Navarre Beach and Fort Pickens sit on the same barrier island. Drive west far enough and the houses thin out, the dune field opens up, and the road ends at a Civil War era fort looking out over the pass into Pensacola Bay. It is one of the easiest day trips you can take from Navarre Beach, and this week it can also be a free one.
Thursday, September 17 is a fee-free day
The National Park Service has eight entrance fee-free days on its 2026 calendar, and Constitution Day, Thursday, September 17, is one of them. On that day every National Park Service site that normally charges an entrance fee waives it. Fort Pickens is one of four Gulf Islands National Seashore areas in Florida that collects an entrance fee, so Constitution Day covers your way in.
Two details are worth knowing. Beginning in 2026, free entrance on these days applies to U.S. citizens and residents, and nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee. The waiver also covers entrance only. Camping, reservations, and special use permits are still charged.
If you go on a different day, the regular Gulf Islands entrance fees are:
- $25 per vehicle, good for one to seven days
- $20 per motorcycle
- $15 per person for anyone walking or biking in
- $45 for the park annual pass, good for twelve months from the date of purchase
One pass covers all of the seashore fee areas, and the entrance station takes credit cards only. You can also buy a digital entrance pass online and receive it by email. Any America the Beautiful interagency pass gets you in as well.
Getting there from Navarre Beach
Fort Pickens sits at the western end of Santa Rosa Island, at 1400 Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. From Navarre Beach the natural route runs west along County Road 399 through the Santa Rosa Area of the national seashore to Pensacola Beach, then west again on Fort Pickens Road. It is an open, quiet stretch of road with water on both sides for much of it. Storms occasionally close the seashore section of 399, so it is worth checking the park road conditions page the morning you leave.
There is a second way in. The Pensacola Bay City Ferry runs to Fort Pickens from Pensacola and Pensacola Beach on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, seasonally from March through October. Tickets are sold at pensacolabaycityferry.com. If you would rather not drive the last leg, park at Pensacola Beach and let the boat do the work.
Hours
- Entrance station gate: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. through October 31
- Fort Pickens gate: 8 a.m. to sunset, year round
- Park store inside the fort: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Overnight parking is not permitted anywhere in the area.
What to do once you are through the gate
The fort
The historic fort is open, and you can walk it with a ranger or on your own using the self-guided tour in the park mobile app. The park store inside sells books and park memorabilia, and it is where you pick up passport stamps and Junior Ranger booklets. That last detail is usually enough to keep younger kids invested for the hour or so the fort takes.
What is closed right now
Two things to plan around. The Battery 234 Loop Road and Battery Cooper are closed to vehicles, bicycles, and foot traffic until further notice while the park works out how to deal with the leaning historic Tower 234, whose concrete observation booth is no longer structurally sound. The Gulf-side pedestrian beach access points in that area are closed along with it. Separately, the Fort Pickens Visitor Center, the green and white Discovery Center building, is closed for construction and exhibit renovations. The historic fort itself is unaffected.
Battery Worth is still open, and its picnic area has pavilions, restrooms, picnic tables, and trails nearby. It is the most comfortable place in the area to eat a packed lunch.
Langdon Beach
Langdon Beach is the developed swimming area, with restrooms, outdoor showers, parking, and a pavilion. The park provides accessible beach mats and beach wheelchairs. To borrow a wheelchair, ask a ranger at the campground registration office in the old Santa Rosa Life-Saving Station.
One safety note matters more in September than it does in July. The lifeguard at Langdon Beach is assigned from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so by the middle of the month the beach is unguarded. The park describes this area as high risk for rip currents. Check conditions before anyone gets in the water, and keep a closer watch than you would in peak season.
Fishing
A fishing license is required to fish anywhere in the park, with one exception: the Fort Pickens fishing pier. Swimming is allowed throughout the area except within 200 feet of that pier and of the ferry dock.
A few rules that save you a conversation
- Pets are not allowed on the beach. Elsewhere they must be on a six-foot leash and attended at all times.
- UTVs, ATVs, skateboards, scooters, golf carts, and Segways are not allowed in the park.
- Gatherings larger than 26 people may require a permit.
- Bring water and shade. Outside the campground and Langdon Beach there is very little of either.
A good shape for the day
Leave Navarre Beach after breakfast, be through the entrance station by mid-morning, walk the fort while the brick is still in shade, eat at Battery Worth, and spend the afternoon on the sand at Langdon before turning back east. You will be home in time for sunset over the Sound, which is the part of the day Navarre Beach does better than anywhere else on this island.
Stella Maris sits sound-side on Navarre Beach with five bedrooms, five full and two half baths, and room for fourteen guests, which makes it a comfortable base for the kind of trip where half the group wants the fort and the other half wants the water. Check availability for your dates and take the day at your own pace.
Hours, fees, and closures above come from the National Park Service and are current as of publication. Confirm at nps.gov/guis before you go.