What to See in Gulf Shores, United States: Free Audio Guide

Looking for things to do in Gulf Shores? This coastal city combines the Gulf of Mexico with beaches, wetlands, freshwater lakes, wildlife attractions, and other places shaped by Alabama’s coastal landscape. Gulf Shores is also home to a free Neywo audio guide with 18 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to see in Gulf Shores

Gulf State Park

Gulf State Park is one of the most important places to explore in Gulf Shores. This public recreation area stretches across about 6,150 acres, or 2,490 hectares, between Highway 59 and State Highway 161, with its western end reaching a wide beach area.

The park brings together several different environments: beaches, wetlands, forests, marshland, boggy streams with tea-colored water, and three spring-fed freshwater lakes. Lake Shelby is the largest, covering about 750 acres, or 300 hectares. Middle Lake and Little Lake complete the group, creating a landscape where water and forest sit side by side.

The park is managed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Park enforcement rangers provide round-the-clock security and enforce anti-littering regulations.

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo is a 25-acre wildlife attraction in Gulf Shores, home to more than 300 animals. Its collection includes giraffes, tigers, lemurs, sloths, alligators, and snakes.

The zoo opened in June 1989 as Zooland Animal Park. Its current location opened in early 2020, and the nonprofit Zoo Foundation, Inc. operates it today. Visitors can look for the petting zoo, reptile house, and aviary. During the summer, the zoo also presents daily animal shows.

The attraction became widely known as the setting for the Animal Planet program The Little Zoo That Could.

Waterville USA

Waterville USA is a water park and amusement park just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico. Covering 20 acres, or about 81,000 square meters, it combines water attractions with amusement rides and other entertainment.

The park opened in 1986 and has added numerous water and amusement attractions over the years, making it one of the livelier options among the things to do in Gulf Shores.

Little Lagoon

Little Lagoon is a shallow body of brackish water extending through Baldwin County. It stretches for approximately ten miles and averages about half a mile in width. The water is usually four to six feet deep, and the lagoon covers roughly 2,480 surface acres.

Its quiet scale and natural setting offer a different perspective on the coast from the open Gulf shoreline. Little Lagoon is part of the local landscape just beyond Gulf Shores.

Fort Morgan State Historic Site

Fort Morgan State Historic Site is a park in Baldwin County near the coast. The site stands in a remarkably flat landscape surrounded by dunes and marshland.

Its setting is an important part of the experience: the natural surroundings of the coastal plain strongly shape the character of the place. For visitors exploring beyond the city, it is one of the notable sites in the wider Gulf Shores area.

Hangout Music Festival

Hangout Music Festival, also known locally as Hangout Fest, is a three-day celebration held on the white-sand beaches of Gulf Shores. It was the first major music festival held on the beach in the city.

The main stages are the Hangout Stage and the Surf Stage, positioned at opposite ends of the beach. Other performances take place in spaces such as the Boom Boom Tent. The festival generally takes place during the third weekend in May.

Coastal waterways and islands

Several smaller natural features add to the coastal geography around Gulf Shores. Stanton Creek is a stream in Baldwin County and part of the waterways flowing toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Alligator Island, Grass Island, and South Island are islands in Baldwin County. Each offers a quieter coastal setting within the southeastern United States. They are less developed points in the landscape, useful for understanding the waterways and low-lying environments surrounding Gulf Shores.

Gulf Shores High School

Gulf Shores High School is a public school serving students in grades nine through twelve. It belongs to the Gulf Shores City Schools district and is located in Gulf Shores.

The school’s mascot is the dolphin, a symbol that gives the high school a distinctive local identity.

Jack Edwards Airport

Jack Edwards Airport is a public-use airport just north of Gulf Shores. It is also known as Gulf Shores International Airport and Jack Edwards Field.

The airport is owned by the Gulf Shores Airport Authority and is classified as a general aviation facility. Its site includes an asphalt runway measuring about 2,122 meters in length, set within the open coastal surroundings near Gulf Shores.

The coastal industrial landscape

The area around Gulf Shores also includes several energy sites. Brights Creek Gas Field is an industrial site in Baldwin County, in a flat landscape close to the coast. East Oyster Bay Gas Field is another energy site in the same low-lying coastal environment, at only about two meters above sea level.

Gulf State Park Gas Field is likewise located in Baldwin County, in a remarkably flat landscape about two meters above sea level, with the sea closest to the south. These sites form part of the broader working landscape surrounding the beaches, waterways, and protected areas.

Explore Gulf Shores with Neywo

There are no group schedules or fixed departure times to fit around. Neywo’s free audio guide for Gulf Shores includes 18 narrated places, and the app plays each story as you reach the place, at your own pace. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo to explore Gulf Shores independently: the app tells the story of each place as you arrive, with no group and no schedule. You can also continue discovering the wider Alabama region and other destinations across the United States.