Offshore from St Andrews State Park, this sandy 'desert' island is fantastic for sunbathing, swimming and snorkeling. There are neither facilities nor shade: wear a hat and plenty of sunscreen. To get here, buy tickets for the Shell Island Shuttle at Pier Marketplace in the park; there's a trolley service to the boat. Snorkeling packages ($28) and kayak rental (single/tandem $65/75 per day) are available – the price includes your shuttle trip to the island. Check website for details and schedules.
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TH Stone Memorial St Joseph Peninsula State Park
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3.53 MILES
This peaceful 1260-acre park is graced with nature trails, swimming beaches and wildlife, including foxes, coyotes, snakes, seabirds and alligators (fear…
2. Ripley's Believe It or Not!
8.51 MILES
Love it or hate it, the ubiquitous Ripley's is very Panama City Beach – loud, crowded, tacky-but-fun. In a building designed to look like a ship, the …
8.57 MILES
Designed to look like an upside-down building (complete with an upside-down lawn and palm trees), this wacky interactive museum and fun center is…
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Owned by the Institute of Diving, this museum takes a close look at the sport. Interactive exhibits let you crank up a Siebe pump, climb into a Beaver…
22.3 MILES
This is one of the larger beach access points in South Walton. Inlet Beach itself is hugged by high dunes and old-school A-frame houses, both of which you…
6. TH Stone Memorial St Joseph Peninsula State Park
26.89 MILES
This lovely park, a quilt of beach and pine forest, brackish bays and fuzzy salt marsh, is a fine slice of increasingly rare Gulf Coast wilderness…
27.02 MILES
Named for its eponymous coastal dune lake – a body of water that sits inland from the Gulf, but is connected to it – this park is rich in scrub oaks,…