Florida’s Forgotten Coast with Kids: A Family Guide to All Five Towns

Florida’s Forgotten Coast is five small communities strung along the Panhandle, and for a family the practical answer is to rent a house on St. George Island and drive to the rest. Everything worth doing sits within about twenty minutes of that bridge, apart from one outlier we’ll be honest about. This is Old Florida with no high rises, no chain strip and no queues, which means the planning burden falls on you rather than a resort concierge. We did it as a rental on St. George with repeated runs into Apalachicola, and it worked. Below is which town does what, what each drive actually costs you in time, the golf cart rule that decides where to book, and a five day plan you can ignore at will.

Where to Base Yourself, and Why It Matters More Than Usual

Rent on St. George Island. Every other town on this coast is a day trip from there, the beach is the reason you came, and the island is where the family rental stock actually is.

Then there’s the golf cart, which is the part nobody tells you. Plenty of families rent a golf cart for the week, and carts are only street legal on the island between East 11th Street and West 12th Street. They aren’t allowed on Gulf Beach Drive, Franklin Boulevard or the Recreational Path, though you may cross Gulf Beach Drive at intersections and cross Franklin Boulevard at Pine Street.

So where you book decides whether the cart is genuinely useful or a novelty you park. We stayed near 10th and Pine, which sits inside the legal zone and right at the designated Franklin Boulevard crossing, and we’d send another family to the same few blocks. Anywhere roughly between 9th and 11th near Pine gives you a cart that actually gets you to the beach and into the small commercial stretch without breaking the rules.

Our St. George lodging guide covers the rest of the where-to-stay question, and the full island guide handles the beach and the state park.

The Five Towns

St. George Island

Nine miles of white sand, no high rises, and a state park at the eastern end with a connected trail system. The boardwalk section is the one to walk with young children. Shore fishing is easy and genuinely fun here, and it’s the beach you’ll default to most days. Start with the island guide, or the toddler version if you’re travelling with very small children, and things to do for the rest.

Eastpoint, five minutes away

You cross through Eastpoint every time you leave the island, so this is the easiest stop on the coast to actually make. The ANERR Nature Centre is free, opens Tuesday to Saturday, and holds three walk-around habitat tanks of over a thousand gallons each. It’s the best rainy day answer in the region and most visitors drive straight past it. The town is also the working seafood hub, so the oyster boats are real rather than decorative. Full guide.

Apalachicola, twenty minutes away

The historic town, and the one you’ll go back to. More than 900 buildings dating to the 1830s, small markets and galleries you can browse without a plan, a working waterfront, and the John Gorrie Museum where a $2 ticket buys the story of how a local doctor’s ice machine led to modern refrigeration. We drove over more than once. Full guide.

Carrabelle, half an hour away

Worth exactly one day. A climbable 1895 lighthouse at 103 feet and 128 steps, with a firm 44 inch height minimum that’s worth knowing before you drive out. Plus a calm sound-side beach that allows leashed dogs, a WWII training museum, and a police station inside a phone booth. Full guide.

Alligator Point, an hour and a quarter away

The honest one. It’s 48 miles east, so this is a committed day out rather than an afternoon. What you get is Bald Point State Park, roughly 5,000 acres with two calm Apalachee Bay beaches, a fishing dock, 18 miles of trails and outdoor showers, for $4 a car. Lovely and very quiet, but with young children the drive is the deciding factor. Covered in our Eastpoint and Alligator Point guide.

Practical Things Worth Sorting Before You Go

Fishing licences. Shore fishing is one of the best free things to do here, but non-residents aged 16 and over need a Florida saltwater licence even fishing from the beach. Three days costs around $17. Children under 16 fish free, so in practice most families buy one licence for whichever parent is holding the rod. The free shoreline licence is for Florida residents only.

The bridge. The Bryant Patton Bridge between Eastpoint and the island runs four miles and is the third longest in Florida. Small children are reliably more impressed by it than by anything you pay for.

Groceries and supplies. This is not a resort coast. Stock up properly, because the nearest full shop is not around the corner and Alligator Point in particular has almost nothing.

Events. The Florida Seafood Festival is in November and the Oyster Cookoff in January, both in Apalachicola. Either will make the area noticeably busier than the quiet coast you might be expecting.

A Five Day Forgotten Coast Plan

Day one. Arrive, cross the bridge, get the groceries in, and do nothing else. The beach is fifty yards away and that’s enough for the first day.

Day two. Beach morning on St. George. Walk the boardwalk trail in the state park in the late afternoon when it cools down.

Day three. Drive into Apalachicola after lunch. Walk the historic district, let everyone browse the shops, look at the boats, and eat early on the water before heading back.

Day four. Carrabelle. Lighthouse in the morning while legs are fresh, lunch in town, then the sound-side beach. Home before dinner.

Day five. Beach again, and shore fishing if anyone’s keen. If it rains, Eastpoint’s nature centre is five minutes away and free.

Alligator Point doesn’t appear in that week on purpose. If it appeals, swap it for day four and pair it with Carrabelle, which sits roughly halfway along the same road.

FAQs About the Forgotten Coast with Kids

Where should we stay on the Forgotten Coast with kids?

St. George Island, in a rental house. It has the beach, the family rental stock, and everything else is a short drive. If you plan to rent a golf cart, book somewhere between roughly 9th and 11th near Pine Street so you’re inside the legal cart zone.

How many days do we need?

Five works well. That’s enough for real beach time plus Apalachicola and one other town without any day feeling rushed. A week lets you add Alligator Point properly.

Is the Forgotten Coast good for young children?

Yes, with the caveat that it’s quiet by design. There’s no boardwalk of attractions and no rainy day arcade. The beaches are calm and uncrowded, the free nature centre in Eastpoint covers a wet morning, and the pace suits small children better than a busier resort strip would.

Which towns make up the Forgotten Coast?

St. George Island, Eastpoint, Apalachicola, Carrabelle and Alligator Point, all in Franklin County. We cover all five.

Do we need a car?

Yes. There’s no public transport worth planning around, and the towns are spread along US-98. A golf cart works on the island itself but won’t get you between towns.