For uncrowded beaches and a locals-only atmosphere, you simply can't beat Santa Rosa County on the western end of the Florida Panhandle. The area is also one of the best places in the state for snorkeling right off the beach. Its Gulf Islands National Seashore and Navarre Beach County Park are the most popular beach spots, boasting miles of pristine sand dunes.
The beach towns of Santa Rosa have spent some serious cash to open new attractions and spruce up existing ones in time for summer 2019 crowds. Here are a few that visitors need to put on their to-do lists.
• Navarre Beach Marine Park: The marine park that connects the Santa Rosa Sound with the Gulf of Mexico beachfront features a Sea Turtle Conservation Center, where guests can meet actual rehabilitated sea turtles and learn about them from marine biologists. The park is also home to artificial reefs and an accompanying marine sanctuary that's one of the best spots for snorkeling and scuba diving in the Panhandle.
It will complete $2 million in upgrades by late April.
On the Santa Rosa Sound side, additional parking, improved ADA-compliance access plus three new boardwalks (including one with a canoe/kayak launch) are set to open to the public. Additionally, a new pavilion, picnic area, additional rest rooms, parking and a new boardwalk are also set to open on the Gulf side of the park.
• Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge: Mid-June will see the opening of the $1 million wildlife refuge, which will feature an educational building as well as a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center for rescued native wildlife. The 20 specialized outdoor habitats will house rehabilitating animals as well as "animal ambassadors" for guests to meet on their visit. The habitats will be viewable via boardwalk and nature trail, and animals include bald eagles, tortoises, raptor birds and manatees.
Among the programs featured at Emerald Coast is Project Outwild, a multimedia presentation that educates guests on the local flora and fauna using animal ambassadors and other demonstrations. The class talks about several conservation issues, like fishing-line entanglement and water pollution. The wildlife refuge also hosts a fully-supervised summer camp for kids, called Camp Summerwild.
• Gulf Breeze Zoo: In Gulf Breeze, on the peninsula just outside Pensacola, a family of six orangutans arrived at the city's zoo. Other recent additions to the zoo include a new baby giant anteater and a baby giraffe named Kai, born Feb. 10.
• Dewey Destin's Navarre: Popular Panhandle eatery Dewey Destin's just opened a new location in Navarre, overlooking the Santa Rosa Sound. The casual seafood restaurant serves a bevy of local fish, including wahoo, tripletail and cobia as well as oysters, crabs and scallops to the deeply tanned bathing suit crowd.
• Simpson House Museum: Florida's first "modern industrial complex," located at the Arcadia Mill archaeological site, is now open to the public. The Simpson House Museum takes guests back to antebellum Florida, with paths laden with informative signage about the mill owners and slave laborers who lived on the land. Inside, the house is preserved as it was during the Great Depression, with docents on hand to answer questions.