Big Lagoon State Park
Pensacola, FL
Big Lagoon State Park faces Perdido Key across the water instead of opening straight onto the Gulf, so the swimming here is calm and shallow most days. West Beach has a playground and picnic pavilions for families, while East Beach is quieter and built around a three story observation tower with views out over the lagoon and the dunes beyond.
Calmer water than the Gulf side makes it a good pick for small kids, but it's a plainer beach than what's just down the road at Perdido Key or Pensacola Beach.
How we score beachesClimb the observation tower at East Beach even if you skip everything else, the view over the lagoon and Perdido Key is worth the few flights of stairs. Bring bug spray for the nature trails, the marshy edges of the lagoon can get thick with mosquitoes by evening.
The entrance fee is 6 dollars per vehicle, 4 dollars for a single occupant, paid at the gate. West Beach and East Beach each have their own lot, and neither tends to fill the way the Gulf-front parks nearby do.
Paved paths lead to both beach areas from their lots, mostly flat with a short stretch of sand at the water's edge. The observation tower at East Beach has several flights of open stairs, not wheelchair accessible.
Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails, but pets aren't permitted on either beach or in the picnic areas.
The calm lagoon water here stays swimmable a little longer into fall than the open Gulf beaches nearby, and warms up fast once spring arrives. Hurricane season, June through November, is the main thing to watch for on this stretch of the coast.
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