A Beautiful Place: Navarre, Florida

Over ten years ago, my family discovered Navarre, Florida. With it's white, clean sandy beaches and small town atmosphere, we felt right at home. Navarre is located in the pan-handle of the state, right between Pensacola and Destin. It has over 12 miles of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see. The water is a gorgeous color of blue-green that shines like an emerald.

Sadly, when Hurricane Ivan hit a few years ago, the beaches were almost completely destroyed. With hard work and determination, the community rebuilt their beaches better than ever. They went through a 13-million dollar renourishment project that lasted a few years. Several difficulties were met along the way, though. They had the fear of more storm damage, as well as trying to protect the sea turtles and their nests. At some times, the project would come to a complete halt until the all clear was given once again to continue. As much as my family enjoyed the beach before the storm, we enjoy and appreciate it much more after. The renourishment project allowed the community to widen the beaches to 200 feet and add a 14' high natural sand barrier. Keeping with the idea of preserving, almost one million sea oats were planted on sand berms along the length of the beach. A lot has been done to restore Navarre Beach. Time, money and hard work was spent to bring it back to it's glory. Seeing the pictures before, during and after the storm and restoration really made an impact on us. As regular visitors to the area, we truly appreciate everything it took to restore the beach.

Swimming at Navarre is very enjoyable. The beaches are not as crowded as the more popular beaches in neighboring towns. A lot more quiet and peace can be found here. It's always fun to search for shells, crabs or other treasures along the shoreline. If snorkeling or diving is what you like, the water at Navarre is perfect for it. The quality of the water is near-perfect, being crystal clear on beautiful, sunny days. Floating, splashing around, wading or just soaking up the sun on the beach are other fun and relaxing options. For the fishermen/women, there's plenty of it. The pier is still a work in progress, being destroyed in Ivan, but there are plenty of local boats you can charter or you can be brave and wade out to fish. My family enjoys fishing in the Sound more than actually out in the Gulf. The water is more calm, but really murky. Most people bank fish around the Sound, but you can take out a boat or find one of the local piers. No matter what you choose to do while at the beach in Navarre, I can guarantee you'll enjoy it!

Don't think that the beach is the only attraction in the area, though. Navarre and Santa Rosa County offer so much more! Part of the 1,300 mile Florida Trail cuts through. It runs along the Gulf Islands National Seashore, north through Holley, and then into Blackwater River State Forest. There are only eight trails like this one in the United States and Navarre is lucky enough to have a share of it.

Blackwater River State Forest has around 190,000 acres of rivers, lakes, and forests. It happens to be the largest state forest in Florida. There is also plenty to be done here. Some of the most beautiful and purest sand-bottom rivers can be found in Blackwater. This makes camping and canoeing very popular. It is an area that can truly be appreciated by nature lovers. Hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking are a few other activities you can take part in. Be sure to keep your eyes open for the abundance of wildlife. Most people think of alligators when they think of Florida, but so many other animals share the space! Wild turkey, white-tailed deer, quail, squirrels, and just about any other wild animal you can think of. The city of Navarre has even had bears appear in their yards, so look for them in Blackwater! It is the perfect place to reconnect with nature, forget the rush of daily life and just remember how this country used to be - wild!

Other attractions you might want to take in while in the Navarre area include The ZOO Northwest Florida, Fort Pickens, Southern Raceway, Air Foce Armament Museum, Florida's Gulfarium, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Inc.

The ZOO is a very large, natural zoo. Unlike most zoos, this one tries hard to allow the animals to live in an area much like their natural habitat. They do have a few in zoo-like cages, but for the most part, they can be proud of what they've achieved. There is a huge area dedicated to gorillas, zebras, wolves, and other exotic animals. There are two ways in which to view this area: by pier or by train. We've been to this zoo twice and the first time we were able to walk the pier and spot most of the animals on display. It was fascinating to see the gorillas interact with each other and not be aware of our presence. We were actually across a little river and up above their island. When watching the zebras and other African native animals, it felt as if we were looking out at the wild lands of Africa. They all seemed so happy and well taken care of. The train is an extra charge to ride. We had hoped to get to go on it the last time we visited, but a storm blew up and we had to cancel those plans. If we had been able to ride it, the route would have taken us through the area of which we had overlooked on the pier. We would have been much closer to the animals. As much as we enjoyed the zoo, some of the staff weren't so friendly. I hate to say it, but they actually made us feel unwelcome. It all balanced out, though, because we did enjoy seeing the animals that we might not see in other zoos.

Another attraction we usually visit is the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. This is an educational walk through time. Learning about all of the different planes and other aircraft was almost overwhelming. There is so much to take in here, it's hard to do it in one day. There is one display that showed how prisoners of war lived in Hanoi. Some of the actual items of POW's are used and really drive the point home of how degrading and difficult it was in those camps. Letters and diaries are on display, also, making it much more personal. It is an area to stop and think about the sacrifices our military has made in the past and are still making today. The Naval Aviation Museum is not to be missed!

Florida's Gulfarium is located in Destin, not far from Bass Pro Shop. This is a fun, but fairly small aquarium. They offer various shows such as the killer whales and sea lions. The crowd favorite is probably the dolphins, though. You can enjoy watching the show from above the water, or go downstairs and watch them from below. Windows provide and area for the public to observe the dolphins, which won't disappoint you, they'll come right up to the window and say "hi". Plan on spending about half of a day there. Even though it was enjoyable, there just wasn't as much to it as we expected.

Accomodations vary in Navarre from tent camping to luxury beach homes. Our experience has been to stay at the Navarre Beach Campground. This is a very quiet campground suitable for tent campers, large RV's and cabins. Our choice is always a cabin. We easily can fit five into one. Several styles are available to choose from, including pet cabins. Our cabin came with a loft with two futon mattresses, a living room/kitchen area with a futon couch, and a private master bedroom with the only bathroom. They provide a small refrigerator, stove top, but no oven, microwave, and sink in the kitchen. They do also supply the pots and pans and all utensils. You can choose to take your own linens - sheets, blankets, towels and rags, or you can rent from the campground. This is a fantastic campground. They offer a fishing pier on the Sound, lounges on the beach, bonfires (when allowed in the pit area), paved roads, laundry facilities, pool, hot tub, game room, store and internet access. Prices are very reasonable. It is also a safe area because they do have cameras positioned at certain areas and only paying guests can get in. There is a security gate in which you have to enter an access code to get in. Security is taken very seriously here. You don't have to worry about noisy neighbors, either. They strictly enforce their "quiet time" from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. The only loud noise you might hear will be the bombers practicing at nearby Eglin Airforce Base! If you don't know to expect it, it will frighten you!

Hopefully, I've painted a clear picture of what to expect in the Navarre area. Take plenty of sunblock and get ready for some fun, rest and reconnecting if you plan to go! Remember to help keep the area as clean as you found it, too. The local residents will appreciate it.