Daily 24-hours. Park East is 1.25 miles eastof the Portofino Resort and Spa, this is the last beach on the island before you enter Gulf Islands National Seashore property and reach the Opal Beach area further to the east. There's a restroom and changing room here, as well as picnic pavilions and a lifeguard station. This beach tends to be less crowded than other beaches.
• Langdon Beach, Fort Pickens Rd (inside Fort Pickens Area). 8AM-sunset. Langdon Beach is one of the beaches open to the public in the Fort Pickens Area; most other beaches in the park are closed for shorebird nesting. There are no amenities, and no lifeguards. Like the rest of the Fort Pickens Area, there is no automobile access, so you'll have to hike, bike, or boat here. Since it's so hard to get here, the area is isolated, with very few people: just sea grass, sun, sand and waves. 
• Opal Beach, Via de Luna Dr (past East Park barricade). 8AM-sunset. Further east than East Park is the hurricane-damaged Opal Beach, part of the National Park Service. The road from Pensacola Beach to Opal Beach and Navarre Beach is now open (April 2009). Opal Beach is currently under construction and some features might be out-of-service, but you can still walk or bicycle down the beach road or enjoy the sun.
• Quietwater Beach, Quietwater Beach Rd (from Portofino Boardwalk to Pensacola Beach bridge toll booth). Daily 24-hours. Located on the sound side of the island, behind the Portofino Boardwalk. The beach here is narrow, and since the island blocks the waves from the Gulf of Mexico here, the water is quiet, with no waves. With no waves, no rip currents, and lifeguard protection, it's a great beach to take kids to.   

Events

• Bushwacker & Music Festival, Quietwater Boardwalk. First weekend in August. Locals like to keep this event a secret, and it's hard to find any information about the festival online, but the festival has been celebrated every year in August for more than twenty years. Sponsored by the bars on the island, it honors the famous Bushwacker cocktail with live bands on two stages, a dance club, and cheap drinks; the fun lingers into the early hours of the morning.
• Pensacola Beach Air Show. July. Sometime around Independence Day, the famous Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, puts on a free show for spectators at Pensacola Beach. This popular event swamps the small island, so expect hard-to-find parking, incredibly slow traffic, and long waits at the local restaurants. If you don't mind spending a lot of time on the beach instead of fighting traffic, and love air shows, it's a great way to spend a weekend celebrating the United States.
• Christmas Boat Parade. The lead boat will be Reel Eazy, piloted by Captain Buddy Rogers, and will carry Santa Clause for the duration of the procession. This year’s parade will take place Saturday, December 3rd, and will begin around 6:15 in front of the Sabine Marina on Pensacola Beach. From the marina, boats will cruise out into the sound, make their way toward Deer Point, and come back through the bridge. The Christmas spectacle will then pass the boardwalk and the lead boat, Reel Eazy, will drop Santa Clause off at Key Sailing. Santa says he hopes to be greeted by his loving fans and is excited about sharing his Christmas cheer. Succeeding the event, there will be an after party at Bamboo Willie’s open to both parade participants and the general public.
• Mardi Gras Parade on Pensacola Beach is one of many parades during the Mardi Gras season.For a view of photos from 2009, click here:

Eat

Pensacola Beach has avoided the glut of fast food restaurants that most of northwest Florida is known for. Food on the island is more expensive than on the mainland, and since they cater to tourists, the food generally isn't authentic, but there are still some good eating options.

