Located along the eastern shore of St. Joseph Bay on the Florida Panhandle, Port St. Joe is a small beach town with a gleaming white coastline protected by the St. Joseph Peninsula. The once-busy port town has a more relaxed vibe than the high-rise hotels and resorts that dominate many of Florida’s coastal towns. The area’s quiet beaches provide excellent wildlife viewing opportunities — you may encounter armadillos and egrets at nearby T. H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park — while the calm bay waters remain clear for the majority of the year, offering refreshing swims as well as opportunities for kayaking and snorkeling.

Fishing is a big draw in the region, with plenty of piers and boating experiences available if you’re keen to try your luck for scallops or mahi-mahi. When the temperatures cool off in the evenings, you can stroll along one of the town’s many walking trails or explore its historic downtown, which is home to clothing boutiques, antique shops, and restaurants serving up seafood feasts.

Long, hot summers and short, cool winters are typical of this part of Florida. Summer is a popular time to enjoy the beach and cool off on the water in a kayak or boat, but it is not an easy season for spending time outdoors on land — the temperature and humidity are at their peak from late May through early October. Early spring and late fall offer pleasant temperatures, making them excellent times to look for rentals in Port Saint Joe if you plan on hiking or biking around the Florida coast. Winter, by contrast, is cooler than southern Florida but rarely cold enough to even require a heavy jacket. The consistently warm weather means that there are year-round events and festivals in Port St. Joe and its surrounding areas. During the summer, you can enjoy the Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Festival, which takes place each June with live music, food, and drinks and raises money for the endangered turtles. If you’re here in the fall, check out the Blast on the Bay Songwriters Festival, which showcases big-name country music artists for a weekend every October.

T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

Fewer than 30 minutes from Port St. Joe on the St. Joseph Peninsula, a thin strip of land that stretches 20 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, this scenic state park covers more than 2,700 acres, home to pristine white-sand beaches and maritime forests. Canoeing and kayaking on the calm bay waters are popular ways to see the park’s tall sand dunes, some of the oldest and tallest in Florida. The park has a boat ramp, three hiking trails, a paved bike trail, and a place to enjoy a picnic.

Constitution Convention Museum

The Constitution Convention Museum in downtown St. Joe features exhibits and displays detailing the drafting of Florida’s first constitution in 1838, including lifesize talking mannequins that provide a reenactment of the debate. A collection of artifacts from the former town of St. Joseph, where Florida’s first State Constitution Convention was held, are also on display.

George Core Park

Commonly referred to as Lighthouse Park, George Core Park is home to the Cape San Blas Lighthouse, which was relocated from Cape San Blas in 2014 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The park’s sandy shoreline is a great place to hunt for seashells or launch a kayak, and there are excellent places to fish as well as shaded picnic areas.