At Lake Shelby in Gulf State Park, the day-use area offers kayaking and canoeing. The park also offers hiking, biking, fishing, geocaching and paddling. This means a specific place for water activities sits alongside a broader selection of experiences in the park. This distinction is useful for planning: you can focus on the area at Lake Shelby or choose activities from the park’s overall offerings.
Coast, Habitats and Trails
The Fort Morgan Trail is connected to the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail system, which includes approximately 28 miles of paved trails. The approximate length refers to the trail network; the Fort Morgan Trail is the specific trail connected to it. This places a named trail and a larger trail network alongside each other as distinct points of reference.
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1980 to protect endangered and threatened species as well as migratory bird habitats. It encompasses 7,000 acres of coastal barrier habitats. Four designated hiking trails offer opportunities to observe wildlife and birds and to take photographs. Here, a large-scale habitat and specific opportunities for observing nature come together; the trails offer a different perspective on the refuge than its acreage figure.
Historic Blakeley State Park covers more than 2,000 acres in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Baldwin County Bicentennial Park covers 367 acres and combines native flora and fauna with a working farm. The farm offers hands-on ways to learn about the county’s cultural heritage. The two parks have different emphases: Historic Blakeley State Park focuses on the delta landscape and its large area, while Bicentennial Park focuses on nature and agricultural heritage.
Cultural Heritage, Natural History and Art
The Baldwin County Heritage Museum’s mission is to preserve the culture of Baldwin County’s early farming communities. This gives it a different emphasis from the farm at Bicentennial Park: the farm offers hands-on ways to learn about the county’s heritage, while the museum focuses on preserving it. Both approaches explore the county’s agricultural history in different ways.
The Weeks Bay Visitor Center offers exhibits, live animal displays, and collections of regional plants and animals. This offers a different way to explore regional natural history than hiking trails and protected areas: at the Visitor Center, exhibits and collections sit alongside live animal displays.
The Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach adds fine art to the cultural discoveries. The two-story gallery displays works by Gulf Coast artists; visitors can also make their own glass object there. Art viewing and hands-on creation thus take place side by side. Compared with the museum and farm, the focus here is on displayed works of art and hands-on glassmaking.
Getting There: Road and Ferry
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are in Baldwin County and can be reached from Interstate 10 via Highway 59 or the Beach Express. This provides a shared point of reference for driving to both places. Fort Morgan can be reached from Dauphin Island by the Mobile Bay Ferry. This means different travel options come into play: the road connection for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and the ferry connection to Fort Morgan. If you plan to take the ferry, check the schedule in advance.
Discover more destinations: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fairhope, Perdido, Spanish Fort, Daphne, Foley, Bay Minette, Loxley
For the broader travel overview: Alabama.
