4 Best Mobile, Alabama Beaches

By VI Staff on March 27, 2020 - Updated

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The county seat of Mobile County in southwestern Alabama, Mobile is a beautiful port city with distinctive architecture and a lot of history behind it. It's the third biggest city in Alabama and the biggest city to be situated on the Gulf Coast between New Orleans in Louisiana and St Petersburg in Florida. It's the only port city in Alabama and is a superb place to visit for a wide variety of reasons. The city's downtown districts are a lot of fun to explore and Mobile has plenty of interesting museums and highly rated eateries.

1.Dauphin Island

This is one of the closest beaches to the city of Mobile. It's a little over half an hour away by car and is actually a barrier island that is connected to the mainland by a long bridge. If you'd prefer to leave the car and enjoy a different route, ferry services also connect the coast with Dauphin Island. When you get there, you'll be blown away by the sheer beauty of this location. The fort is home to the historical Fort Gaines, which was constructed back in the 1800s and still remains standing to this day.

Dauphin Island’s beaches can be found running all around the outside of the fort and stretching along the full length of the island's coastline, offering a lot of space for everyone to enjoy. This is a popular beach near Mobile, but it never gets too crowded. There are several piers for fishing and Dauphin Island can be a nice spot to spend a weekend, with various condos and holiday homes available for rent in the local area.

2.Fairhope

The little arts and crafts town of Fairhope can be found on the eastern side of Mobile Bay, just a short drive away from the city of Mobile. It's a small, tranquil town with a lot of charm. Beautiful flowerbeds and trees line the streets and a warm welcome awaits you in every store and eatery, with Fairhope being a great place to stop off and spend a day at any time of year.

There are actually three unique beaches to be found in Fairhope, but they're all quite similar, providing lovely views out over the bar and relatively calm, warm waters that are just right for swimming and other fun activities. If you're looking for a pure, simple beach experience near Mobile, Alabama, this is definitely a great place to be.

3.West Beach - Gulf Shores

Often ranked as the finest beach in all of Alabama, West Beach at the Gulf Shores area is found a relatively short distance from the city of Mobile, just south of Mobile Bay. This beach runs for around six miles in total, providing more than enough space for everyone to enjoy a lot of privacy and find their own little spot of sandy paradise to sit back and relax.

Offering the cleanest, whitest sands and warmest waters, this fully public beach is a perfect place to spend a day. As soon as you arrive, the first views of the beach and Gulf waters will blow you away, and when you dip your toes in those waters on a sunny summer day, you won’t be able to resist heading further out to sea for a soothing soak. A good tip for this beach is to take the time to walk west a little; as you head further along in this direction, the crowds will thin out and you’ll have even more intimacy.

4.Point Clear

This is actually one of the closest beaches to Mobile, Alabama, but there's a catch: Point Clear is a private beach, with access exclusively reserved for guests of the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort. If you do happen to stay at the hotel, which is one of the oldest resorts in the city, this beach is definitely worth checking out.

The soft, white sand sinks beneath your feet and the waters are just right in this part of the bay. Not only that, but the resort also organizes lots of beach and water activities, with various equipment and sporting items available for rent and giving you a dozen different ways to while away the day.

5.More Info

Unfortunately, despite being a coastal city, it doesn't have any beaches, so you'll have to take a trip outside of the city to find the best beaches near Mobile, Alabama. Luckily, you won’t have to go too far. There are plenty of highly-rated beaches to be found within an hour of Mobile, offering beautiful views of the Gulf of Mexico, soft sands beneath your feet, warm waters for swimming, and much more. Fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing, and many other fun activities can be found on the beaches around Mobile, so there’s something to please every kind of traveler in this little corner of the country.

Best Beaches Near Mobile, Alabama

Despite not having any beaches of its own, Mobile is a great place to base yourself for a beachside vacation. Many excellent beaches are found very close to the city, and if you’re willing to drive just a little further, there are even more sunny and sandy destinations a little further away. Finding a beach near Mobile can be quite an overwhelming task with so many options to choose from, so we’re helping to narrow down your search by providing some brief overviews of the very best beaches in the area. Read on to learn all about them.