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Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore

Photo: Ebyabe / CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Beaches

Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore

Pensacola Beach, FL · Panhandle$$25 per vehicle, good for 7 days; $15 on foot or bike

About

Geronimo was a prisoner at Fort Pickens in the 1880s, put to work for about a year and a half at the brick fort across the bay from downtown Pensacola. The Army forced enslaved Black men to build it. Its walls, finished in 1834, rise about 40 feet from the bottom of the dry ditch. Langdon Beach is the one to swim at, with a lifeguard from Memorial Day to Labor Day, though the park rates the whole area high risk for rip currents. The Fort Pickens gate is open from 8 a.m. to sunset, and park roads often flood deep enough to stop a low car.

Highlights

Brick fort finished in 1834Langdon Beach, guarded Memorial Day to Labor DayFishing pier, no license neededTent and RV campgroundSeasonal ferry from Pensacola

Getting there

1400 Fort Pickens Rd, Pensacola Beach, FL 32561

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