The Perfect 7 Day Florida Panhandle Trip - Part 1: The Forgotten Coast
Our Florida Panhandle trip started with the Forgotten Coast. I’m sorry to say that it is very much forgotten. But that is the reason we love it so much. It has a quiet, quaint, old world charm, which is very refreshing. Plus we were immediately blown away by the beauty of the area as the sun glistened on the water as we drove along the coastline after turning onto 98 just past Alligator Point. It was a glimpse of heaven.
The coastline of the St. George Sound with a view of the bridge to the island. If you look closely you can see St. George’s lighthouse in the distance.
Our first destination was Carrabelle, FL. A sweet nostalgic coastal town situated on the St. George Sound. It is known for the “World’s Smallest Police Station,” a phone booth established in 1963, and the Crooked River Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse on the Forgotten Coast.
We pulled Roamin’ Holiday, our 25’ Globetrotter Airstream, into the Carrabelle RV Beach Resort around 2pm and were super surprised that our site was only a few feet away from the water and the pet friendly Carrabelle Beach. We unhitched quickly to make the most of our time in this area and headed immediately to St. George Island for an early dinner and a tour of the island with our pups, Selah and Sebi. As you will see the Florida Panhandle loves dogs even more than the people!
Sebi and I waiting for our food at the Blue Parrot Oceanfront Cafe on St. George Island.
The drive to St George Island was breathtaking. We drove along the coastline and then over a series of long bridges with beautiful panoramic views of the water from every window of our truck (Our Vlog of this trip will be up soon for you to see visually the beauty of the Island). As we drove over the last bridge, we arrived on the Island with a view of it’s lighthouse directly ahead. We took a few right turns and arrived for dinner around 5pm at the Blue Parrot Oceanfront Cafe. This restaurant should be on your must do list as it is known for fresh local seafood, lively entertainment and being right on the beach. We got a table on the lower deck near the beach. Selah and Sebi were able to sit with us as it is super dog friendly. The server brought them a bowl of water and they enjoyed a French fry and some fish from our plates. Everybody wanted to pet Sebi, our large white fluffy golden doodle, but he had his eye on a cute black standard poodle who was sitting nearby at the bar. After dinner we strolled along the beach. This was Sebi’s first time walking on sand and both dogs had so much fun. We then toured the grounds of the Cape St George Light and the cute red brick keeper’s house. Before heading out, we drove along the coastline and had so much fun looking at all the cute beachfront houses that lined the Gulf of Mexico. We would love to come and stay here for a week and enjoy the simple quietness and beauty of this island. If you have an RV, we followed a cute airstream all the way to the end of the island where we were surprised to find a state park with about 60 campsites. St. George is truly a gem of an island and we can’t wait to come back.
Sebi was so happy walking on St. George Beach.
The Lighthouse on St. George Island.
We arrived back to Carrabelle just in time to walk the dogs on the beach at sunset. And woke early to walk them at sunrise the next morning. We were in heaven as it brought back tons of memories of vacationing on the beach as a child. This day we headed to Apalachicola and Port Saint Joe for the day. Apalachicola, FL is extremely vintage with a historic downtown with lots of local stores and cafes. It was super quiet the day we arrived but it is known for lots of fun festivals throughout the year. About 20 miles to the West is Port St. Joe. It is a cute little port city. We had fun walking the dogs around the downtown area and checking out some local coffee shops and stores. We also saw their lighthouse before heading back for our nightly sunset walk on the Carrabelle beach with Selah and Sebi.
The Lighthouse in Port Saint Joe
We determined that out of all the towns on the forgotten coast, we loved Carrabelle, FL and St. George Island the best for they have beaches. We can’t wait to come back for some rest and relaxation, however we don’t think we can retire permanently in this area. The nearest Starbucks and Target is over 90 miles away and even though there is a dollar general every couple miles, we would miss some modern amenities.
One of our sunset walk on Carrabelle Beach.
On our way to the Emerald Coast, we passed through the last Forgotten Coast town of Mexico Beach, Florida. It was hit directly by Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018 and suffered lots of damage. Three and a half years later, you can see beautiful newly constructed beachfront homes lining the breathtaking white sand beach as well as cute coastal beach shops. It was a gorgeous sunny beach day and we wish we could have stopped and enjoyed this precious town a little longer. Even though this area of the Florida Panhandle is called the Forgotten Coast, it will never he forgotten by us. We will definitely be back!
The Emerald Coast is next, check out Part 2 of Our Perfect 7 Day Florida Panhandle Trip.