The Chamber - Move to Pensacola
Recreation
Bays, rivers, lakes, bayous and forests offer swimming, sailing, scuba diving, hunting, fishing and camping opportunities abound in the Pensacola Bay Area.
The warm waters of Pensacola Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway make boating in Pensacola a water wonderland. It is the ideal playground for cruising, sailboat racing and of course, sunset tours and dolphin watching. Wherever you decide to set anchor, be on the lookout for giant lightning whelks, sand dollars, olive shells, fighting conchs and other seaborne prizes while strolling along Pensacola's white sandy beaches.
The options are unlimited when it comes to fishing in Pensacola. Cast your line from a canoe surrounded by pines in the Blackwater State Forest, or spearfish for your supper off a sunken freighter in the Gulf. The Pensacola Bay area has plentiful freshwater fishing and the dazzling Gulf of Mexico offers great offshore fishing.
Pensacola is the site of the world’s largest artificial reef as the 888-foot retired aircraft carrier USS Oriskany was laid to rest in the Gulf of Mexico. Her island can be approached at 67 feet in emerald-clear water where visibility averages 80 to 150 feet. From the island divers can scan the seemingly endless flight deck sitting at 137 feet, a depth considered a technical dive. CNN dubbed it the "Great Carrier Reef." The site is a diving and fishing hot spot where Goliath grouper, ocean sunfish, eagle rays and other spectacular gulf species flourish.
The Double Bridge Run is a 15K course takes runners over two bridges crossing Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound, from downtown Pensacola to Pensacola Beach. A 5K course welcomes both runners and walkers, and a Kids Fun Run wraps up the action along the Gulf of Mexico.
The Flora-Bama Lounge on the Florida-Alabama state line hosts the wacky annual Interstate Mulllet Toss tournament that has participants compete in an actual mullet toss. Live music, food, and drinks accompany this weekend.
Come see the best fishermen in the area catch some of the largest King Mackerel and Cobia in the gulf. The Bud Light King Mackerel/Cobia Tournament is the largest two-day boat event in the Gulf of Mexico with over 1,200 anglers representing 17 states.
The Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club hosts one of the country's largest billfish tournaments in downtown Pensacola. The Pensacola International Billfish Tournament attracts around 500 anglers from across the Southeast.