Panhandle pleasures: emerald waters and sugar bowl beaches await sun-seekers in northwest Florida

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Angela Wibking

As you continue east from Panama City, the Panhandle curves south into the Big Bend area, where you'll find quiet beaches and quaint coastal villages like Apalachicola, the center of the Panhandle's oyster industry. St. George Island State Park offers miles of powder-white dunes and emerald waters for swimming or surf fishing. At Wakulla Springs State Park, a freshwater spring pours into an enormous pool where you can swim, snorkel, or ride in a glass-bottom boat. Head north from here to Tallahassee to tour the restored Old Capitol building and enjoy the lush flower gardens at A.B. Maclay State Gardens.

The Panhandle finally pans out at the picturesque 19th century fishing village of Cedar Key, where you'll find Cedar Keys Wildlife Refuge and Manatee Springs State Park, a winter home of the docile and elusive manatee. Here, at the end of the Panhandle, the rest of Florida begins. While it's tempting to continue on, we usually turn the car around and head back for a little more Panhandle. You probably will, too.

Contact: Florida Tourism, (888) 735-2872; www.flausa.com.