Shell Key Preserve — Attraction in Gulfport

I really liked this island, but there are things you should have caution about. We came with the intent to camp overnight. You can easily obtain a permit online. There were 7 of us and we kayaked from the Fort Desoto boat ramp to the island. You will have a tough paddle if you don't time your paddle to the tides. There are a lot of strong currents in the area. midday the sun is brutal there's no shade on the island and the interior of the island is covered in sand spurs and tiny mosquitos. In the middle of the night someone came into our camp, but they were gone by the time we got out of our tents. Nothing was taken, but you can bet next time I will have a perimeter alarm on hand. Even though we went during a new moon there was still a lot of light pollution from nearby hotels making easy to see at night. During the day there is a lot of boat traffic very close to the island and group tours that walk the island looking for shells. There are no bathrooms noon the island. The best part about the trip here was after 4pm the island calms down. You can see large fish near the island and watch cruise ships leaving port. There a lot of nice shells to be found. Beginning in October they allow fires on the island, but you will need to bring your own wood. We had a great time once the...

Camped here Memorial Day weekend. Would I visit here again? Absolutely. Clear water, beautiful sunsets, dolphins, general fun crowd. A chartered boat ride out is pretty cheap- if you have your own boat and can shuttle stuff over for a grill out and fun- don't hesitate. Would I camp here again? Hell no. Ok- maybe. It's an absolutely gorgeous place- but there's a very tiny amount of actual sandy shoreline to pitch a tent unless you want to hike a long way. With coolers and so much gear- that wasn't a viable option for our group. We battled endless spores everywhere that wasn't just the Sandy shore, relentless sand gnats at night (I counted over 30 bites mostly from the first night- didn't realize I was getting bit up. There called no-see-ums for a reason!), fire ants, regular ants everywhere. I couldn't lay on my beach towel without something crawling on me or biting- even with bug repellant- ants aren't really repelled. - Just come prepared for the bugs. Also- if you stay overnight you need to pack...

Loved our visit here. Definitely worth visiting. We were traveling with 4 young children 2, 4,6,7). The kids loved exploring and finding shells. We found a few sand dollars and some large shells while searching in the water. The water is shallow. Would definitely bring an umbrella, glad we had one as there is no shade. Also, bring lots of water and snacks--and take your trash with you! We first went to the sand bar for 2 hours and then to shell key for another 2. Glad we opted to do both. We took the ferry service provided by Hubbards marina, they were friendly and helpful in pointing out where the best spots were to find shells. Would recommend shoes if walking into the grass by the shore as our 4 year old stepped on burrs barefooted. The captain told us coming during the week is best (we went on a Wednesday) as it gets very busy and noisy during weekends. There was one large boat that was playing obnoxiously loud music while we were there. We saw a pod of dolphins playing near the shore that was...