Hi there!
Driving directly from Pensacola to Tallahassee is around 3 hours.
You would be driving along I-10 for much of the way.
The distance from Pensacola to Tallahassee is around 200 miles by driving this quickest route.
Explore the map.
Or, you can also mostly skip the interstate and take your time and make stops along the way!
Of course there are many different ways to get from Pensacola to Tallahassee.
And a 3 hour drive is doable in one day.
Consider the list below some ideas of stops to make along the way if you want to make it a multi-day drive!
Or you might even be able to make it a long day with just 1 stop, or maybe a few more if you’re quick!
The stops can include white sand beaches and caves!
You can go to state parks, a national seashore, and a national natural landmark!
Florida road trip to state parks between Pensacola and Tallahassee
The Pensacola to Tallahassee driving route below includes a few Florida state parks.
The Florida Park Service says that you can see the “real Florida” when you go to state parks.
In general, Florida state parks have an entry fee. This is generally around $4 to $5 per car on the trip below.
If you plan on making this the year of visiting many Florida state parks, then there is also an annual Florida state park pass that you can buy when you arrive at any Florida state park that is staffed.
Florida state parks also have picnic tables so they can also make for a perfect stop for a picnic.
So stop by a Publix grocery store for prepared food or picnic food and eat your meal outdoors with views!
🌞
Now…
What is there to see between Pensacola and Tallahassee?
Explore the map. Play around with this map by adding and removing destinations to see how much of a detour (aka how much extra driving time) each stop requires!
1. Pensacola Beach pier
Cost: FREE parking for the beach + $2.25 per person for Pensacola Beach pier walking pass
Before you leave Pensacola, one last activity to see views of the gulf coast in Pensacola!
There’s a big parking lot at the main beach of Pensacola Beach, and there’s free parking.
You can use this parking lot to go to the beach.
And you can use this Pensacola Beach parking to go to walk the Pensacola Beach pier!
There is a fee to go out onto the pier. This cost for a Pensacola Beach pier walking pass is $2.25 per person. A fishing pass is $7.50 per person. See current fees.
2. Opal Beach, Gulf Islands National Seashore
Cost: FREE to drive through Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, $25 per car for entry to Opal Beach area
A national seashore is a type of a national park, similar to a national lakeshore.
National seashores are managed by the National Park Service.
Gulf Islands National Seashore has many “areas” near Pensacola.
The Santa Rosa area can be one of the most convenient to visit, because you don’t even need to get out of the car to see the amazing views of Gulf Islands National Seashore!
If you take the slow scenic route of driving out of Pensacola through Gulf Islands National Seashore, this will be a 30 minute detour.
You will be driving with views of the ocean at times! (Well, you’ll be driving with views of the Gulf of Mexico, which is an ocean basin of the Atlantic Ocean!)
If you want to make this a longer picnic stop, there is a picnic area at Opal Beach.
Opal Beach does have a national park entry fee of $25 per car.
But if you don’t already have an annual national park pass (which covers Gulf Islands National Seashore), and you don’t want to pay so much for a short stop, then there are other parking areas along the way that will give you simple beach access so you can walk out onto the sand.
You won’t encounter a national park entry station driving through the Santa Rosa area if you don’t go to Opal Beach.
For camping in Gulf Islands National Seashore, there is one campground in Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida that is in a different area, to the west.
That is the Fort Pickens Campground in the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, where you will find Langdon Beach.
Explore the map of Pensacola to Opal Beach to Tallahassee.
See more about this stop between Pensacola and Tallahassee:
3. Navarre Beach pier
Cost: FREE parking for the beach + $1 per person for Navarre Beach pier walking pass
If you have taken the route through the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, then you will end up passing the Navarre Beach pier!
Navarre Beach FL calls itself the most relaxing place in Florida.
The way it goes in Navarre Beach is that there is one main beach, and then you’ll come across some other beach access spots at you’re driving along the main road.
You can stop at those other beach access stops, which you will pass as you are driving from Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The “main beach” is the beach at the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier.
There’s a big parking lot here, and there’s free parking.
You can use this parking lot to go to the beach, and you can use it to go to walk the Navarre Beach pier!
There is a fee to go out onto the pier. This cost for a Navarre Beach pier walking pass is $1 per person. A fishing pass is $7 per person. See current fees.
Explore the map of Pensacola to Navarre Beach to Tallahassee.
Now, leaving the gulf coast, we will start driving inland.
But if you haven’t spent a few days along the gulf coast, you may not want to go inland just yet!
Further to the east along the coast, there’s Destin and Panama City Beach if you don’t want to leave the white sand beaches of the gulf coast just yet!
Florida state parks with beautiful white sand beaches along this stretch:
- Henderson Beach State Park
- Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
- Grayton Beach State Park
- St Andrews State Park
These state parks also have campgrounds… if you can manage to get a reservation!
These state parks are known to be difficult to find campsite availability.
It can often depend on getting lucky and searching shortly after someone cancels a reservation!
It will be easier to find availability for a 1 night stay. But even then, there’s often no availability.
You can check availability and make camping reservations through the official Florida State Parks camping reservation website.
For another form of overnight lodging in Florida state parks, there are also the Topsail Hill Preserve State Park bungalows… again, if you can manage to get lucky!
