Beach Access near Gulf Shores or Fort Morgan (Fairhope, Foley: hotel, travel)

[j_t]

We are staying in Fairhope for the week and are trying to plan a day trip to the Gulf coast. Where are the (family friendly) public beach access areas? Something not too crowded .

[Keeper]

There are several access walk ways where you can park and go to the beach. Gulf Shores is always family friendly IMHO. As far as being crowded I think weekdays are better than weekends. I would try for Tues, Wed or Thurs.

Orange Beach Alabama - Alabama Beaches - Gulf Coast Beaches

http://www.gulfshores.com/travel-tools/maps-directions/

[Alatex]

Yeah, family friendly is no problem at any of Alabama's beaches, thankfully.

None of the areas are what I'd call "too crowded" most of the time, but if you really want a big piece of the beach to yourselves, my suggestion is to park across the street from Gulf State Park. There are just a few parking places there, but they're free. The state park has several thousand acres of beautiful beach, and since there's no longer a hotel there and since they are doing construction on the state fishing pier on the west side of the state park, there's usually very little crowd at all.

[j_t]

Thanks Keeper and Aletex! It sounds like any of the parks in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Fort Morgan will be nice during the week. The interactive map over at gulfshores.com is a big help for (Daddy GPS). That is what the kids call it when Mom thinks we are lost and need a Garmin, but instead we drive around until Daddy finds a road that he knows.

[Keeper]

You might want to check out Lamberts in Foley while you are in Gulf Shores for lunch or an early supper. Home of the Throwed rolls. They throw the rolls across the restaurant. Food isn't too bad either. Kids would probably get a kick out of the restaurant. Down side it is usually pretty crowded during normal lunch/dinner hours

Enjoy Fairhope, my favorite little town