Things to do
The beach is the headliner; this is everything else. Attractions and family fun, the trail system that wins national awards, free museums and parks, the art scene, and the community spots that don't advertise because locals already know. On the water instead? That's its own page.
Attractions & family fun
From the volcano mini golf to the little zoo that could.
Adventure Island
The five-story volcano on the Orange Beach strip — 30 years of mini golf, go-karts, and arcade noise.
Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
The Little Zoo That Could — 118 species and animal encounters, 15 minutes from Orange Beach.
Big Lagoon State Park
Inland state park on the bay side. Protected lagoon for paddling, observation tower, nature trails, campsites. The non-beach beach day.
Gulf State Park
6,000+ acres of Alabama state park bridging Gulf and bay. The Backcountry Trail, the pier, the lodge, the freshwater lake, the campground. The whole-day-on-paper park.
National Naval Aviation Museum
Free, world-class, indoor. Dozens of aircraft, real Blue Angels jets, an IMAX. The closest thing to a museum-must on the Gulf Coast.
OWA Parks & Resort
The amusement park in Foley. Outdoor coasters + indoor waterpark + Downtown OWA shopping district. The rainy-day answer for a family.
Perdido Key State Park
The day-use Florida state park at the west end of the Drive. Gulf-front beach with parking, restrooms, lifeguards, and the only public boardwalk system on the Key.
Pirate's Island Adventure Golf
36 holes of pirate golf built around a waterfall, a cave, and Blackbeard's ship.
The Track Family Fun Park
Six go-kart tracks and the Wild Woody — three and a half stories of wooden ramp since 1993.
The Wharf at Orange Beach
Marina + amphitheater + shopping + dining + ferris wheel + mini golf. The 'a lot at once' Gulf Coast option. Pre-concert dinner or rainy-afternoon kid plan.
Free & local
Parks, museums, and the spots that cost nothing and deliver anyway.
Barber Marina
A serious working marina on Arnica Bay that happens to have Stonehenge and dinosaurs in the woods.
Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach
A free 10,000-square-foot gallery on Wolf Bay where you can also blow your own glass.
Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail
Twenty-eight paved miles through the wild Alabama that was here before the condos.
Orange Beach History Museum
The town's whole story — Native American to fishing village — in a 1910 schoolhouse behind City Hall.
Orange Beach Public Library
The rainy-day answer with kids that costs exactly nothing — and a genuine locals' hub the rest of the year.
Perdido Kids Park
The free community playground where the Blue Angels are the entertainment.
Move a little
The rec center, the pool, and the fitness options that aren't a hotel gym.
Orange Beach Aquatics Center
A real Junior-Olympic pool with a diving well and a tube slide, for the price of a gas-station sandwich.
