I’ve loved sharing about Dauphin Island, our favorite family beach destination. You can read about why we love the island here and general helpful information here. Today I’ll share a comprehensive guide to making Dauphin Island not only a wonderful beach trip, but also a pilgrimage, too.
Unlike many other beach destinations, Dauphin Island is not at all fancy, chic, or cool. It has no flashy boardwalk with expensive mini-golf and amusement-park rides, no neon nightlife, no endless stretches of overpriced souvenir shops. There’s no bustling restaurant row or glitzy entertainment. No luxury cruises or pristine infinity pools with swim-up bars.
And that’s precisely the magic of it. When you go to Dauphin Island, you’re quite literally going just to the beach. When we go every summer, we do the same simple things. The repetition and predictability matter; they have the power to establish tradition, and tradition grounds our identities in relationships rather than sensory stimulation and endless distraction.
Here's a comprehensive guide to our favorite things on Dauphin Island.
All about the beaches
Dauphin Island has three primary public beaches: West End, Public Beach, and East End. There are also tons of private beaches along the residential and rental rows, but you need to be an owner or renter for access. Here are my notes on pros and cons of each public beach.
East End: Our usual beach is the East End beach because the paved bike path runs all the way there. East End is near Fort Gaines and features several rocky outcrops that can be fun to climb and are good perches for casting fishing lines and crabbing nets. The jetties keep the water very calm, almost pool-like, with minimal waves; this also means you can usually find hundreds of hermit crabs here, which is a novel experience for kids. When they were little, our kids actually nicknamed East End “the crab beach.”
West End: The bike path doesn’t run all the way to the West End; you can still bike there but you’ll be in a lane with regular traffic, which we prefer to avoid. The locals always remind us that it’s the best one for seashells. For obvious reasons, West End is also ideal for the renowned Dauphin Island sunsets. We rarely go to this beach just because we’re on bikes and not driving, but it has gentle surf and is often the least crowded.
Public Beach: The public beach is the only one with shelters, picnic tables, restrooms, and showers. Unlike the other primary beaches, its parking lot is across from a row of shops, snack stands, and restaurants. However, you’ll have a significantly long walk from the parking lot, down the pier, over the dunes, and across the sand to reach the fun surf and interesting tidepools. We usually make a stop here, but be sure you’ve got everything before you trek down to the water. Sometimes we also bring takeout dinner to the sheltered tables on the dunes. With its wide, long shape, this is also a great beach for flying kites!
Pro tip: none of these beaches have any concessions on the shore, so bring your own! Also, all of them technically charge a few dollars for access, but many times there’s no one there collecting the fees (or they just wave us in).
What to do/ other activities
Stroll the beaches. The long, skinny island is easy to walk with many interesting shifting tide pools and inlets. Ghost crabs scatter underfoot with every step, looking like tiny transparent aliens before they disappear into their hiding holes. We often find schools of fish flashing in the shallows. Sometimes we see dolphins. Look for driftwood of all sizes, including whole cypress trees, and seashells in an array of sunwashed pastels and shapes.
Watch pop-up storms on the pier. The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico churn up regular dramatic thunderstorms that can be fascinating to watch, especially from the long public beach pier. The wide open vista allows you to track the billowing black clouds as they roll across the sky. Don’t fret about rain ruining your beach time; most storms pass quickly and the sun pours out once again.
Look for new baby swallows. Every year, we check the swallow nests under the ferry dock. The nests usually have a new group of baby birds being attended by busy parents swooping back and forth with food. It feels like we’re watching a family grow up. While you’re getting your daily milkshake at Billy Goat Concessions (see also below), try to spot new babies the the nests under the docks.
Explore the the Audubon bird sanctuary. A 1,000-foot boardwalk winds through pines, magnolias, and marshes, ending in a wharf that overlooks Galliard Lake with a great view of the Gulf. You can try to spot a variety of birds. It’s especially nice in the late afternoon.
Tour Fort Gaines, a historic Civil War fort whose ramparts overlook the Gulf. It’s a great opportunity for hands-on history; you can climb around, go into bunk rooms and kitchens, and get up close with huge cannons. We’re always impressed with the resourceful natural plumbing of the fort’s latrine system! With the fort walls blocking sea breezes, the inner spaces can be very hot. Walk around the top to cool off. There’s a small but interesting museum and gift shop, and sometimes reenactments of various fort activities like the blacksmith shop or cannon operation.
Catch and release hermit crabs. Particularly at the West End beach, rocky jetties create calm, still waters where adorable hermit crabs flourish. Our children have enjoyed gently capturing the crabs for a few minutes to observe them come in and out of their shells, and then releasing them to safety.
Ride the Mobile Bay ferry. One of our favorite activities is the round-trip sail across Mobile Bay. You can drive, bike, or walk on; we prefer to walk on and sit on the upper level benches. We’ve never failed to spot dolphins wheeling through the waves. It’s also interesting to pass close by giant cargo ships and oil rigs that are like self-contained cities. The round-trip takes about 90 minutes. Full disclosure: depending upon cloud cover, it can be very hot on the top deck, so be sure you have sun protection.
