LOCAL GUIDE

A Local’s Guide to Navarre Beach, Florida

I grew up here and I photograph on this beach most weeks of the year. If you are visiting for a session, or just visiting, this is where I would send you. No sponsorships, no affiliate links, just the places I actually recommend to families who ask me what else to do while they are here.

By Amber Hubbard · Updated September 2026

First, what makes Navarre different

Navarre Beach sits on Santa Rosa Island between Pensacola Beach and Fort Walton Beach, and it is the quiet one. No high-rise wall along the sand, no strip of neon, far fewer people. Much of the island either side of the developed stretch is protected as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which is why it still feels like this.

For families that means you can find open sand without walking far, and for photographs it means clean horizons and backgrounds that are not full of strangers.

Navarre Beach Fishing Pier

The pier runs a long way out over the Gulf and is the landmark everyone photographs. You can walk it for a small fee, fish from it, and on a good day watch rays, turtles and dolphins pass underneath. It also makes a striking backdrop from the sand, and I use it in sessions when families want something recognisably Navarre.

Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

Small, free to enter, and genuinely lovely with children. It sits by the marine park on the sound side and focuses on sea turtle rescue and education, with resident turtles and staff who are happy to talk to curious kids. If you are visiting between roughly May and October you are in nesting season, which is also why you will see marked nests roped off along the beach. Please give them a wide berth.

Navarre Beach Marine Park

On the sound side of the island, with boardwalks, calm shallow water and easy access. The sound is far gentler than the Gulf side, which makes it the better choice for toddlers and for anyone who wants to paddle without waves. There are snorkelling reefs offshore here too.

Sand Dollar Pavilion

My default session location, and worth knowing about even if you never book with me. Public parking, a boardwalk over the dunes so you are not wading through soft sand, and restrooms. It is the easiest access point on the beach if you are carrying children, chairs and a cooler.

Practical things worth knowing

Beach flags. Take them seriously. Gulf rip currents are real and the flag system is not decorative. Double red means the water is closed.

Sea oats and dunes. Stay on the boardwalks. The dunes are what protect the island in a storm and the sea oats holding them together are protected by law.

Turtle-friendly light. During nesting season, keep beachfront lights low or shielded at night and fill in any holes you dig before you leave. Hatchlings navigate by light and fall into holes.

Parking. It fills on summer weekends and holiday weeks. Earlier is easier, and for an evening session you will usually be arriving as the day crowd leaves.

Sunset direction. The island faces south, so the sun sets down the beach to your right rather than straight out to sea. Worth knowing if you are planning your own photographs.

Planning your trip

For accommodation, dining and current event listings the two places I would actually check are the Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, which keeps a directory of local businesses, and Visit Florida’s Navarre guide. Both are kept more current than anything I could maintain here.

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