Listed among Frommer's top destinations for 2010, Destin is located on the Emerald Coast of Florida on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay. Miles of beachfront offer you access to surf and sand, as well as opportunities for water-related recreational activities.
Beaches
Destin offers 12 beach access points in the city, including Henderson Beach State Recreation Area. Here, you'll find 6,000 feet of white-sand shoreline to beach comb, as well as access to the emerald water for snorkeling, diving and swimming. Participate in a race entirely on the sand--the Destin 50 Beach Ultra, to be held in February 2011, is a 50-mile race on Destin beaches. At Santa Rosa Beach, less than 20 miles away, you can try your hand at Yolo boarding, a hybrid cross between surfing and canoeing or kayaking. Yoloing involves using a paddle while standing up on a larger version of a surfing longboard and paddling yourself over and through the water.
Golfing
Destin is home to several year-round golf courses that boast breathtaking scenery and views of the Emerald Coast. Indian Bayou, a semi-private course located off Airport Road, offers three nine-hole courses with strategically placed bunkers and water hazards. Regatta Bay is a par 72, semi-private 18-hole championship course that offers a challenge to golfers of all skill levels. Emerald Bay Golf Club and the Baytowne and Links 18-hole championship courses of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort all run along Choctawhatchee Bay.
Fishing
Destin calls itself the World's Luckiest Fishing Village--it claims to have Florida's largest fishing vessel fleet and has hosted the annual Destin Fishing Rodeo every October since 1948. You can throw your line into the water off a beach pier or jetty in hopes of catching whiting, pompano, mackerel, channel bass or sheepshead. Blue crabs can be found on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay, where anglers can try to snag speckled sea and white trout, red fish, channel bass and flounder. You'll find numerous charter boat operations at the harbor offering half-day and full-day inshore trolling and offshore trolling and deep sea bottom fishing. The area off the southwestern shores of Destin provides the opportunity to go offshore trolling for billfish, such as marlin and swordfish.
Animal Attractions
The Gulfarium, located five miles from Destin, offers you the opportunity to swim with the dolphins and feed stingrays, as well as participate in marine science classes and lectures. The Gulfarium has offered an Aquatic Summer Camp for kids since 1994, where kids are introduced to the wonders of the aquatic world while also participating in physical activities such as swimming. When walking Gulf Breeze Zoo's 50 acres of botanical gardens, you can catch a glimpse of the primates living in a natural habitat on Gorilla Island, and view the white Bengal tigers, reptiles and pygmy hippos. Children can interact with tame animals at the farm.
State Parks
Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park is located on the north shore of Choctawhatchee Bay in Niceville, approximately 15 miles from Destin. Here, you can rent a canoe and explore Rocky Bayou, bike along the three miles of paved road or hike one of the park's three nature trails. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach, 20 miles east of Destin, offers more than three miles of beach, and according to Florida State Parks, is "one of northwest Florida's few remaining mature dune ecosystems." You'll hike through wetland and pine flatwoods environments on this park`s paved and natural surface trails.
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