Paddling near Pensacola Beach, FL

Pensacola Beach sits on Santa Rosa Island, a narrow barrier island in the Florida Panhandle flanked by the Gulf of Mexico to the south and Santa Rosa Sound to the north. The area draws paddlers to a wide range of conditions: calm, shallow sound-side water, salt marsh creeks, and open Gulf launches. Big Sabine Bay, Fort Pickens, and the Santa Rosa Sound are the marquee destinations, and a segment of the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail runs through the island.