Editor's Note: This story was written prior to Hurricane Helene. For visitor information in areas impacted by Helene, we encourage you to read Hurricane Helene Florida: Gulf Coast damage report and visitor information.
Apalachicola surprised and delighted me: There was much more to this town that I had expected.
Located in the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast about 80 miles southwest of Tallahassee, it is a wonderfully historic town, full of preserved and restored buildings. Plaques describing local history appear on nearly every block.
The list of things to do in Apalachicola — pronounced “ap-UH-lach-uh-KOH-la” but called Apalach by locals — starts with its compact and walkable downtown, where you’ll find enticing shops, good restaurants, a great local craft brewery and live music in sidewalk cafes on weekends.
It is mercifully free of the boring sameness of franchise restaurants and lodging; Apalachicola has a strong sense of place,
Be sure to leave at least a half day to enjoy the spectacular beach on St. George Island, just 20 minutes away over two beautiful causeways.
Founded in 1828, Apalachicola’s glory days were the early 1800s, when cotton was king and steamships brought bales down the Apalachicola River to the port here.
Great wealth was generated, but soon the railroad replaced the river as the critical mode of transportation. Even then, Apalachicola boomed as a port for lumber and turpentine, and then it thrived as it mined the bounty of Apalachicola Bay — sponge fishing, oysters, shrimp and other fish. Those seafood products are still important.
Today, however, tourism and vacation homes are the key to its economy. Many of the restored buildings have VRBO signs, including a cute row of houseboats on the Apalachicola River, and there are a number of bed-and-breakfasts and historic inns.
The many mansions and handsome commercial buildings from 100 to 150 years ago tell the story of a place that was once grand and successful, fell on hard times, and is now preserving and recovering its heritage in new and interesting ways.
It’s fun discovering the past here and exploring the things to to do in Apalachicola, now revitalized.
Things to do in Apalachicola: Restaurants & historic downtown
Downtown, for example, is a hopping place. On the Sunday night we visited, Oyster City Brewery, 17 Ave D, whose good craft beer seems to be served in every place in town. There was live music and the crowd spilled onto the sidewalk. Residents sat in their beloved golf carts and listened and chatted.
Across the street, the Owl Cafe, 15 Ave D, was full of visitors. It’s a popular fine dining restaurant located in a building that has housed a version of the Owl Cafe for 100 years. (The painted image of the owl on the second story of this building looks just like the historic images.)
Along the waterfront, crowds gathered at the Up the Creek Raw Bar, 313 Water St., with a big second story deck for open-air dining overlooking the birds, clouds and Apalachicola River.
For a town of 2,500 residents, there are a lot of excellent restaurants. Other highly touted places are Hole in the Wall Seafood and The Station Raw Bar (built in a converted gas station.)
Daytime things to in Apalachicola and neighboring areas
- You can head to the beach on St. George Island (see below).
- There are miles of great kayaking trails near here along the Apalachicola River, which is one of Florida’s great paddling rivers. Here’s a guide to the Apalachicola River Blueway.
- Just south of Apalachicola, Vincent National Wildlife Refuge occupies an island you can reach only by boat. It’s a wild place – there is no visitor center and no drinking water. It’s so remote, it’s been selected for a program to breed red wolves. There are nine miles of empty beaches and miles of fat-tire bike or hiking trails. (But be aware: There are no trail or road signs.) Here’s a shuttle operator who takes visitors to the island by boat.
More attractions among things to do in Apalachicola
There is also more to Apalachicola’s charm, including parks and museums that might pique the interest of some visitors:
- Apalachicola’s most famous son is Dr. John Gorrie. Never heard of him? You wouldn’t enjoy Florida nearly as much without Gorrie, the father of air conditioning. The John Gorrie Museum tells the story of the doctor who invented refrigeration because he felt that cool air might combat the scourge of yellow fever.
- We also recommend a short driving tour along the southeastern coast of the peninsula. Take the left turn as you come off the causeway and follow the sign pointing to Battery Park. You’ll find a beautiful neighborhood of Victorian mansions overlooking the bay. Lafayette Park — which was created in the 1830s! – has a long boardwalk stretching into the bay with beautiful views.
- There’s a small Apalachicola Maritime Museum. One of its most popular features is its boat tours, which includes an 11 a.m. daily waterfront cruise in a motor vessel as well as daily kayak tours. See the boat tour schedule here.
