Perdido Beach: Best Beach on the Alabama Coast

Perdido Beach is between Orange Beach, Alabama and the point where the Perdido River meets the Gulf of Mexico. The river marks the Alabama border with Florida, also marked by the "Florabama Lounge, "" a great music and jazz place that lost part of its roof to Katrina but still survives and serves "Big Red" shrip with the heads still on. Perdido" means "lost" but you won't mind being lost down there. There is a long, beautiful stretch of beach. It is not so much a beach for shelling (except after a storm) but a wide beach for strolling, with soft white sand, the famous "green " cast of gulf water and an expanse of sky broken occasionally by a parasail.

There are working tugboats, sailboats, and fishing boats. If you get a spot looking over the river, you can watch the boats for hours. In the bayous, there are fish shops like billy's and a great restaurant called the Tin Top tucked away under a lhuge live oak dripping Spanish Moss. Along the beach, there are several condos or hotels to choose from . Our favorite, for many years, is the Perdido Beach Resort, close to the river passage. The rooms are comfortable, clean and in addition to the gorgeous beach there is a great indoor/outdoor pool and lounge area with outdoor cafe and live music in the afternoons, as well as nightlife , a gift shop, aice/cream pizza parlor for late night snacks and other amenities. You can go for an elegant dinner or relax in your flip flops. Park valet or schlepp from the parking lot. It is an easy-going place in keeping with the mood of the area.

If you tire of the beach , there are inland waterways to explore, as well as nearby Fort Morgan, a Civil-war fort, and other small museums nearby. Fort Morgan used to be buried in the dunes, butnow has been completely excavated so you can see the structure, walk around the fort and into the heart of its ammunition tunnels, or climb stairs to see the gulf from the bulwarks. The museum tells the story of the fort, with letters and memorabilia, and also has a nice gift shop.The nearby town of Foley has an outlet mall, and two large antique malls to occupy you on the occasional rainy day.