08/28/2026
Most people come to Gulf Shores and head straight toward the busiest stretches of beach.
But there's another way to reach the Gulf.
You have to walk for it.
The Pine Beach Trail runs through Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the Fort Morgan peninsula, one of the remaining protected pieces of Alabama's barrier-island environment.
And this isn't your typical walk to the beach.
The trail passes through several coastal habitats before eventually reaching the Gulf. Instead of walking out of a condo elevator and onto the sand, you're traveling through the kind of landscape that existed here before Gulf Shores became a major resort destination.
That's the real attraction.
No wall of high-rises waiting behind you.
No giant restaurant.
No souvenir shop.
Just dunes, wildlife, coastal vegetation and the Gulf of Mexico.
Bon Secour was established to protect important coastal habitat as development rapidly transformed Alabama's shoreline. Today the refuge remains a major stop for migratory birds and other wildlife.
For older Gulf Shores visitors, there's something especially interesting about seeing this.
People often say they miss when the Alabama beach was quieter and less developed.
Well, pieces of that coast still exist.
You just have to leave Highway 59 behind and go looking for them.
