It’s funny how life sometimes gives us precisely what we didn’t know we needed. For Kelsey Keel, PhD, MPH, that gift came during the stillness of the 2020 pandemic. With her professional world on pause and her personal life centered around two young children, something unexpected happened—she slowed down, looked around, and truly saw her neighborhood.
“I remember thinking, ‘Where did all these people come from?'” Keel laughs. “There were families riding bikes, kids on scooters, people walking dogs. It was amazing.”
As the Executive Director of Let’s Go! Gulf Coast, Kelsey had long been a champion of health and wellness across Mississippi’s coastal counties. But that rediscovery of the outdoors sparked something deeper. She realized just how hard it was to find local parks, playgrounds, and walking trails—even for someone working in public health.
A simple Google search turned into a full-blown mission, and the result was Let’s Go! EXPLORE Gulf Coast—a groundbreaking mobile app mapping every park and green space across Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock Counties. This free, user-friendly tool is like a digital compass for fun, wellness, and outdoor adventure.
Looking for a splash pad in Long Beach? A shaded playground in Pascagoula? A lighted pickleball court in Gulfport? A dog park in Vancleave? The app, featuring over 100 searchable filters, serves as a digital guide to these and many more. Users will earn Park Passport Stamps for each visit, turning the art of exploration into a fun game. Users can also leave park reviews, rate amenities, and report hazards directly to the right officials. It’s a one-of-a-kind tool that’s as user-friendly as it is comprehensive.
Let’s Go! EXPLORE Gulf Coast isn’t just a guide—it’s a love letter to the 62 miles of sand, culture, and community that hug the southern edge of our state. Founded with the purpose of spotlighting everything from the iconic to the overlooked, this vibrant media platform has become the local’s compass and the traveler’s treasure map.
“Our organization’s vision is working together to build a Mississippi Gulf Coast where youth and their families achieve optimal health, and our Let’s Go! EXPLORE Gulf Coast app is a new initiative that helps us achieve that,” Keel explains. “The goal of the app is to increase physical activity levels among children, youth, and adults by encouraging the use of and improving access to parks and outdoor recreational spaces. The app is an innovative digital tool that can achieve this goal by providing easily accessible and up-to-date information on all these outdoor recreational spaces while also creating a fun and interactive way for people to engage with those spaces on a social level.”
The app’s momentum is fueled by deep passion and a big vision.
“We genuinely believe that this app has the potential to be useful to everyone—there is something for everyone,” Keel adds. “We believe we are on to something special and unique, especially since we are unaware of any other app that does what we’re aiming to do. Without the pandemic, I’m not confident this idea ever would have taken root in my mind, but I am so grateful that it did. Even though we naively thought this project would be quicker to bring to fruition, I wouldn’t trade the last four years of building this out for anything. From conducting over 200 environmental park audits, cataloging millions of data points, and developing the app, it’s been a journey. I cannot wait to watch this initiative grow and positively impact our communities. Imagine if the MS Gulf Coast could be a nationwide leader in promoting local parks and outdoor recreation?!”
The community response has been nothing short of extraordinary. Support has poured in from every direction—local governments, families, and regional organizations alike. Financial support from the City of Long Beach, the City of Pascagoula, and Jackson County helped lay the foundation, while sponsorships from Chevron Pascagoula Refinery, the Mississippi Public Health Institute, Harrah’s Gulf Coast, Cigna Foundation, Lemon-Mohler Insurance Agency, Blossman Gas, Mississippi Power Company, TriHard Sports, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Bacot Foundation of South Mississippi, and Singing River Health System Foundation have helped bring the vision to life.
Parents and caregivers have praised the app’s ability to simplify and make outdoor planning more inclusive—especially those caring for children or individuals with disabilities. Older adults have expressed excitement at the ease of finding lighted walking paths, pickleball courts, and playgrounds for visiting grandchildren. The collective response has affirmed one thing: this app was needed.
Let’s Go! Gulf Coast is an established, local nonprofit and a proud Fund of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, with over a decade of experience promoting health and wellness along our MS Gulf Coast. With sponsorships from civic leaders and support from local families, this newest initiative is putting Mississippi’s Gulf Coast on the map in multiple ways.
So whether you’re a parent looking for a kid-friendly space, a senior searching for a walking path, or just someone ready to unplug and go outside—the Let’s Go! EXPLORE Gulf Coast app is here to guide the way.
Ready to explore? Here’s how to get started:
🌐 Visit the website: letsgogulfcoast.org/explore
📱 Download on the App Store: Click here
📱 Download on Google Play: Click here
