Top Things to do in Mexico Beach and Cape San Blas

My family spent spring break relaxing in Mexico Beach, Florida. We explored Florida’s Forgotten Coast including Mexico Beach, Gulf County Beaches, St. Joe Beach, Port St. Joe, and Cape San Blas. I made a list of the top things to do in Mexico Beach and Cape San Blas so you can enjoy your vacation to this beautiful Florida destination as much as we did!

Learn about our road trip from Atlanta and how we spent our Week at Mexico Beach.

Beach Day!

A day at the beach is a wonderful way to relax and unwind. Bring your boogie boards, buckets, shovels, and sand toys to make a day of it! If you find something interesting on the beach and you want to know what it is, you can text a photo to the Beachcombers ID Hotline at 850-895-1519. Click the link for a slideshow of beach finds that others submitted to the hotline.

Other Fun Ways to Explore the Coast

• Get out on the water
• Charter a boat or go fishing
• Explore the Turtle Trail from from May 1st to October 31st
• Go Horseback Riding on the beach

Florida’s TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park & Cape San Blas

Explore Cape San Blas and the Saint Joseph Peninsula. Dr. Beach rated TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park as one of the top beaches in the country.  Construction projects following Hurricane Michael should be substantially complete now.  The beach is gorgeous. It is one of the few beaches I’ve visited without any development. So it was a treat to see the dunes and the Florida scrub in its natural state.  My son boogie boarded.  There were more shells here than on Mexico Beach.  My daughter and I took a long walk and collected some lovely shells. 

On the Bay side, we found shallow water teaming with wildlife. My son reached down to pick up and interesting shell and it got up and walked away! Rent kayaks or bikes to explore the flora and fauna by land and by sea in this park.

Visit this post to to learn all about how we spent our day at TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park.

Or check out the St. Joseph Bay Preserve – just south of Port Saint Joe.

Apalachicola, Florida

This historic maritime town is adorable. I quickly recognized the downtown and surrounding historic neighborhoods as the inspiration for homes designed in Seaside and Watercolor on 30A.  I picked up a Historic Apalachicola Walking Tour brochure at the Visitor’s Center. We explored a small section of the walking tour.  The architecture of the homes and churches is lovely.  A bonus is that many of these grand old Victorian homes are bed and breakfasts, where you can stay!

We visited the Ormon House and the Chapman Botanical Gardens. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the Up to No Good Tavern at the Grill.  Apalachicola has many restaurants to choose from.  We selected this one because of its diverse menu.  The menu appealed to children and adults.  The food was good. We ordered pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and a large salad.  This restaurant was packed.  In addition to restaurants, Apalachicola is home to Oyster City Brewing Company.  My husband picked up some of their beer during this trip.  I am sure that he would have enjoyed hanging out in their tasting room. 

Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Nature Center

Recommendations for this free nature center pointed out that this is where people come to see the real Florida.  The earliest Florida settlers happened upon the type of landscape that can be seen here when they first arrived. 

We began our visit by walking the boardwalk through the marshes where we explored the flora and fauna of old Florida.  We visited the Nature Center next.  A short film in the visitor’s center detailed how water in the Blue Ridge Mountains makes its way to Apalachicola Bay.  Inside the building three main types of displays show the aquatic life in the freshwater rivers, the brackish Apalachicola Bay, and finally in the Gulf of Mexico.  Our last stop was the Bay Overlook Boardwalk. 

The next time we go to this area, I would l would like to visit the Ralph G Kendrick Dwarf Cypress Boardwalk in Tate’s Hell State Forest.

Visit this post to learn about the time we spent at the Apalachicola Estuarine Nature Center.

Cape San Blas Lighthouse

I am a sucker for historical buildings and lighthouses are no exception.  The historic Cape San Blas Lighthouse and its keepers’ cottages were moved inland to Port St Joe to preserve them.  We explored the compound in Lighthouse Park. We visited the gift shop and museum in the assistant keeper’s cottage.  This is the first lighthouse that I have seen in person where it has an exterior skeletal structure. If you are up for it, you can purchase tickets to climb to the top.

Visit this post to learn more about the Cape San Blas Lighthouse.

Florida Caverns State Park

Are you looking for something to do on a rainy day? Florida Caverns State Park is a wonderful destination no matter what the weather! We took the cave tour on a rainy day. We spent about an hour touring the cave, which is the only above water cavern in Florida.  I thought that the limestone was fascinating.  At one point we could clearly see countless seashells in the ceiling and walls of the limestone cave. There was a small entrance fee to the park and additional fees for tickets to the cave tours.  This could be a day trip from the beach or a stop on your road trip. 

Visit this post to learn about our trip to Florida Caverns State Park.

Where to Eat

Port Saint Joe

Downtown Port Saint Joe is very cute.  There are many options for restaurants and different shops. We enjoyed our dinner at the Brick Wall Sports Bar & Grill. My husband and I ordered salads and the kids ordered chicken and waffles. 

Other Popular Restaurants in Port Saint Joe:

• Joe Mama’s Wood Fired Kitchen
• Sand Dollar Café
• Quatro Locos Tacos and Cantina
• Sisters’ Bistro
• Sparks Bar-B-Que & Brew

Stop at the Piggly Wiggly in Port Saint Joe for groceries.  Keep in mind that this Piggly Wiggly does not sell beer or wine.

Mexico Beach

Mango Marley’s was the only restaurant open for dinner in Mexico Beach over spring break.  They were extremely busy, but I thought that the wait staff did a great job handling the crowd.  We started with fried pickles and ranch dip, which my family enjoyed.  Then, we ordered a fried shrimp & chicken basket, a hamburger, a chicken Cesar salad, and a side of fried plantains too.  The food at Mango Marley’s is great.  We all left happy.

We enjoyed lunch at the Bad Mamma Jamma food truck. The food here was delicious.  I think that it was the best meal that we ate on the entire trip.  We ordered a hamburger, a grouper basket, the taco Tuesday special, and the Florida salad.  I highly recommend tracking down this food truck while you are on Florida’s Forgotten Coast!

Other Popular Restaurants in Mexico Beach:

• Taqueria Las Brasitas
• Tex Kitchen Mexico Beach
• Killer Seafood
• Forgotten Coast Brewing Company

Apalachicola

My family ate lunch at the Up to No Good Tavern at the Grill.  We selected this restaurant because of its diverse menu.  The menu appealed to children and adults.  The food was good. We ordered pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and a large salad.  This restaurant was packed. 

Other Popular Restaurants in Apalachicola:

• Up The Creek Raw Bar
• Hole In The Wall Seafood And Raw Bar
• Tamara’s On the Go Food Truck
• The Biscuit Factory
• The Mermaid Lounge Cafe
• Old Time Soda Fountain
• Oyster City Brewing Company
• Izzy’s Café

Plan your trip!

I hope that this list of top things to do in Mexico Beach and Cape San Blas helps you plan your trip to Florida’s Forgotten Coast. It is a beautiful area of the country and your family is sure to enjoy your time here. If you have any questions or would like to made a recommendation, please do so in the comments!

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