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Highly valued for their unspoiled natural environment, the coastal communities of the Apalachicola Region offer an authentic taste of Florida's Gulf Coast with plenty of charm & history. You’ll find miles of uncrowded pristine beaches, an endless supply of protected shallow bays, excellent fishing and acres of National and State forests to explore. Often referred to as the “Forgotten Coast”, that isn’t necessarily the case any longer.
Once the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola's diverse and colorful past remains visible today. There are over 200 historic homes and buildings on the National Register. Visitors are invited to stroll along the wide tree-lined streets where picturesque Victorian homes display the charm of years gone by.
The Apalachicola River and Bay provide great fishing opportunities for both fresh and salt water fishing buffs. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore the endless bays and waterways by kayak, canoe, riverboat or sailboat. Visitors can also spend time browsing through the City’s unique galleries, stores and antique shops or touring the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Center. Today Franklin County harvests more than 90% of Florida’s oysters and 10% of the oysters consumed in the nation. If you’re after fresh shellfish, this is the place to visit!
St. George Island is a 28-mile barrier island with some of the most beautiful and serene beaches on the Gulf Coast. It is one of the last inhabited, yet unspoiled, barrier islands of Florida, with miles of uncrowded beaches for sunning and shelling, clear Gulf waters for swimming and excellent fishing, pristine marshes for wildlife viewing. Visitors can rent a quaint beach cottage, or a multi-story luxury beach home. The Island is also very pet friendly. Well-behaved dogs are always welcome on our beaches and pets are allowed in many of the rental homes. At the tip of the island can be found the historic Cape St. George Lighthouse.
Port St. Joe is a small Florida Panhandle community along St. Joseph Bay, a pristine estuary that lies between the finger-thin St. Joseph Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico. It is classic Florida low country — piney woods and tannin-dark rivers that merge into beaches of white sand and, in the case of St. Joe Bay, surprisingly clear waters. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, which takes up 9 miles along the northern half of Cape San Blas, jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico to the south, was judged the best beach in the United States for 2002 by Stephen Leatherman, the Florida International University professor known as "Dr. Beach."
Port St. Joe faces west, bringing stunning sunsets over Cape San Blas and part of St. Joseph Bay. Restaurants take advantage of this, setting up tables and rocking chairs that are as comfortable for dining, sitting and talking as they are ideal for photographers.
You’ll find a little of everything in this charming eastern Panhandle area.
Accommodations in the Apalachicola area will be mainly single-family homes and cottages with some condominiums and villas.
Cape St. George Lighthouse
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
Apalachicola Oysters
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