Pensacola Bay & the Gulf
Boater’s Guide
Where to point the bow once you’re off the dock at Shoreline Park.
The Pelican House was built for this. Boat parking on site, the Shoreline Park launch less than a mile away, and from there a whole day on Pensacola Bay and the Gulf. Here’s where the locals actually go, and what you should know before you go.
📍 Launch point: Shoreline Park — 30.3514, -87.1757
Where Boaters Go
⛵ Fort McRee
📍 30.3252, -87.3173
Out at the eastern tip of Perdido Key, right where the bay meets the Gulf, sits what’s left of Fort McRee — one of three forts built to guard Pensacola Bay in the 1830s, and the one that didn’t survive. Union gunfire from Fort Pickens across the pass all but leveled it during the Civil War, and today there’s almost nothing left above ground but a big, wind-sculpted dune and a few crumbling batteries from a later era. What remains is McRee Cove, one of the most popular anchorages on this stretch of coast — drop the hook, wade the flats, watch the ships work the pass, and poke around what locals still call “the lost fort.”
🍻 The Flora-Bama
📍 30.2813, -87.5182
The legendary beach bar straddling the Florida-Alabama line is an easy run up the Intracoastal. Tie up at the Flora-Bama Marina or pull straight into the Flora-Bama Yacht Club or Ole River Grill next door, both of which welcome boats right alongside walk-ins. After lunch, most boaters cruise over to Robinson Island or Bird Island to anchor, swim, and raft up with the crowd before heading back for round two and the famous Flora-Bama Lounge after dark.
🏖️ Crab Island
📍 30.3962, -86.5205
A longer haul out past Destin, but a genuine rite of passage for Gulf Coast boaters. It isn’t actually an island — it’s a shallow, submerged sandbar just off the Destin Bridge where hundreds of boats raft up in emerald-green water only a few feet deep. Go on a high tide for the clearest water and easiest anchoring, bring your own food and drinks (alcohol can’t be sold on the sandbar itself), and plan for a full day once you add the run out and back.
Running the Pass
📍 30.3273, -87.2905 (Fort Pickens side)
Pensacola Pass is the gateway from the bay out to open Gulf water, squeezed between Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island and Fort McRee on Perdido Key. It’s a working channel, dredged for Navy and commercial traffic, which means real current, shifting sandbars along the edges, and a steady stream of boats moving through. Watch your speed near the jetties, keep an eye on the tide, and give the channel markers plenty of respect. Once you’re through, the Gulf of Mexico opens right up.
Fishing the Wrecks
📍 No fixed public coordinates — ask a local bait shop for current numbers
Just a short run offshore from Pensacola Pass sits the Three Barges — exactly what it sounds like, three barges that broke loose from a transport vessel back in 1974 and were sunk in place to keep them from becoming a hazard. They’ve since become one of the most popular nearshore spots on the whole Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail: an easy, shallow site that holds snapper, grouper, and plenty of smaller reef fish, and a favorite for anglers who don’t want to run 20 miles to fish a wreck. Check current regulations and exact numbers with a local bait shop or the FWC’s artificial reef site before you head out, since seasons and rules can shift.
Restaurants With Docks
Tie up and eat without ever finding a parking spot.
🐟 Flounder’s Chowder House
📍 30.3341, -87.1400
Right at the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk on the Santa Rosa Sound side, easy to spot by the 55-foot shrimp boat parked out front. Tie up at one of the Boardwalk’s two docks and walk over for chowder, a shrimp boat platter, and live music most nights.
🎤 The Boardwalk
📍 30.3351, -87.1415
Pensacola Beach’s boat-friendly hub at Quietwater Beach — two public docks serve the whole strip, so you can tie up once and walk to whichever restaurant, bar, or shop looks good that day.
⚓ Sneaky Tiki
📍 30.3355, -87.1365
No dock here on purpose — anchor out on the Sound behind the Pensacola Beach RV Resort and wade or dinghy in. It’s the beach bar locals call their best-kept secret, and half the fun is knowing how to find it.
🌹 Paradise Bar & Grill
📍 30.3353, -87.1339
Tucked behind the Paradise Inn on the Santa Rosa Sound, with dockage right out front — boats raft up two and three deep on a busy weekend. Order a Bushwacker, grab a table in the sand, and settle in for the live music.
🌮 Juana’s
📍 30.3839, -86.8627
Navarre’s oldest waterfront hangout, with real dock space and an anchorage right on the Sound. Breakfast, burgers, and pizza, plus beach volleyball courts if you want to stretch your legs after the ride over.
🍺 Oar House
📍 30.4002, -87.2424
Tucked into Bayou Chico next to Bahia Mar Marina, reachable by land or water. Grab a seat under the tiki roof, watch the sailboats come and go, and don’t be surprised if a seaplane taxis by.
🦐 Peg Leg Pete’s
📍 30.3282, -87.1644
Lafitte Cove Marina sits directly behind the restaurant, with slips available for visiting boats. The quintessential Pensacola Beach seafood stop — go for the blackened grouper and the oysters.
Home Base for a Day on the Water
Boat parking on site, launch 2 minutes away — The Pelican House puts you first in the water and first back to the dock.