Gulf Islands: Bay St. Louis Kayaking & Ship Island Ferry

Bay St. Louis's back-bay estuaries offer excellent kayaking in calm, protected water — the Bay of St. Louis is a 15-square-mile tidal embayment ringed by salt marsh, oyster reefs, and live-oak bluffs, with views of the Bay Bridge and the undeveloped barrier islands across the Mississippi Sound. Outfitters including Bay Kayak and Mississippi Coast Paddling rent sit-on-top kayaks and canoes from the Old Town waterfront, with suggested routes into the tidal creeks behind the historic district. The bay's clear shallows are home to dolphins, rays, and small sharks; osprey and brown pelicans patrol overhead.

Old Town Bay St. Louis is the most charming town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast — a compact, walkable neighborhood of Victorian cottages and Creole shotgun houses on Beach Boulevard and the adjacent streets, filled with independent art galleries, antique shops, and restaurants that rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in 2005. The town's art scene has been growing steadily since the early 2000s, drawing artists from New Orleans and beyond; the Saturday market on the beach brings local producers, potters, and musicians.

Lazy Magnolia is Mississippi's oldest craft brewery, founded in Kiln, MS in 2003 — and one of the pioneering Gulf South craft breweries that helped establish the regional scene before the national craft beer explosion. Their flagship Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is brewed with whole roasted pecans and has won national awards; the taproom offers samples of the full lineup including seasonal Gulf Coast ales and their year-round Jefferson Stout. The brewery is named for the state flower and the state tree together — a very Mississippi gesture.

Ship Island lies 12 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, reachable only by a 45-minute ferry from Jones Park in Gulfport. The ferry runs seasonally from March through October with 2-3 departures per day; the early departure is recommended to secure beach space and time at Fort Massachusetts. The crossing is one of the most dramatic approaches in the Gulf South: the mainland disappears behind you as the white sand bar of Ship Island emerges from the blue-green Gulf water ahead.

Fort Massachusetts on the western tip of Ship Island is the only Confederate-held Union military installation on the Gulf of Mexico — federal troops constructed the fort beginning in 1859 to guard the deep-water Ship Island Pass approach to New Orleans, but Mississippi state forces seized it in January 1861 and held it for 10 months before Union gunboats forced its evacuation in September 1861. Union forces then used the fort as a staging base for the 1862 capture of New Orleans and as a prison for Confederate POWs, holding up to 9,000 prisoners on the sandy island during the war. The brick fort's three bastions, sally port, and gun emplacements are remarkably intact; free NPS ranger tours run during the ferry's dwell time on the island.

Ship Island's Gulf-facing beach is one of the finest in the entire Gulf of Mexico — fine white quartz sand, clear emerald water, and no development beyond the NPS concession stand and bath facilities. Hurricane Camille split the original island into East Ship and West Ship in 1969; the western section with Fort Massachusetts and the beach is the accessible unit. Swimming is excellent in calm conditions; the NPS snack bar sells cold drinks, hot dogs, and sunscreen for the beach day.

The return ferry to Gulfport departs in mid-afternoon; check the current schedule when booking. The return crossing passes the Back Bay of Biloxi and the Mississippi Sound, with views of the barrier islands stretching east toward Dauphin Island, Alabama.