Area Info

Often called the Forgotten Coast, this section of the Florida Panhandle, stretching from Mexico Beach to Carrabelle, Florida including the areas of Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, Apalachicola, St. George Island and Eastpoint. This area of the Florida Panhandle was forgotten only when the developers and business came in in overdeveloped the area--it is still one of the most pristine areas in Florida for it's quiet, white sand beaches!  This area has been preserved that for what has been developed---. Beautiful sugar white beaches, bays with clean water and wonderful wildlife, coastal marshlands, estuaries rich with sea life, and barrier islands with some of the larges dunes in the world...this is what the Forgotten Coast has to offer.

Because of the presence of the Apalachicola River and the nutrient-rich waters it discharges into Apalachicola Bay, the Forgotten Coast area includes two very different coastal environments, distinct in may ways.

West of the southern tip of Cape San Blas, where the waters of the Apalachicola River are not a factor, the coastal waters are clearer and the beaches whiter. In fact, the Gulf beaches of St. Joseph Peninsula have some of the whitest sand on Florida's entire Gulf Coast. St. Joseph Bay, with little or no freshwater inflow, is home to the best bay scallops Florida has to offer. Just east of the Cape, beginning with Indian Pass and St. Vincent Island, the beaches are a more subtle tan in color, much like the beaches of Florida's east coast. The coastal waters, enriched by the waters of the Apalachicola River, are teeming with aquatic life. Apalachicola Bay is home to one of the largest estuaries in Florida, and here oysters flourish as a result of the constant inflow of fresh water.

Gulf County:
Gulf County encompasses an area of 559 miles. Gulf County is bordered on the North by Calhoun County, on the West by Bay County and on the East by Franklin and LIberty Counties and on the South by the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf County averages 82 degrees in the summer and 54 degrees in thewinter and has a population density of approximately 24 persons per square mile.

Franklin County:
Franklin County is located in Florida northwest Panhandle approximatley 80 miles southwest of Tallahassee and 60 miles Southeast of Panama City. Fronkin county is 545 square miles with more than 200 miles of coastal shorline.

Franklin County has 2 incorporated cities, Apalacicola and Carrabelle.  Alligator Point, Eastpoint, Lanark Village and St. Teresa are part of Unicorporated Franklin County.Franklin County also includes 4 Barrier Island:  Cape St. George Island, Dog Island, St. George Isand and St. Vincent Island.

Bay County:
Bay county has a population of 148,217 and it's county seat is Panama City, Florida.  It has a total area of 1,033 miles and 764 miles of it is land and 270 of it is water.  Bay County has 8 incorporated municipalities:  City of Callaway, Town of Cedar Grove, City of Lynn Haven, City of Mexico Beach, City of Pana CIty, City of Panama City Beach, City of Parker, and the City of Springfield.