If you’re on Panama City Beach, outdoor adventures aren’t hard to find. From various nearby springs and creeks to caverns and dolphin seeking, this little town really does have it all. Here is a list of 6 of the popular places in the area where you can have you very own outdoor adventure.
Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
Home of one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world, Wakulla Springs plays host to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, turtles, deer, and birds. Daily guided riverboat tours provide a closer view of wildlife, and glass bottom boat tours are offered when the water is clear. Swimming is a popular activity during the hot summer months. A nature trail offers a leisurely walk along the upland wooded areas of the park. The Wakulla Springs Lodge was built in 1937 by financier Edward Ball and is open year-round. A full-service dining room overlooks the spring; lodge meeting facilities offer an excellent place for retreats. Wakulla Springs State Park and Lodge is listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Natural Landmark.
Econfina Creek
Econfina is the canoeist’s dream. Econfina Creek offers the steepest gradient of any designated canoe trail in the state. Canoeists pass waterfalls, rock outcrops, log jams, riverbed springs and plentiful bird life as they approach State Road 20, where the Gainer Springs Complex enters from numerous vents, filling a deep clear pool surrounded by palms, cypress and mixed hardwoods.
Shell Island
Shell Island is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Panama City Beach area. Just across the water from St. Andrews State Park and only accessible by boat, Shell Island is a natural, undeveloped island which lies between the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrews Bay in Bay County, Panama City Beach, FL. Shell Island’s Beautiful sand dunes stretch out over seven miles long and anywhere from two hundred yards to three-quarters of a mile across. Shell Island is home to one of the world’s highest concentrations of bottle-nosed dolphins. The island’s pristine beauty and abundant wildlife make it an enjoyable and exciting way to spend the day. It is filled with tremendous sand dunes, a fresh water swamp, acres of woods and sugar-white sands. Shell Island offers excellent snorkeling, fishing and secluded beaches.
Eden Gardens State Park
This historic park hosts the majestic 110-year-old Wesley House, built for the Wesley family, the owner family of one of the largest timber operations of the 1800s. Completely decorated with period furniture and accessories, the house provides a beautiful view of the reflecting pool, towering moss-draped oaks and serene waterways. The various rose gardens, koi ponds and nature walks are enough to inspire and thrill those looking for adventure.
Florida Caverns State Park
This is Florida’s only limestone cave that is available to the public. Florida Caverns takes its name from the beautiful Florida Cavern tour cave. Equal in beauty to such famous sites as Mammoth Cave and Carlsbad Caverns, the caves at Florida Caverns State Park contain dazzling formation of stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws, columns, rimstones, flowstones and draperies. These fragile formations are composed of calcite, a mineral dissolved from limestone rock when surface water containing carbonic acid percolates through the rock into the caves. As this mineral-charged water encounters the air inside the caves, layers of calcite are deposited. The creation of these stunning formations often take tens of thousands of years, and even the slightest disturbance by humans can destroy these delicate natural wonders. Guided yours occur regularly with nature trails, swimming, canoeing, and fishing.
Diving
Panama City Beach is considered the “Wreck Capitol of the South,” second only to the Florida Key’s as Florida most popular dive destination in the state of Florida. And it’s not just hype; there are over 50 artificial reef diver’s can plunge to see, fifteen 35-foot-high bridge spans, each one 160 feet long and, just inland, there are several spectacular springs where the water is as clear as drinking water and the spring diving is world class. There area a number of adventurous dive locations you’ll love from the Grey Ghost, to the USS Strength and the world famous Empire Mica. For more info on diving locations check out this top 10 dive spots article.