Hi there!
If you are looking for a quieter less touristy area in the Florida Panhandle, then there’s a good chance that you will like Navarre Beach!
So Navarre Beach FL is one of the small Florida Panhandle beach towns along the Gulf Coast.
Navarre Beach calls itself the most relaxing place in Florida.
The road through Navarre Beach isn’t very long, but you do have another of public access spots to choose from in Navarre Beach… along with a few more located right next to Navarre Beach!
You can drive the scenic route through Navarre Beach and make a beach stop or 2 as you are driving from Pensacola Beach to Destin!
📌 Save this post for later! Save on Pinterest! 👈📌
In short, the main beach of the town of Navarre Beach FL is at the Navarre Beach pier. This is a proper beach park with facilities. There is free parking at this main Navarre Beach.
Then, if you drive west on the main road, you will come across other smaller public Navarre Beach access paths with free parking. These public beaches don’t have facilities. They are simply there to provide you access to the beach! (These are called public beach access #38C, #38B, #38A, #37C, #37B, #37A.)
The last Navarre Beach public access to the west is #37A.
If you continue driving to the west, you will leave Navarre Beach.
Then you will then end up in the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Island National Seashore, and there are several more public beach access spots including the main beach of Opal Beach!
1. Navarre Beach pier
Explore the map.
The main beach is at the Navarre Beach fishing pier. This is where you’ll find beach facilities.
First you can walk out onto Navarre Beach.
You can take the boardwalk, or you can make it a walk across sand to get to the beach!
Then, after you have checked out the beach from sea level, you can then go up to take a walk on the Navarre Beach pier for vast views of Navarre Beach and the Gulf of Mexico!
There is a cost to walk onto the Navarre Beach pier, and that is $1 per person. See current fees.
Yes, it is so worth the dollar to see the views of Navarre Beach and the Gulf of Mexico from the pier!
📌 Save this post for later! Save on Pinterest! 👈📌
At the time I went to Navarre Beach, there were lots of pelicans in the water!
From the pier, I also saw dolphins swimming off the shores of Navarre Beach!
Also at the Navarre Beach pier is Windjammers on the Pier (menu / reviews), a waterfront restaurant with open-air dining aka a restaurant to eat with VIEWS!
🌞
2. Navarre Beach public access #37A (and more)
Explore the map.
The way it goes for Navarre Beach is that there is one main beach and then smaller beach access spots.
So aside from the main beach at the Navarre Beach pier, you can continue driving down the road and you will find a number of small public beach parking lots with a path to the beach.
There are no facilities at these smaller Navarre Beach access spots.
These Navarre Beach parking lots are directly alongside the road.
And then the beach is practically right there!
There is a short path to the beach.
There is boardwalk access or you can just start your walk across the sand immediately from the parking lot!
On this particular day, there were a lot of shells at Navarre Beach public access #37A!
So yes, it’s possible to go shelling at Navarre Beach, although your experience may vary!
3. Gulf Islands National Seashore (Santa Rosa area)
Explore the map.
A national seashore is a type of national park, managed by the National Park Service.
Gulf Islands National Seashore has several different areas that are located along the Gulf coast.
One of those areas is the Santa Rose area which is right next to Navarre Beach!
Opal Beach is the main beach of the Santa Rosa area.
Whether you’re driving to Navarre Beach or away from it, you will get a scenic drive along the coast as you drive through Gulf Islands National Seashore!
There is a national park entry fee of $25 to go to Opal Beach, where you will find the conveniences of beach facilities.
If you have an annual national park pass, then that will be good for Gulf Islands National Seashore too.
Otherwise, you can also drive through the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore without passing through a national park entry station (aka without paying anything), and you will also come across some (free!) beach parking spots from which you can walk out onto the beach.
You just won’t have the beach facilities at these other beach parking spots.
See more for your Navarre Beach trip:
Driving through Navarre Beach FL
Of course you can spend an hour or 2 (or more!) at Navarre Beach.
But if you’re doing a road trip through the Florida Panhandle, it’s also easy to add Navarre Beach as a part of your drive through the Florida Panhandle!
If you’re doing a drive from Pensacola to Destin (or Destin to Pensacola!), be sure to route your directions through Navarre Beach!
Navarre Beach is the scenic route, and it will also take you through one of the areas of Gulf Islands National Seashore too!
👇 Driving towards Navarre Beach from Gulf Islands National Seashore and Pensacola Beach.
👇 Driving through Navarre Beach FL from west to east. You will find free public Navarre Beach access spots along the way. When driving from Pensacola to Destin, the Navarre Beach pier will be at near the “end” of the road!
Grocery store near Navarre Beach
And finally, on the other side of the bridge, a few minutes from Navarre Beach, there is a Publix grocery store!
You can buy some grab-and-go lunch items to eat at the beach… or just across the road from the Publix there is the Navarre Park with picnic tables that you can eat at with views of the water!
Navarre Beach dunes
And, at all of these beaches you can also see coastal dunes!
And it is just to SEE the dunes!
You don’t want to walk across the sand dunes in an effort to preserve them.
Dune grass is said to be fragile and an important part of the coastal ecosystem so take care not to step on any no matter where you are!
Can you swim at Navarre Beach?
👆 Navarre Beach in December: There were people swimming at Navarre Beach in December! On this particular day, air temperature was in the 50s! Heard: The water was getting colder the further they went out!
Yes, it’s possible to go swimming at beaches around Navarre Beach!
That is, if you can don’t think the water temperature is too cold for swimming!
In the winter, spring, and fall, the highest water temperature you will encounter will probably be in the low 60s… mid 60s if you’re lucky! 🥶
For many people, this is too cold for swimming.
But there will almost always be a few people swimming along Florida’s gulf coast even in these temperatures!
I was at another Florida Panhandle beach and there were people who had just come out of the water when the air temperature was in the 40s!!! 🥶🥶🥶
Yes that’s another thing about Navarre Beach.
In the cold weather months, you never know what type of weather you’ll get in Navarre Beach!
You can get great weather with 70s and sunny, or you can get 40s and cloudy!
The boring safety message about swimming at Navarre Beach!
In short, take care!
Swimming in Navarre Beach CAN be generally safe… IF the water is calm!
The ocean is powerful! The Gulf of Mexico is powerful!
Rip currents exist! Know before you go!
Take care out there!
Look for the beach flag warnings… and take extra caution based on the color of those beach flags!
You may see a green flag, yellow flag, or red flag.
And even if there is a beach flag indicating “calm conditions” meaning it’s relatively safe for swimming at Navarre Beach, it’s still the ocean, so take care!
And those are some ideas for making it a Navarre Beach trip!
I went to Navarre Beach in March and December 2022. Your experience may vary!
More gulf coast beaches in Florida
- Gulf Islands National Seashore
- Destin
- Henderson Beach State Park
- Grayton Beach State Park
- St Andrews State Park
- Honeymoon Island State Park
- Sanibel Island
- Captiva Island
- Marco Island
- Florida Panhandle beaches
- Southwest Florida beaches
HAPPY VISIT TO NAVARRE BEACH “THE MOST RELAXING PLACE IN FLORIDA”!
There are partner websites included in this post. I may earn a commission.