Discover Orange Beach, Alabama: A Hidden Beach for Beach Lovers and Families

Orange Beach, Alabama, sits quietly between Gulf Shores and Pensacola. It’s pristine, commercial, and somehow still intimate. The beaches are immaculate, not by accident, but by design. Local regulations ask you to take only footprints and leave only pictures. And the beach is better because of it.

The town earned its name from settlers who tried, unsuccessfully, to grow Satsuma oranges on the sand. Maybe Not-So-Orange Beach would’ve been more honest. The white sands come from quartz filtered through the Appalachian Mountains thousands of years ago. That’s part of the coastline’s clarity, its burnished, almost unreal glow.

Offshore, Orange Beach has built the largest artificial reef system in the country. More than 17,000 reefs stretch beneath the surface, drawing snorkelers, divers, and curious wanderers. The water plays its part. But when you want something inland, you follow Portage Creek to The Wharf.

The Wharf is family-friendly, polished, and full of motion. An amphitheater hosts acts like Styx, Foreigner, Luke Bryan, Train, Dierks Bentley, and REO Speedwagon. There’s a weekly open mic, restaurants, bars, an escape room, a light show, and the second-largest Ferris wheel in the southeast. It’s a place built to entertain, and it does.

The restaurants are polished too, touristy, sure, but worth it if you know how to order. Find the spot with the best atmosphere. CoastAL. The Gulf. Both sit right on the beach. Order the most reasonably priced fish basket. They’re not flying in frozen fish. That’s a southern coastal truth you can trust. And while you’re here, don’t skip the BBQ. Southern coastal BBQ is its own kind of delicious.

I’m simple. I like a good cup of coffee or tea. The best on the strip is just west, near Gulf Shores, Southern Grind at INDIGO. After that, I head back to the beach. Spend the afternoon exploring the small islands along the coast. Robinson Island. Walker Island. Quiet, untouched, and perfect for a kind of escape that doesn’t need explanation.

Orange Beach was an accident for me. I didn’t plan it. But once I found it, it stayed. It’s difficult to shake. The beach remains one of my favorite stateside escapes. Not because it’s loud. But because it welcomes.