Perdido Key

Perdido Key, Florida is an unincorporated community located in Escambia County, between Pensacola Florida and Orange Beach Alabama. Perdido" means "lost" in the Spanish language, and Perdido Key is sometimes called "Lost Key" by local residents and businesses. Perdido Key, a barrier island located in extreme northwest Florida and southeast Alabama. The Florida district of the Gulf Islands National Seashore is located at the east end of the island. No more than a few hundred yards wide in most places, Perdido Key stretches some 16 miles from Perdido Pass to just across from Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida.

Perdido key is said to have once had an estimated 300 natural springs bubbling up from the sandy bottom. There were so many around the Lillian bridge that when construction on the high-rise bridge began, bridge engineers were appalled to see pilings sinking down below the surface, following the soft course of a natural spring. They had their work cut out to build cofferdams to shore up the pilings to prevent them from sinking. It was not until about 1933 that Perdido Key became an island. Before that time, the area was a small peninsula just to the west of Pensacola, crossed by a large ditch that was narrow enough to jump across, and sometimes filled with alligators. This ditch would become the Intracoastal Waterway in 1933.

Environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy Perdido Key because it is one of the few remaining unblemished stretches of wilderness in the Florida Panhandle. Miles of preserves offer a wealth of opportunities for hiking, kayaking, and bird watching. Dolphin watching excursions and sailing tours are popular with tourists, as are moonlight cruises on the bay. Perdido Key's two state parks and National Seashore are great place for all your outdoor adventures.

Perdido Key is home to the endangered Perdido Key Beach Mouse. The small white and gray mouse blends in well with the white quartz sand of northern Gulf coast beaches. While the Perdido Key Beach Mouse feeds primarily on the seeds of sea oats and bluestem, it will occasionally eat insects.

The Perdido Key beach mouse was listed as an endangered species in 1985. Loss of habitat to development is considered to be the main factor which led to the decline of the species. Hurricanes have also taken their toll on the endangered mouse. While populations appear to be growing, the Perdido Key Beach Mouse will probably never make it off the endangered species list because of continued habitat loss and degradation.

The sea turtle is another endangered visitor to Perdido Key. Loggerhead, Leatherback, Ridley, and Green sea turtles arrive between May and September to dig nest cavities in the sand into which 100 or more eggs are laid. About two months later, provided the nest hasn't been washed away, uncovered by high winds, or disturbed by predators or beach visitors, turtle hatchlings emerge. Following the brightest spot in the sky, this is usually the horizon over the water, hatchlings scramble for the sea.

Almost all of these waterways are accessible by boat and can give passage to the Gulf of Mexico via the Alabama Pass in Orange Beach or the major harbor entrance of Pensacola pass. These waterways are: Old River, Intercostal Waterway (ICW), Perdido Bay, Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay, Black Water River, Perdido River, Styx River, and a myriad of boatable canals, bayous and lakes.

Big Lagoon State Recreation Area

The Park of 678 acres upland was opened in 1978 and beckons visitors with all the recreational opportunities expected at a Florida State Park. Follow the Cookie Trail, maintained by the Girl Scouts. Natural habitat includes numerous birds and animals: gray foxes, raccoons, skunks, opossums, great blue herons and other waterfowl, in addition to a variety of other birds. More than 75 campsites; five picnic areas with shelters, 500-seat amphitheater; boat ramp with dock; boardwalks and nature trails; and observation tower offering a panoramic view of Big Lagoon, the park and Gulf Islands National Seashore across the Intracoastal Waterway

Perdido Key State Recreation Area

Perdido Key State Recreation Area encompasses 247 acres on a barrier island, which buffers the mainland from winds and threatening tides and provides habitat for shore birds and other coastal animals. Saltwater fishing licenses required. Occupied shells are alive and should be left alone. The wide white sand beaches and the rolling dunes covered with sea oats make this a pristine oasis along the rapidly developing panhandle. Picnic shelters are between the Gulf and the Old River, which bounds Perdido Key on the north.