The Mississippi Gulf Coast is full of beauty, culture, history, and so much more! We’re pretty proud of our scenic views and delicious seafood around here. With 62 miles of coastline and 26 miles of beaches, no wonder Mississippi’s Gulf Coast has been named one of the Best Kept Vacation Secrets by Forbes.
Here are 10 things you might not know about Mississippi’s Gulf Coast:
1) The Mississippi Sound has been named one of the best destinations for dolphin spotting with several accounts of more bottlenose dolphins living in the Gulf than anywhere else in the world.
2) Mississippi’s first craft brewery is right here, in Kiln, Mississippi. The Lazy Magnolia opened in 2003, and several other breweries have followed that are also in the Gulf Coast area: Chandeleur Brewing Company (Gulfport), Biloxi Brewing Company (Biloxi), and Craft Advisory Brewing Company (Ocean Springs). Check out the Mississippi Brewery Trail for tours and tastings.
3) A lost city of Atlantis lies in the Gulf. You read that correctly! Ten miles off the coast, The Isle of Caprice was created as a way to defy prohibition. Caprice burned down more than 80 years ago, and today, you can wade in the waters of what is now Dog Keys Pass in waist-high water.
4) The University of Southern Mississippi’s Long Beach campus is home to the “Friendship Oak.” This tree was likely a sapling when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas. Rumor has it that any who gather under the shade of this gigantic tree will be friends forever.
5) The Gulf Coast region is responsible for most of our nation’s oyster and domestic shrimp supply, earning it its’ spot at the beginning of the Mississippi Seafood Trail. Ranked among the top three culinary trails in America, the 57-mile route stops at 42 delicious restaurants.
6) The Mississippi Gulf Coast gets more sun than your average American destination. With 210 sunny days a year and the sixth-highest average temperature in the US, you can sip craft beers and tan on Long Beach most of the year! Vitamin D lovers rejoice!
7) Grab your binoculars! Coastal Mississippi is prime real estate for bird watching. You can often spot unique species like the Bald Eagle, Prothonotary Warbler, Osprey, Blue Heron, Egrets, the Red-Winged Black Bird, and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane.
8) Hold on to your hair! The Phantom Barber of Pascagoula was a mystery to locals and tourists alike in the 1940s. This phantom barber or serial hair-snipper would break into homes to steal locks of hair and then slip away into the night. William Dolan was later discovered as the perpetrator behind this bizarre act.
9) Hello, Pascagoula! Home to the largest free-flowing river in the continental United States, this gorgeous, wild river offers just as much biodiversity as a rainforest!
10) The Biloxi Lighthouse is almost 200 years old and is notable for having several female light-keepers in its history.
With so much to see and do, it is obvious that history and lore run deep in the waters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
