Hi there!
So Perdido Key State Park is one of the many spots where you can get gulf coast beach access while driving through Perdido Key.
This is located pretty close to the the Florida – Alabama border.
From Perdido Key State Park, drive for 5 minutes to the west, and you are in Alabama. (map)
Which then also means that if you’re coming from Alabama from the direction of Orange Beach AL or Gulf Shores AL, then once you cross the border, it’s 5 minutes until you get to Perdido Key State Park!
By going to the Perdido Key State Park beach, 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 Perdido Key State Park in an effort to preserve them.
The dunes are also considered a nesting area for shore birds.
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!
Beach facilities at Perdido Key State Park
Most notably beach facilities means that there is a bathroom.
There are also basic outdoor beach showers at the Perdido Key State Park beach so you can rinse off sand.
Lifeguards at Perdido Key State park
There are no lifeguards at the Perdido Key State Park beach.
The beach is open without lifeguards… at your own risk!
There is no lifeguard, but you can go swimming in Perdido Key State Park.
That is, if you can don’t think the water temperature is too cold!
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 beach access spot on Perdido Key, and there were people who had just come out of the water when the air temperature was in the 40s!!! 🥶🥶🥶
As one of them said… when you’re in the water it’s not so bad, but it’s coming out of the water that you’ll feel it!
The boring safety message for swimming at Perdido Key State Park and any of the Perdido Key beaches!
The ocean 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 those beach flags!
You will see a beach flag as you approach the state park entry station at the beach parking lot.
It will be a green flag, yellow flag, or red flag.
And there will also be one as you approach the beach.
Cost to visit the Perdido Key State Park beach
In order to go to a Perdido Key State Park beach, you’ll need to pass through a state park entry station.
So the cost of the beach is the cost of entry into Perdido Key State Park. This is around $3 a car for a one-day pass. See current fees.
👆 In 2022, the cost of Perdido Key State Park was $3 a car.
If you plan to make this a year of going to a ton of Florida state parks, then there is also the Florida state parks annual pass.
There is no camping in Perdido Key State Park.
There is not a Perdido Key State Park campground.
For Florida state park camping in Pensacola, there is the Big Lagoon State Park campground.
From the Big Lagoon State Park campground to Perdido Key State Park is around a 15 minute drive. (map)
For national seashore camping in Pensacola, there is the Fort Pickens campground in the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
From the Fort Pickens campground to Perdido Key State Park is around a 1 hour drive. (map)
For Alabama state park camping, there is the Gulf State Park campground in Gulf Shores AL.
From Gulf Shores to Perdido Key State Park is around a 20 minute drive. (map)
More below about getting to Perdido Key State Park beach parking!
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Perdido Key State Park
My visit to Perdido Key State Park was in March 2022.
Your experience may vary!
Unfortunately when I went to Perdido Key State Park the weather was not the best. Although you see blue skies, there was a storm coming later! It was very windy (and cold) on Perdido Key this particular morning.
Getting to Perdido Key State Park beach parking
The Perdido Key State Park is on google maps, and so it the west parking area and east parking area.
You will be fine by using any of the above for navigation since it will all get you to the same road to Perdido Key State Park.
So once you are on Perdido Key, getting to Perdido Key State Park is pretty easy.
The Perdido Key State Park beach parking is located directly along the main road of Perdido Key.
There are 2 “areas” in Perdido Key State Park: the east area and the west area.
The east area was closed when I went, so this is a bit of what the west area of Perdido Key State Park is like.
There is probably not much difference between the east area and west area. It will just get you to a different part of the beach.
So as you are driving along the main road of Perdido Key, you will see a sign that you are entering Perdido Key State Park.
Then you can start looking for the turn-off onto the Perdido Key State Park beach parking area.
And then once you turn into the parking area, there will be the state park entry station and you will stop to pay here.
And then you will arrive at the Perdido Key State Park beach parking lot!
Then after you park, you can head for the beach!
Beachcombing and shelling at Perdido Key State Park
I wasn’t looking very hard for shells, but I did find some small shells with a bit of a quick look around.
So for shelling in Florida, you might try beachcombing at Perdido Key State Park!
And that’s a bit about going to Perdido Key State Park
More of Perdido Key:
More gulf coast beaches in the Florida Panhandle
- Gulf Islands National Seashore
- Henderson Beach State Park
- Grayton Beach State Park
- St Andrews State Park
- Best beaches in the Florida Panhandle
More of the Florida Panhandle and beyond
- Driving from Pensacola to Tallahassee with nature stops
- Driving from Pensacola to Orlando with nature stops
HAPPY GOING TO THE PERDIDO KEY STATE PARK BEACH!
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