Perdido Key & Orange Beach, the way it actually is.
One beach, split by a state line. Today's flag, what's biting, where to eat, and which bar has the goats — from people who live here, for everyone who wishes they did.
The Key Today · Wednesday, July 29
One stretch of sand, two state flags — check the access sign before you wade in.
Beach walk before 8. The sand's yours and the light is better.
It actually looks like this. Right now.
Not a stock photo. Not a rental listing. Not "sugar-white sand." Just the live Gulf at Orange Beach — glassy, churned-up, or flat-out closed.
Live Orange Beach webcam, courtesy of Spectrum Resorts at Turquoise Place. Not loading, or dark? open it on YouTube ↗ — it may just be night on the coast. More views on the cams page.
5-Day Forecast
Forecast via the National Weather Service.
Latest
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 54: how to spot a local in one glance
Vol. 54 of Sand in the Coffee is a field guide to the locals on the beach — the small tells that give us away, every one of which is also a tip you can steal for a better beach day.
The Salt Line, Vol. 45: A Fat Tuesday Rescheduled to Saturday, Six Jets for One Mail Plane, and $74 Million in Geothermal Whatevers
Volume 45 opens the mailbag in a heat index that could poach an egg on a bumper — Mardi Gras eyeing the weekend, a Navy plane getting a hero's escort for hauling the mail, and a factory whose name I had to read three times.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 53: the royal red is not a regular shrimp
Vol. 53 of Sand in the Coffee makes the case for the royal red — the deep-water Gulf shrimp that tastes like lobster, cooks in about two minutes, and should never, under any circumstances, be fried.
Marina morning — half the boats already gone.
Photo: Pexels
Got a better shot? Prove it.
Sunrises, dog-on-the-beach portraits, that fish you swear was bigger — send us your best from the Key or Orange Beach and we'll run our favorites right here, credited to you.
Areas
Perdido Key Drive
The strip. Gulf-front high-rises, the Sandshaker, and the smell of fryer oil drifting south.
Johnson Beach / Gulf Islands
The undeveloped end. National park rules apply. Bring shade — there isn't any.
Innerarity Point
Bay side. Where locals drink. Hub Stacey's, Pirate's Cove, and a sunset that beats the Gulf for half the year.
Sorrento / Bauer Road
The inland part. Where the Publix is. Where everyone who actually lives here goes for cat litter.
The Flora-Bama Line
Two states, one parking lot. The Mullet Toss, the Songwriters, the line. Where the Key is, in spirit.
Ono Island
Gated, quiet, and across a bridge. Locals live here. Tourists do not, on purpose.
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- This week's fishing report, distilled
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- New spots, closings, and what locals actually do
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