Visit the Sea Lab aquarium. The Sea Lab is an active marine research facility with a small public aquarium attached. You can see more than 100 species of Gulf of Mexico wildlife, including a stingray touch pool.
Bike instead of drive. I’m not exaggerating when I say we park the car upon arrival and don’t turn it on again until we leave. The island is small, so while there are obviously roads if you choose to drive from place to place, biking everywhere is very doable. A dedicated paved bike trail runs the length of the island alongside its main boulevard. You can bring your own bikes or rent them. Like most everything on the island, bike rental companies are very low-key, casual operations usually without any platform other than a personal phone and maybe an occasionally updated Facebook page. Sometimes the campgrounds also rent bikes. You can also rent e-bikes and golf carts if that’s more your style. We always enjoy the natural slower pace that biking instead of driving offers.
Watch the sunrises and sunsets. Dauphin Island is dubbed the “sunrise and sunset capital of Alabama” with good reason. Both are stunning and surprisingly colorful! You’ll see skies of rose and ochre at sunrise, then of deep pink, violet, and indigo at sunset.
Go fishing and crabbing. You may as well catch more than a sunrise or sunset out on the beach. Dauphin Island offers prime fishing and crabbing from the beaches or from a charter boat. You can buy equipment and live bait at Ship & Shore or the live bait shop near the ferry dock (the official name seems to constantly change; who knows what it's called this year). If you have a big boat, there’s an annual deep-sea fishing rodeo every July.
Invent new games in the pool. We always book accommodations with a pool because rotating pool and beach is essential to preempting boredom and bickering over personal preferences. We bring a stash of Mardi Gras footballs to invent new games like 2021’s “epic spectacular” game which required catching the football while diving through a pool float tube. (This is also a great water-friendly football for pool and beach.) The pool is also perfect for after dark swimming when wading into the murky Gulf isn’t wise.
Shopping
Supplies: There are only a handful of shops on the island and zero big, comprehensive grocery or department stores or pharmacies. The primary grocery and goods store, Ship & Shore, also sells fishing poles, bait, and mass-produced souvenirs, so as you can probably imagine the grocery and toiletries selection is minimal. We end up running to Ship & Shore for little things here and there—a bag of chips, a pack of gum, ice—but we get our major groceries and necessities on the way down to the island at one of the stores in Theodore (about 45 minutes from the island proper). If you’re especially frugal or particular about brands, avoid frustration at the limited selection of items marked up higher than their typical retail by pre-purchasing.
Souvenirs: Dauphin Island offers just a few souvenir shops, but none of them are particularly exciting or original. You can’t miss them along the main boulevard. Inside you’ll find beach pails, sunblock, and mass-produced trinkets like shark-tooth necklaces along with racks of swimsuits and overpriced stuffed mermaid toys. If you want something locally created, try the Dauphin Island Art Gallery or Arts of Dauphin Island (both have super limited and random hours, so good luck!).
Our favorite food and drink
Given the number of visitors, Dauphin Island remains surprisingly undeveloped. You’ll find only a few sit-down restaurants offering fried seafood and other bland basics, but I don’t think most of them are really worth the expense. Pro tip: establishment hours can be unexpectedly irregular (you know, #islandtime and all that), so check websites (if they exist) or, better yet, call first.
We order takeout steamed dinner every night from Skinner’s Seafood—delicious and affordable. The primary business of the family who operates Skinner’s is deep-sea commercial fishing, but they have a retail front where you can order steamed fresh catches of the day. In price and deliciousness, nothing on the island beats their shrimp plate with corn, potatoes, and clarified butter. Pro tip: make sure you call in your order 15 minutes before the steamer closes for the day (usually 5:45 pm, but check the website for seasonal hours). Skinner’s is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
We also love the excellent Lighthouse Bakery for breakfast and brunch (the cinnamon rolls are divine; coffee is mediocre so make your own).
We get our daily rations of milkshakes and ice cream at Island Rainbow and Billy Goat Concessions (they also serve pretty good paninis and terrible coffee). These are at opposite ends of the island; Billy Goat happens to be right next to the ferry dock (which is a great place to scout for crabs, sting rays, and other creatures while you slurp).
When Skinner’s is closed, we order good takeout pizza from Island Rainbow. Pirate’s Pizza and Wings has decent pizza and calzones, but I’d only order from there if Skinner’s was closed.
There are a few bars on the island, but we can vouch only for Dority’s, which offers a relaxed, backyard-style live music scene (and sometimes food trucks, but like everything else—hours can be irregular, so check before you count on anything). Pirate’s Bar and Grill has a spring break/party vibe.
Make any place a pilgrimage
There is one Catholic church on Dauphin Island: St Edmund-by-the-Sea. It’s a very simple, humble church, but the parish is active and engaged in many sweet outreaches. You’ll be welcomed at worship and the sacraments.
Something about the beach, the salt, the water—they can help us dive deep into our spiritual senses and call forth deep, fresh insights about God. While you’re there, take the opportunity for a contemplative stroll at golden hour, when you can pray and reflect on these questions. You can also contemplate saints’ quotes for the beach and journal as the soft waves break on the sand.
On your beach walk, you can also listen to the daily Mass readings available here and pray the rosary. I like to use this audio recording for the rosary.
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