See more about planning your drive between Pensacola and Tallahassee:
- What to pack for a trip to Florida beaches
- Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle
- Best state parks in the Florida Panhandle
- Best campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle
Okay, now heading inland…
4. Ponce de Leon Springs State Park
Cost: $4 per car
There are said to be over 1,000 springs in Florida!
Many of these Florida springs are for swimming, and that includes the Ponce de Leon Springs.
Florida State Parks says the water temperature of Ponce de Leon Springs is a constant 68 degrees year-round.
This means that in theory, you can go swimming in Florida springs any time of year, as long as you don’t mind the cooler air temperature outside of summer!
Bring goggles so you can see the underwater life! (You can bring snorkeling gear if you have it!)
You may also consider wearing a swimming shirt with UV protection for swimming in the Florida springs too.
NOTE: Not to be confused with De Leon Springs State Park, which is another Florida State Park!
Explore the map of Pensacola to Ponce de Leon Springs State Park to Tallahassee.
See more about planning your drive between Pensacola and Tallahassee:
5. Falling Waters State Park
Cost: $5 per car
At the Falling Waters State Park entry, there’s a sign that says what the water flow of the waterfalls is like.
When I went in March, the water flow was listed as moderate.
Well, when I arrived at the upper waterfalls overlook, it looked more like a trickle to me.
Even so, going down to the lower waterfalls overlook was a wow feeling when you look down the sinkhole where the waterfalls “fall” into!
For camping, there is the Falling Waters State Park campground.
Explore the map of Pensacola to Falling Waters State Park to Tallahassee.
6. Florida Caverns State Park
Cost: $5 per car for state park entry + $11 per person for cave tour
The Florida Caverns Natural Area is a National Natural Landmark, as designated by the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Interior.
You can see a variety of rock formations by walking through the cave underground.
The only way to take a walk through the underground cave is through a Florida Caverns State Park cave tour.
This lasts about an hour.
The cave tours can only be bought in person on the same day, and it’s said that they can sell out. See the current info.
This means that it can be a risk to show up later in the afternoon. But it all depends on how busy the caves are on the day you go. You will likely have a better chance during the week.
Although, when I arrived on a Sunday late afternoon in March, there were cave tour tickets still available.
So when I went, it wasn’t all that busy.
Also note that no cave tours are offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. See the current schedule.
Florida Caverns State Park is in the central time zone. Tallahassee is in the eastern time zone.
While the cave tour is THE reason to go to Florida Caverns State Park, if it turns out you have some time before your cave tour (or want to make time afterwards), there are a couple of above ground things to do in Florida Caverns State Park.
You can hike the Bluff Trail to the Tunnel Cave (above ground) and beyond.
And you can also see and/or go swimming at Blue Hole Spring.
Florida State Parks says the water temperature of Blue Hole Spring is a constant 64 degrees year-round.
And then of course, as a Florida state park, you can always go for a picnic!
Also note that Florida Caverns State Park was in large part destroyed by category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018.
According to Florida State Parks:
Florida Caverns State Park lost more than 90% of its thick canopied forest.
There are parts of Florida Caverns State Park where this destruction can still be seen.
When I went in March 2022, the cave tour guide noted that after you exit the cave at the end of the tour, you can still see the downed trees there.
Camping near Florida Caverns:
- Florida Caverns State Park campground
- Falling Waters State Park campground (30 minutes away to the west towards Pensacola)
- Three Rivers State Park campground (30 minutes away to the east towards Tallahassee)
- Torreya State Park campground (1 hour away to the east towards Tallahassee)
Falling Waters and Three Rivers are in central time zone. Torreya is in eastern time zone.
At Three Rivers State Park campground, just across the lake is Georgia in eastern time. My phone was showing eastern time in Three Rivers State Park! (I also had limited to no service there, by the way.)
If you look at a map, the Apalachicola River divides the central time zone and eastern time zone in Florida.
For hotels near Florida Caverns, there are chain hotels in Marianna FL (closest to Florida Caverns) and Chipley FL (30 minutes away to the west).
Pensacola to Florida Caverns State Park is around a 2 hour and 15 minute drive.
Florida Caverns State Park to Tallahassee is around a 1 hour and 15 minute drive.
Explore the map of Pensacola to Florida Caverns State Park to Tallahassee.
See more about this stop between Pensacola and Tallahassee:
- Florida Caverns State Park cave tours
- Florida Caverns State Park springs
- Florida Caverns State Park camping
And then you can continue driving to Tallahassee!
👆 Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee
And that’s a bit about driving from Pensacola to Tallahassee!
I did a drive in the area between Pensacola and Tallahassee in March 2022. Your experience may vary! Things may change!
If you are head south next, then also see: Driving from Tallahassee to Orlando
HAPPY DRIVING FROM PENSACOLA TO TALLAHASSEE!
Here's some info on Florida trip prep!
- Things to do in the Florida Panhandle for VIEWS!
- Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle
- Best state parks in the Florida Panhandle
- Best campgrounds in the Florida Panhandle
- Driving from Florida Panhandle to Orlando
- Best Ocala National Forest springs
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
- Things to do in the Florida Keys