- The 1838 Orman House Historic State Park is a home that belonged to Thomas Orman, a cotton merchant, who was rich enough to make his home on the bluff a magnificent showplace. Adjoining is Chapman Botanical Garden. The house is open for hourly guided tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. A fee of $2 per person is charged.
- You can find fishing and boating charters on this Chamber of Commerce page.
Visiting St. George Island and St. George Island State Park
When it comes to Florida’s barrier islands, you’ll find few with better natural beaches than St. George Island, just 20 minutes from Apalachicola. The beaches on the eastern end of the island, at St. George Island State Park, was ranked the No. 4 beach in America by Dr. Beach in 2022.
The fact is all of the island’s beaches, nine miles in length, are consistently ranked among the best in the world.
At St. George Island, you experience a beach that looks exactly as it did before we all moved to Florida and started spoiling it, and it’s a splendid experience. When you walk down this beach, you will soon see no trace of man’s influence, except an occasional sign marking a turtle nest.
When you first arrive on the island from the causeway, you can make a stop at the lighthouse, which you can climb for a small fee. There’s a terrific beach with good facilities here and, what’s more, it’s a nice Old Florida feeling to find free parking at a beach.
There’s one road on St. George Island and if you head east toward the state park, you will pass a few miles of intense beach house development. All the beach houses on their stilts looked to us like a horde of fiddler crabs. There are no high-rises and the development is not dense, so it doesn’t quite ruin St. George’s ambience.
At the park, once you’ve paid your $6 entrance fee, you’ll pass a few small beachfront parking lots with dune crossovers along the main road and two large parking lots where you will find a cluster of restrooms, picnic shelters and changing areas.The buildings in this relatively new park have been designed to blend well in the beautiful dune environment.
We parked in the last lot and walked several miles into the undeveloped part of the beach, and we felt like explorers.
To our great delight, we repeatedly saw a pod of dolphins fishing off-shore, and we passed exactly three other groups of people in our five-mile round-trip walk – on Memorial Day. (There were plenty of people enjoying the park nearer the parking lots.)
The sand is blindingly white, easy to walk on, and feels, well, clean – and there’s a reason for that. The Yelper of beaches, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. Dr. Beach, says the sand here is nearly pure quartz crystal.
“While most noncarbonated (noncoral) beaches are composed of 15 to 20 different types of sand, the Panhandle beaches are like a bar of Ivory soap – 99 44/100% pure,” he said.
On the bay side of the park, you’ll find an outstanding campground amidst shade and pine trees that are a pleasant green respite from the white dunes. There’s a 2.5 mile nature trail here too.
St. George Island lends itself to bicycles. There is a separate paved bike path along the main road and when you get to the state park, bikes can continue the five miles to the end of the island where cars are not allowed. It looked like riding would provide splendid views, but, be aware, these trails offer no shade.
Hotels in Apalachicola and St. George Island
We liked the Victorian Gibson Inn, built in 1907 and beautifully restored. The big two-story Gibson Inn is the first thing you see in Apalachicola as you come over the causeway and its lobby has a popular restaurant and bar. (Be aware: You’ll be taking stairs; there are no wheelchair-accessible rooms.)
We also stayed at the Coombs Inn and Suites, a bed and breakfast located in a complex of historic homes, a few blocks from the center, which is an elegant spot with excellent B&B style breakfasts and a romantic atmosphere.
There are several other inns and B&Bs as well as a Best Western.
On St. George Island, the St. George Inn, while not on the beach is well located in the small commercial area around the lighthouse, just a block from it. From here, you can leave your car and walk to restaurants and the beach.
Campers should seek reservations at St. George Island St. Park, which has one of the best Gulf campgrounds near the beach.
Planning your trip to Apalachicola and St. George Island
- Apalachicola River Blueway
- St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge
- St. George Island State Park
- Apalachicola Maritime Museum
- Orman House Historic State Park
- John Gorrie Museum State Park
The author, Bonnie Gross, travels with her husband David Blasco, discovering off-the-beaten path places to hike, kayak, bike, swim and explore. Florida Rambler was founded in 2010 by Bonnie and fellow journalist Bob Rountree, two long-time Florida residents who have spent decades exploring the Florida outdoors. Their articles have been published in the Sun Sentinel, the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel, The Guardian and Visit Florida.