Perdido Key & Orange Beach, the way it actually is.
One beach, split by a state line. Today's flag, what's biting, where to eat, and which bar has the goats — from people who live here, for everyone who wishes they did.
The Key Today · Thursday, June 18
Live conditions loading — and either way, the sign at your beach access is the official word.
Grab boudin and hit the beach early, before the umbrellas go up.
It actually looks like this. Right now.
Not a stock photo. Not a rental listing. Not "sugar-white sand." Just the live Gulf at Perdido Key — glassy, churned-up, or flat-out closed.
Live Perdido Key webcam. Not loading, or dark? open it on YouTube ↗ — it may just be night on the coast.
Latest
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 13: condo-cooking a Gulf seafood dinner
Vol. 13 of Sand in the Coffee walks you through turning a condo kitchenette and the best local seafood sources into a dinner that beats half the restaurants on the strip.
The Salt Line, Vol. 4: Birds, Barons, and a Department of Transportation Having a Lie-Down
Vol. 4 of The Salt Line is here, and this week a hummingbird showed more ambition than an entire Florida state agency — and roughly the same road-planning instincts.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 12: the bay side you keep ignoring
Volume 12 makes the case that the most underused square mile on this whole barrier island isn't on the Gulf side at all — it's the calm, warm, green water sitting right behind you.
That water color is real. No filter required.
Photo: Pexels
Got a better shot? Prove it.
Sunrises, dog-on-the-beach portraits, that fish you swear was bigger — send us your best from the Key or Orange Beach and we'll run our favorites right here, credited to you.
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Perdido Key Drive
The strip. Gulf-front high-rises, the Sandshaker, and the smell of fryer oil drifting south.
Johnson Beach / Gulf Islands
The undeveloped end. National park rules apply. Bring shade — there isn't any.
Innerarity Point
Bay side. Where locals drink. Hub Stacey's, Pirate's Cove, and a sunset that beats the Gulf for half the year.
Sorrento / Bauer Road
The inland part. Where the Publix is. Where everyone who actually lives here goes for cat litter.
The Flora-Bama Line
Two states, one parking lot. The Mullet Toss, the Songwriters, the line. Where the Key is, in spirit.
Ono Island
Gated, quiet, and across a bridge. Locals live here. Tourists do not, on purpose.
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