Explore · Biloxi · Exploration
Getting outside in Biloxi — and what’s a short drive away.
Behind the casinos, Biloxi is a beach-and-water town. The long man-made beach, an undeveloped island barely offshore, and a working harbor are all easy to reach. Here’s where to get into it — plus the day trips that make Biloxi a solid base for the wider Coast.
On the water & on the sand
In-town nature, in order of how easy it is to get to.
Biloxi Beach
A wide white-sand beach runs the length of the waterfront — part of a 26-mile man-made stretch built along the Coast after the 1947 hurricane, often called the longest man-made beach in the world. This is the Mississippi Sound, not the open Gulf, so the water is calm and shallow — great for wading, picnicking, and sunsets. Parking along Highway 90 is free.
Deer Island
An undeveloped island sitting just off downtown — beaches, marsh, and pine, with dolphins and shorebirds around it. It’s a short, beginner-friendly paddle when conditions are calm, and a few local outfitters run guided trips if you don’t have your own kayak. Bring everything you need; there are no facilities out there.
Biloxi Small Craft Harbor & Point Cadet
The east-end harbor is the working heart of old Biloxi — shrimp and charter boats, the schooner pier, McElroy’s for a fried platter with a view. A good place to walk, watch the boats, and feel the seafood town under the casino town. Charter fishing trips push off from here too.
Sunset on the Sound
The whole beachfront faces south over the Sound, and the long flat horizon makes for big, easy sunsets. The beach off Highway 90 is the simplest spot; the harbor and the lighthouse at dusk are the photographers’ picks.
Day trips from Biloxi
One of the best things about basing here: everywhere else on the Coast is a short drive.
Ocean Springs
A walkable art town across the bay bridge — galleries, the Walter Anderson Museum, great food, and Davis Bayou in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The quieter counterpoint to Biloxi.
Gulfport
Biloxi’s bigger neighbor — a working port, more beach, the Mississippi Aquarium, and Ship Island ferries that run in season out to the barrier islands.
Mobile, AL
Bigger city, deep Mardi Gras history (it started here, not New Orleans), and the USS Alabama battleship.
New Orleans
You know what’s there. Easy day trip or overnight straight down I-10.
A perfect outdoor day
An early walk on the beach before it heats up, a calm-morning paddle out to Deer Island, lunch at McElroy’s on the Small Craft Harbor watching the boats, an afternoon at the Maritime Museum or out on a schooner, and sunset on the Sound from the lighthouse end of the beach. That’s a Biloxi day that has almost nothing to do with the casinos and everything to do with why the town is here. When you’re ready to eat, the food guide has the rest.
Exploring the whole Coast?
I cover the outdoors, the water, and the events across all three counties in The Seawall, my twice-weekly newsletter. More town Exploration guides going up here as I write them.
Rob Recio lives in Ocean Springs and is in real-estate-licensure training in Mississippi. This is informational visitor content, not real-estate advice or a solicitation.