    Budget

• Bagelheads, 5 Via de Luna Dr, ? +1 850 916-3287. M-Sa 8AM-5PM, Closed Su. A small Pensacola-based chain of shops featuring fresh-baked, from scratch bagels, Bagelheads has a popular location on Pensacola Beach. Try their veggie cream cheese, made with freshly cut, crisp vegetables for an awesome (but still not healthy) breakfast. Skip the coffee though, unless you like rubber-tasting Community Cup brews; instead, try their cinnamon-y House Latte, or their excellent cappuccinos. $1-5.  
• Surf Burger, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd, ? +1 850 932-1417. Their burgers are often called 'Cheeseburgers in Paradise,' but then, what beachside burger joint isn't compared to that? This joint, built above an innertube shop, serves made-to-order hamburgers and cheeseburgers from fresh ground beef, along with fries and shakes.  
• Tiffany's, 3 Casino Beach Boardwalk, ? +1 850 932-3663. Despite numerous attempts by the county to evict it and resell the land, this scrappy hamburger shack on the Casino Beach Boardwalk has managed to stay in business. You can walk up from the beach, order a burger and a milkshake, or a cold beer, and head back to the sand to enjoy. And yes, they have heard the 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' line a million times. 

    Mid-range

• Pegleg Pete's Oyster Bar, 1010 Fort Pickens Rd, ? +1 850 932-4139, . peglegs1@aol.com. This popular little eatery offers live music, boat slips for diners, and a range of food, from burgers to seafood. As the owners of Maria's Seafood in Pensacola, they can offer incredible seafood at good prices; try their local, Gulf-caught shrimp. $12-25.  

    Splurge

• Crabs We Got Em, 6 Casino Beach Blvd, ? +1 850 932-0700 (info@crabswegotem.com), The Gulf of Mexico isn't home to many crabs, other than the blue crab, and oddly enough, that's one of the few varieties this restaurant doesn't serve. But that hasn't stopped Crabs from becoming a trendy and popular restaurant, serving crabs from all over the country. If you want to try locally fished food, eat somewhere else. If you want a great view from their deck, overlooking the Gulf, with some massive king crab legs, give them a try. $20-30.  
• Hemingway's, 400 Quietwater Beach Rd, ? +1 850 934-4747 (fax: +1 850 934-4720),  Hemingway's, a Cuban-themed steakhouse, is the most upscale restaurant on the island, with excellent food and good service. Take a seat on their roof patio, order a slice of their perfect key lime pie and a cup of coffee, and enjoy the best view of the sunset on the entire island. I personally love the desert that has bananas in them.  I forget the exact name but be sure to look for it. $13-35, $9 for pie and coffee. 

Drink

• Bamboo Willie's,
• The Break,
• The Islander, 43 Via de Luna Dr, ? +1 850 932-3741   M-F noon-until, Sa-Su 11am-until. Opened in 1958, this is the oldest bar on the island still operating. It's not terribly popular with tourists, so island residents flock here to hang out and enjoy live music. Try Rum Night on Sundays from 3PM-7PM, when all rum drinks are just $1.50.  
• Paddy O'Leary's Irish Pub,
• Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, ? +1 850 916-5087, Su-Th 11am-10pm, Fr-Sa 11am-11pm, grill stops one hour before close. The Paradise Bar and Grill has a dock at the back of their restaurant for hungry and thirsty boaters. You can call-ahead with your order, and they'll have it ready when you pull ahead. Needless to say, this makes them popular with boaters, as well as island residents.
• Sabine Sandbar, ? +1 850 934-3141 (daleandersen@peoplepc.com), [14]. Sabine Sandbar is another bar catering to locals, and generally has an older crowd. It still gets pretty rowdy here though, especially in their party area, Dave's Big Deck. Features Monday Night Football, Karaoke on Tuesday and Thursday, and live music the remaining nights of the week.  
• Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd, ? +1 850 932-2211 (sandshakerlounge@bellsouth.net),Daily 10AM-3AM. For a while, this lounge was actually run by the U.S. Marshals, following the owner's arrest in a high-profile cocaine bust on the island. Now under new ownership, the Sandshaker Lounge remains the number one bar on the island. It tends to have the best parties, the most crowds, and it's biggest claim to fame is their invention of the Pensacola Bushwacker which is a wonderfully unique frozen drink made of coffee liquer, choclate liquer, rum, coconut milk and other secret ingredients.