Outdoor Activities in Pensacola – Water Recreation

Adventure opportunities abound in Pensacola, Florida! Pensacola is filled with lagoons, bayous, rolling hills, national seashores, and emerald green waters, meaning there are a plethora of outdoor activities to take part in. We encourage you to get out in the sun and explore all that Pensacola has to offer.

Some of the best scenery you’ll find in Pensacola is actually hidden beneath the waves. You’ll find plenty of opportunities for water exploration, whether you’re in, on, or under the water. Here are some of our favorite activities.

Paddleboarding

Pensacola is packed with natural waterways, making it a great place to try your hand at paddleboarding. If you’ve never been paddleboarding before, consider getting some lessons from the many outfitters set up in the Pensacola Bay Area. Some of the best places to paddleboard include Little Sabine Bay in Pensacola Beach and Big Lagoon State Park in Perdido Key.

Scuba Diving

The waters off of Northwest Florida are perfect for going scuba diving! Several years ago, an 872 ft. Aircraft carrier called the USS Oriskany made its last voyage to the seafloor as an artificial reef, about 25 miles away from the shore. Many of the local divers here have given it the name “The Great Carrier Reef.”

Snorkeling

Ever since public artificial reefs were built in the waters off of Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, snorkeling has been a fantastic and easy way to spend the day. Three snorkeling reefs have been created just a short distance away from the shores: Park East snorkel reef on Pensacola Beach, Pensacola Bay Snorkel Reef, and the Perdido Key Reef on Johnson Beach.

Park East snorkel reef is a fantastic area to take your paddleboard or kayak, along with your snorkeling gear. The Pensacola Bay Snorkel Reef offers a fun diving opportunity in the protected waters near Fort Pickens. Perdido Key Reef, located on Johnson Beach, is a 24-module ecosystem that starts about 300 feet offshore. You can sometimes even see sea turtles resting in the sand under and around the reef modules.

Surfing

While the Gulf waters tend to be pretty calm, there are those days where they find their energy and create waves that are perfect for surfacing. After a passing cold front, offshore winds force the perfect waves, and the Pensacola Gulf Pier, one of the longest piers in the Gulf of Mexico, suddenly becomes a surfer hotspot.

Charter Fishing

Come aboard our fishing charter for some inshore, offshore, or shark fishing. We also offer dolphin tours that allow you to enjoy up-close encounters with dolphins and other marine life. Our goal at Rock Bottom Charters is to provide you and your family with the fishing trip of a lifetime.

You’ll have the opportunity to catch speckled trout, amberjack, snapper, redfish, dolphin, trigger, cobia, tiger shark, blacktip shark, and many other varieties.