Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From Carrabelle's impressive marina, charter boats head out into the gulf in search of
tarpons, groupers, amberjacks, and red snappers. A little ferry also motors out to the beau-
tiful, uncrowded, white sandy beaches of Dog Island, where 100 or so householders and
an eight-room inn (bring your own food) share sand and serenity with a vast Nature Con-
servancy preserve.
PEACE AND NATURAL BEAUTY
Scenic Highway 30A is an 18-mile drive offering miles of stunning views as well as
access to 11 rare coastal dune lakes and many state parks and trails. Well worth a de-
tour, the road stretches between Panama City and the popular seaside resort of Destin,
a major draw for deep-sea fishing fans, joining U.S. 98 at each end. It passes along
some of Florida's most beautiful beaches, famed for their fine quartz-white sand that
gleams in the sunlight.
You'll visit some traditional Gulf Coast towns, like Grayton Beach (worth a stop
if only for a visit to some of its charming shops and galleries), as well as newer devel-
opments, such as Seaside, the setting for the 1998 movie The Truman Show. A little
farther west, south of Pensacola, is Santa Rosa Island, a 40-mile-long barrier island.
Visitors don't come to the island for theme parks, crowded beaches, or bumper-to-
bumper traffic, but rather to enjoy a peaceful, natural retreat. The beaches there are
part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, the longest stretch of protected coast in the
country.
6.
Ochlockonee River State Park
Northeast of Carrabelle and some 10 miles inland from the Gulf on Rte. 319, you'll arrive
at the pine woods and oak thickets of Ochlockonee River State Park. The park provides a
habitat for gray foxes, which, unlike their red cousins, can climb trees to get at fruit, nuts,
and the occasional unlucky bird. Sharing the forests along the banks of the Ochlockonee
River are bobcats, deer, alligators, and rare red-cockaded woodpeckers.
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