Why the eastern tip of Panama City Beach keeps beating every other Florida beach

Florida’s quartz sand, gators, and Shell Island

At the far eastern tip of Panama City Beach, a peninsula juts out between the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrews Bay, and it holds one of Florida’s most visited state parks.

The sand here is different from most Florida beaches, and the water runs a color that stops people mid-step.

There’s a man-made lake full of alligators, a shuttle to a seven-mile island with no buildings on it, and a jetty where two WWII gun mounts still stand. You haven’t even heard the best part yet.

Sand made from mountains, ranked among the best in America

The sand at St. Andrews is quartz, ground down from the Appalachian Mountains and carried south over millions of years. It runs white and fine for over 1.5 miles, from the Gulf Pier to the jetty.

Dr. Beach named it America’s best beach in 1995, and it still landed at No. 7 on his 2025 top 10 list. The park sits where the Gulf and St. Andrews Bay meet, so the water wraps around the peninsula on both sides.

Walk to the Gulf side and the water runs emerald clear.

A shipwrecked hermit who never left

Native Americans came here long before any state park existed, harvesting shellfish from the surrounding waters for centuries.

Then, in 1929, a Norwegian sailor named Theodore Tollofsen shipwrecked on this stretch of shore during a hurricane. He stayed.

He built a cabin from the wreckage of his own boat, lived off fishing, and earned the nickname “Teddy the Hermit.” He died here in 1954 at age 74, never having left.

Florida bought the original 302.87 acres in 1947, and the park opened to the public in 1951.

The gun mounts and the calm lagoon behind the jetty

Walk to the end of the park and you hit the jetty, one of the most-visited spots in the whole park.

Two circular gun mounts from World War II still stand near the rocks, where the Army once positioned 155mm guns to watch for German submarines in the Gulf. One sits under a pavilion now.

Behind the jetty, a shallow lagoon the locals call the “kiddie pool” stays calm and clear, protected from the open Gulf. Families with small children make a point of finding this spot.

Snorkel the jetty rocks with the fish and rays

The jetty draws more than fishermen and sunset watchers.

Snorkelers work both sides of the rocks, the Gulf side and the lagoon side, where fish and rays move through water clear enough to see everything.

You can rent snorkeling gear from concession stores inside the park, so you don’t have to haul your own. Scuba divers explore the rock formations along the inlet and out toward the open Gulf.

If you want even more open water with nobody around, Shell Island’s waters wait just across the channel.

Cast a line from the pier, the jetty, or the surf

St. Andrews gives you multiple ways to fish. Two piers stretch out over the water, and the jetty adds another option.

If you’d rather stand in the surf, the beaches work for that too. Spanish mackerel, redfish, flounder, sea trout, and bluefish all run through these waters.

Near one of the piers on Grand Lagoon, a concession stand sells bait and tackle so you don’t have to plan too far ahead.

You’ll need a Florida saltwater fishing license, and the double-sided boat ramp on Grand Lagoon gives you quick Gulf access if you’re coming in by water.

Gator Lake has more residents than you’d expect

Gator Lake was born by accident. When the Army Corps of Engineers dredged the St. Andrews channel between 1933 and 1934, the digging left a freshwater lake behind. Alligators moved in and stayed.

You can see them sunning on the banks most mornings, or gliding through the dark water if you’re patient. But the alligators share this place.

A great blue heron rookery calls the lake home, and bald eagles, Cooper’s hawks, and great horned owls feed and roost in the maritime hammock forest around it.

Soft-shelled turtles, snowy egrets, and tricolored herons round out the crowd.

Two easy trails through five different landscapes

The park holds five ecosystems in its 1,200 acres: salt marshes, sand pine scrub, flatwood pine forest, rolling sand dunes, and coastal shoreline. Two trails let you walk through most of them.

The Gator Lake Trail is a half-mile paved loop with boardwalk overlooks above the water. The Heron Pond Trail cuts through flatwood pine forest and passes a replica of an old cracker turpentine still.

Both trails run flat and easy, good for any age or fitness level.

The Buttonbush Marsh Overlook adds a quiet stop for watching herons and ibises feeding along the marsh edge.

White-tailed deer graze the dunes at dusk

Keep your eyes open and the park delivers. White-tailed deer graze in the dunes and along the trails, often close enough to photograph without much effort.

Shorebirds work the beach constantly, great egrets, snowy egrets, blue herons, terns, and snowy plovers all moving through the shallows. Raccoons, coyotes, marsh rabbits, and gopher tortoises live in the interior.

The park sits on a migratory path, so bird and butterfly numbers swell during spring and fall. Out on Shell Island from early to mid-summer, loggerhead and green sea turtles crawl ashore at night to nest.

Shell Island’s seven miles have no buildings, no trash cans, nothing

Shell Island is seven miles long, sits just across the channel from the park, and has no restrooms, no concession stands, no shade structures, and no trash cans.

The Army Corps created it when it dredged that same channel in the 1930s, cutting it off from the mainland. Bottlenose dolphins work the surrounding water.

Ghost crabs scatter across the sand at the waterline. Deer move through the interior.

You carry in everything you need and pack out everything you bring. That’s the deal, and most people who’ve been there say it’s worth it.

Catch the shuttle or paddle across yourself

A shuttle runs from the park across the channel to Shell Island, a ride of about 15 minutes. In summer, boats leave every 30 minutes.

In spring and fall, they run once an hour. You can stay as long as you want, but you need to catch the last shuttle back.

If you’d rather get there on your own, kayaks and paddleboards are available to rent inside the park, and pontoon rentals and jet skis are other options.

Private boats can use the Grand Lagoon ramp for quick access.

Sleep in the pines or try a furnished eco-tent

The campground sits in the pinewoods near Grand Lagoon, with most sites facing the water. Each site comes with water, electric, and sewer hookups, a picnic table, and a grill.

If you want something closer to a bed, the park’s glamping eco-tents overlook St. Andrews Bay and come with a queen bed, air conditioning, electricity, a charcoal grill, and a fire pit.

A two-mile paved bicycle trail connects the campground to the beaches, and it’s one of the better ways to move through the park at a slower pace.

Visit St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, Florida

St. Andrews State Park sits at 4607 State Park Lane in Panama City Beach, about three miles east of the main resort strip off State Road 392.

The park opens every day of the year at 8 a.m. and closes at sundown. Admission runs $8 per vehicle.

The Shell Island shuttle, kayak and bike rentals, and concession stores run seasonally, generally from March through Labor Day. Beach wheelchairs and elevated boardwalks make the beach accessible.

Dogs are welcome throughout the park on a leash, but not on the beaches.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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