Gulf Coast (Mississippi)
Gulf Coast (Mississippi)
The Mississippi Gulf Coast is the southernmost region of Mississippi along the Gulf of Mexico.
Cities
- Bay St Louis 📍 - despite taking a hard hit from Hurricane Katrina, the town still has lots of charm and a local art scene.
- Biloxi 📍
- Collins 📍
- D'Iberville 📍
- Gautier 📍
- Gulfport 📍 - Mississippi's 2nd largest city is on the coast.
- Hattiesburg 📍 - Mississippi's 3rd largest city is inland, home to University of Southern Mississippi
- Laurel
- Ocean Springs 📍
- Pascagoula
- Picayune 📍
- Waveland
Other destinations
Understand
Get in
By car
traverses the coast from west to east. It is the quickest way in coming from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, or Mobile. The cities along the Gulf Coast on US Hwy 90 are connected to I-10 through various north-south roads.
parallels the coastline, and offers a scenic drive of the beach, connecting the cities along the Gulf Coast.
passes through Hattiesburg, heading towards Slidell, LA to the southwest and Birmingham, AL to the northeast.
begins in Gulfport at the intersection of and extends north through Hattiesburg and on to Jackson.
By plane
- Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, 30.413°, -89.0726°. (IATA: GPT) Direct flights are available from Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, and seasonal flights from Minneapolis. The next nearest airport for commercial flights to the area is in New Orleans (IATA: MSY)
See
The world's largest man-made beach stretches 26 miles from Pass Christian in the west, to Biloxi in the east.
Biloxi is well known for its lighthouse, as well as its many casinos. Gulfport, D'Iberville, Bay St. Louis, and Waveland also have casinos.
The barrier islands of Mississippi, 7 miles from the mainland, and part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, are home to diverse wildlife, white sand beaches, and turquoise water.
Beauvoir is an antebellum mansion in Biloxi, famous for being the final home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
Do
- The casino resorts along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They offer slots, all types of tables, high limits and liberal rules. The resorts also offer buffets, fine dining, boutique shops, entertainment for children and headlining entertainment.
- The Mississippi Sound and its associated bays are world class fisheries and draw in anglers from all over. Many fishing charters are located in harbors all along the coast.
- The Ship Island Excursion is a ferry from Gulfport to Ship Island. Ship Island is home to Fort Massachusetts and is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore along with Cat Island, Horn Island, and Petit Bois Island.
- Towns such as Ocean Springs, Pass Christian, and Bay Saint Louis are home to art galleries, boutique shops, and high end dining. These towns are great to visit if you wish to escape the somewhat hectic and loud atmosphere of the bigger cities on the coast.
- Stennis Space Center is located in Hancock County off of Interstate 10.
- The Mississippi Aquarium is set to open in the summer of 2020 in downtown Gulfport.
- For a geologic anomaly (erosion basically), try the Red Bluff 📍, also known as the Little Grand Canyon, it's on private land but still accessible from a parking area. The ruggedness is out of character with the flat surroundings.