Florida National Scenic Trail at Opal Beach
in Florida
This trail marker stands on Opal Beach in the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Florida National Scenic Trail hugs the coastline for 7 miles in this area of the park, before exiting at Navarre to the east or Pensacola Beach to the west. The northern terminus at Fort Pickens can be found about 20 miles to the west of here.
Restrooms and parking are available on site. Enjoy the relaxing walk on white sandy beaches with a breeze at your back and a beautiful view of the famous Emerald Coast.
- States
- Florida
- Trail type
- National Seashore trail
- Centroid nearest city
- New Orleans, LA · 188 mi · ~5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 30.3634°, -86.9667°
About Gulf Islands National Seashore
This trail is inside Gulf Islands National Seashore, a national seashore managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/florida-national-scenic-trail-at-opal-beach.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/guis/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Florida National Scenic Trail at Opal Beach and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Old Quarry Trail
9 miles from this trail's centroid
Old Borrow Pit Trail
9 miles from this trail's centroid
Beaver Pond Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Brown's Pond Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Brackenridge Nature Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Brackenridge Accessible Trail Beach Access
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.