Must visit places in Destin, Florida: Great beach town with plenty of things to do!

 

Sunset from Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, Florida

When I was thinking about places to visit for my wife and myself’s 8 week long road trip through the American South, we honestly didn’t know much about Destin, Florida.  It looked to be just another beautiful beach town on the Gulf Coast, and there are so many of them.

My opinion of the place started to change when I read that Destin was listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Florida, with emerald green colored ocean and fine, white sands.  It seemed like a perfect place to visit on our way over to points west including Gulf Shores (AL) and Biloxi (MS).

We booked a two night stay at the SummerPlace Inn, situated on the main thoroughfare, Emerald Coast Parkway.  The unassuming but affordable hotel (paid about $95 per night with breakfast) was a fine place to bunk for two nights and we even had a nice balcony overlooking the main road with a peek of ocean in the distance.

We spent several hours sitting out there, listening to the rhythm of the city with playful seagulls loudly singing and the distant sound of ocean breaking surf.  Although the main thoroughfare was loud thanks to us checking in on a Saturday night (December 30th) with New Year’s Eve just the following night, we still got to enjoy the unique sounds, smells, and sights from that balcony.  

Christmas tree in the lobby

View from our balcony 

Nice room with a comfy couch

SummerPlace Inn, Destin 

View in the evening from the balcony 

We left our hotel in Jacksonville on the morning of December 30th for Destin.  At distance of around 330 miles, the drive would take about 5 hours.  We took the then very familiar I-10 interstate highway westbound, made familiar thanks to our cross country road trip back in winter of 2022, when we took the same highway to visit places in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.  

As we racked up mile after mile along one of the most traveled roads in America, we again marveled at the great engineering marvel that is the American interstate highway system.  As much as some Americans complain about the deteriorating infrastructure in America these days, we could see first hand that there are constant repairs being made on these highways.

We felt proud living in the United States, being able to travel at will, covering distances that just 100 years ago would’ve been impossible to even contemplate.  We thanked the interstate highway system for allowing us to live our nomadic lifestyle, of constantly moving around and about, oftentimes going north, south, west, and east all in one calendar year. 

As we were driving, we took in the ever changing scenery, of low lying areas, wetlands, swamps, with plenty of flora seen only in the south, like palm trees, palmetto trees, and Spanish Moss trees.  As we passed signposts for places like Tallahassee and Panama City, we saw Destin was fast approaching.

We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 p.m. but found out we couldn’t check in until 4 p.m.  We made a quick decision to spend some time at one of the top attractions in the city: Henderson Beach State Park.  It worked out great, because had we not seen that beautiful emerald green colors of the ocean during the daytime, we wouldn’t have known why Destin is such a popular destination for beach lovers.

  • Henderson Beach State Park 
Located just off the main thoroughfare, Emerald Coast Pkwy, Henderson Beach State Park is our favorite attraction in Destin.  It features beautiful emerald green ocean with fine, white sands for miles.  Added bonus of constant warm water temperatures on the Gulf Coast adds to the overall appeal of the park.

We drove not more than 5 minutes from our soon-to-check-in hotel (SummerPlace Inn) to the state park.  We paid a very reasonable $6 to enter the park.

We found plenty of parking spots right near the beach, and walked out to see the majestic views of the beach!  Wow, we loved the colors of the ocean at the park, and it absolutely was one of the most beautiful beaches we’ve seen!

Henderson Beach State Park, Destin, FL




The fine, white sands reminded us of Kailua Beach on the island of Oahu (Hawaii) where we used to often visit during our 2+ years of living there.  Beach was just about amazing…We were glad we stopped by.

The perfect, fine white sand!


We decided to walk along the shore to properly explore the beach.  If you love the beach, Henderson Beach State Park is one of the best beaches out there in all of America.

After few minutes of walking on that fine sand, we decided we needed to do some hiking to really acquaint ourselves to the park.  We walked back towards our parked car, then walked further down until we saw a sign for a hiking trail.

The trail, at just around .75 mile loop, was a perfect place to hike on a beautiful late December afternoon in Florida with temperatures right around 60 degrees.  We followed fellow hikers and explorers onto the trail.

With the sun starting to make its way down the clear blue skies, the ambiance was just amazing.  We hiked slowly taking in all the little peculiarities of the trail, with their many scrubs, including various oak tree species (Myrtle oaks, sand live oaks, and sand pines).  



We completed our hike in under 20 minutes feeling rejuvenated by the hike and feeling great to be in Destin, specifically, at the Henderson Beach State Park!

We loved the park so much that after we checked in to our hotel, we went back to check out the sunset, which was epic!  There is nothing quite like watching the sun set on the beach, smelling the briny saltwater in the air with the still warm sun hitting your face.  Yup, we live for these moments…

Here are some of our favorite sunset pictures at the beach.




  • Harborwalk Village (Destin Harbor Boardwalk)

Harborwalk Village is quite possibly the focal point of the city, with its many dining/shopping/entertainment options.  We were impressed by its sheer size, situated along the beautiful Destin Harbor and the Gulf Coast.  

We found free parking on the day of our visit (New Year’s Eve Day) which was to our delight, then walked towards the village.  The place looked brand new, with clean walkways and sights galore.  We loved the Destin Bridge/William T. Marler Bridge on our right, with the popular Norriego Point right across the harbor.  

Views from the second floor at the Harborwalk 


We walked slowly through the area, seeing throngs of people on a busy New Year’s Eve day.  There were tons of buzz around the area, with people enjoying themselves at bars and restaurants, or brave ones trying their hands at zip line or rock climbing.

The place was already packed and getting busier by the minute!  We walked upstairs to get a better view of the place and we had made the right decision.  Views were fantastic, with much less people.

One of many restaurants at the Harborwalk Village

Zip line in the distance 


We came downstairs to see the waterfront area/marina facing Destin Harbor, and we saw all the water activities available at the marina, along with more bars/restaurants.  We loved seeing across the harbor to Norriego Point, a popular hangout for locals with a nice beach facing the Gulf.


Harborwalk Marina

Norriego Point, across from Harborwalk Village 


We walked along the marina until it looped back around to the main drag at the Harborwalk Village, and saw kid friendly activities like train rides.  Nice touch!


We went to the end of the village, which was not more than half mile, then turned around to get back to our hotel.  We seriously needed to rest after exploring Harborwalk Village and one other attraction prior to this visit on the same day.  It was really a fun day in the Sunshine State!

In conclusion:

Although we had not previously heard of Destin Florida, we were glad we stopped by to spend two wonderful days seeing the city.  Destin is a world class beach town with a fantastic beach, plenty of dining and entertainment options at the Harborwalk Village, with a lively beach resort vibe especially along the Emerald Coast Pkwy.

The emerald green colors of the Gulf Coast and that fine white sands were simply magnificent, and fairly uncommon elsewhere, unless you’re near the equator.  I for sure, know ocean doesn’t look like that on the east coast where I grew up.  It was absolutely stunning to see that beach…

We highly recommend Destin on your list of places to visit in Florida.  There are much to do and see!

Thank you for reading and keep up with us on our continuing adventures through the American South.


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 



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