Summer Beach Vacations

Alabama

Gulf Shores, Alabama, and its neighbor Orange Beach are among the best beach towns to visit on vacation. There is plenty to do in this resort community. You can enjoy the white sand beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Outdoor activities include golfing, biking, and birding. Swim in the cool waters or lie on the sand watching clouds drift by.

Choose a spot on the beach. If you like you can hunt for shells. Both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Welcome Centers give out free shelling bags. You can see pelicans on the pier. You’ll find lounge chair and umbrella rentals at the condominiums and resorts along the beach.

Enjoy visiting Gulf State Park with beaches, hiking trails, and a pier. Visitors can rent kayaks and paddleboards to get out on the water. If you like you can also rent Segways with Segway guided tours available. As you walk or ride along the trails keep a lookout for alligators.

The Gulf State Park Nature Center offers hands-on activities among them live animal demonstrations, guided beach walks, telescope viewing, and educational programs for children. If you want to stay overnight campsites are available as well as a RV park.

Spend some time on the Gulf State Park Pier where you can people-watch and birdwatch.

Pelicans can be seen looking for fish and sharks can be seen swimming beneath the pier. Fishing equipment is available for rent. You can grab a bite at the pier restaurant.

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo has popular exhibits with giraffes, primates, lions, bears, and leopards. Children enjoy the petting zoo. There is also an aviary. For refreshments, there is an on-site restaurant the Safari Club or you can get snacks at the food trucks on the zoo grounds, If you prefer you can take along a picnic lunch. For an additional fee, the zoo offers animal encounters with kangaroos, lemurs, sloths, and giraffes. The Animal Enrichment Program lets visitors go along with a zookeeper to see how to care for some of the animals.

Enjoy watching playful dolphins with dolphin-watching tours. You can take the Dolphins Down Under tour in a glass-bottom boat or a WaveRunner tour to see dolphins swimming next to the boat. Wild Native Tours lets novice and experienced kayakers take a three-hour paddle along the coastline.

You can enjoy a trip to the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. It was established to protect threatened species in the area. The refuge has a turtle nesting program and visitors can learn about the importance of nesting sea turtle populations. An undisturbed area of the refuge is the natural habitat of the tiny Alabama beach mouse. During the spring and fall. you can see migratory songbirds.

The Alabama Coastal Birding Trail lets visitors see native and migrating species of birds. The trail is extensive with over 200 miles of birding trail loops connected between Baldwin County and Mobile County. The two most accessible trail loops in Gulf Shores are the Gulf Shores-Orange Beach Loop and the Fort Morgan Loop.

The Gulf Shores-Orange Beach Loop starts at the Perdido Pass Bridge where you can see nesting snowy plovers and common loons wading in the tides. Other birds that can be seen include spot egrets and northern gannets.

The Fort Morgan Loop starts at the intersection of AL Highway 59 and AL Highway 180 near the Fort Morgan Peninsula. Here you can see water birds in the marshes.

Fort Morgan State Historic Site is located 22 miles west of Gulf Shores. The masonry fort was built between 1819 and 1833 on Mobile Point between Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The history of the fort is tied to the Battle of Mobile Bay, the Spanish-American War, and both WW I and WW II. The fort is a preserved piece of American History. You can take a self-guided tour of the fort and ground with a downloaded map highlighting the points of interest. There is also a beach area, bird-watching areas, and nature trails,

Virginia

Vacationers love Virginia Beach with its beautiful beaches. The most popular stretch of beach is north of the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier lined by hotels.

It is also the place where you’ll find the famous Neptune Statue.

The Virginia Beach Boardwalk is a wide paved walkway stretching along the oceanfront for three miles. The boardwalk is a fun place to walk, run, bike, skateboard, or just enjoy people-watching or looking out over the ocean. There are hotels, restaurants, and shops lining the waterfront behind the boardwalk,

Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center is located along the shores of Owls Creek. The aquarium has scenic outdoor areas and decks that overlook the water. Visitors enjoy seeing sharks, seals, sea turtles, otters, and rays among other sea creatures. You can also see Komodo Dragons. You can learn about the marine life that inhabits the streams, lakes, and coastal areas.

Among the highlights are the glass, walk-through Red Sea Tunnel, the unique dinosaur exhibit with mechanical moving dinosaurs, and the otter exhibit. There is a 3D movie theater. Between the two aquarium buildings is Adventure Park, a zip-lining obstacle course.

First Landing State Park is the place where English colonists first reached the American shore over 400 years ago. At the park, you can lie on the beach, hike in the forest, and paddle on the waters. Visitors can also learn about the early history of the first colonists, camp along the oceanfront, or rent a cabin in the woods.

The wide beach stretches along the Chesapeake Bay. Ocean-facing campsites are available.

The park is divided by Shore Drive separating the beach side from the forest side. You’ll find a network of trails running past huge pine trees, cypress trees, dunes, and along the waterfront of Broad Bay. If you like watersports rentals are available for jet skis, paddleboards, boats, and kayaks.

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge offers over 9,000 acres of beach, freshwater marshes, dunes, and forested areas. The refuge protects important habitats for migratory birds. There are nature trails to enjoy and you can paddleboard on the still waters. Walking paths provide access to wildlife viewing. Besides birds, you can find deer, bobcats, otters, muskrats, and other wildlife.

False Cape State Park offers undeveloped beaches, dunes, marshes, and woodlands. There are hiking trails throughout the park and primitive camping is available.

Cape Henry Lighthouse is a long-standing landmark on the Chesapeake Bay. It was built in 1792 and was the first US-government-funded lighthouse authorized by George Washington. This is a National Historic Landmark. Visitors can climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse for fantastic views over the coast.