Author's posts
Sep 26
Where to Stay in Orange Beach
Choosing where to stay in Orange Beach is less about finding one perfect hotel and more about deciding what kind of beach vacation you want. If you picture waking up to the Gulf, walking directly onto the sand, and spending afternoons beside a resort pool, look along Perdido Beach Boulevard. If dolphin cruises, fishing charters, …
Sep 25
Dauphin Island Travel Guide
Dauphin Island offers a very different kind of Alabama beach vacation. There are no rows of towering resorts dominating the shoreline, no major entertainment district, and far less of the bustle associated with larger Gulf Coast destinations. Instead, Dauphin Island is defined by quiet beaches, bird habitat, fishing boats, bike paths, historic sites, maritime forest, …
Sep 24
Best Things to Do on Dauphin Island
Dauphin Island is the kind of beach destination where many of the best things to do involve slowing down. Instead of large resorts, crowded entertainment districts, and a packed schedule of attractions, the island offers quiet beaches, historic fortifications, maritime forests, migratory birds, fishing piers, bike rides, kayaking, marine-life exhibits, and some of the best …
Sep 23
Gulf Shores vs. Dauphin Island: Which Alabama Beach Destination Is Right for You?
Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island both offer white-sand beaches along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, but the vacations they provide feel surprisingly different. Gulf Shores is the more developed beach destination. It has a recognizable beachfront center, numerous restaurants and attractions, large condominium developments, family entertainment, public beaches with seasonal lifeguards, and easy access to Gulf State …
Sep 22
Fort Morgan, Alabama Travel Guide
Fort Morgan offers one of the quieter ways to experience Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Drive west from Gulf Shores along Fort Morgan Road and the landscape gradually changes. Condominiums and busy tourism districts become less dominant. Vacation homes, dunes, marshes, woods, wildlife habitat, and long stretches of open coastline begin to take over. Eventually, the road …
Sep 21
What Do Beach Warning Flags Mean?
You arrive at the beach, look toward the lifeguard tower, and see a yellow flag snapping in the wind. Can you swim? What if the flag is red? What does purple mean? And is a green flag basically permission to stop worrying? Beach warning flags are designed to communicate current hazards quickly, but understanding them …
Sep 20
What Is a Rip Current?
A rip current is a strong, narrow flow of water moving away from the shore through the surf zone. It is one of the most important beach hazards to understand because rip currents can occur even when the weather is sunny, the waves do not look particularly large, and plenty of other people are swimming. …
Sep 19
How to Escape a Rip Current
If you suddenly realize the beach is getting farther away even though you are swimming toward it, you may be caught in a rip current. The most important thing to know is surprisingly simple: Do not try to overpower the current. Rip currents carry water away from shore. They do not pull swimmers underneath the …
Sep 18
How to Check Ocean Conditions Before Going to the Beach
A weather app showing sunshine and 82°F does not necessarily mean it is a good day to swim in the ocean. Beach conditions depend on much more than whether it is raining. Rip-current risk, wave height, tides, wind, thunderstorms, water-quality advisories, marine-life warnings, beach closures, and local warning flags can all affect whether entering the …
Sep 17
When Is the Ocean Too Rough for Swimming?
The ocean does not need to look stormy to be too rough for swimming. Large breaking waves are an obvious warning, but dangerous conditions can also include strong rip currents, powerful shorebreak, rapidly changing swells, high winds, and currents that are difficult to see from the beach. There is also no single wave height that …
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