The Beach — Local services in Gulfport

I love our Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches. They are bright white and regularly maintained for trash by the City/County Govts. Many locals that walk the beach bring small bags to clear the trash sadly left by some. I regularly walk a couple beach miles daily (except when there's a cold wind-brrrr:) and I have always felt safe. There is a very nice concrete walking and bike path closer to the road with occasional benches for rest. Free parking all along the beach. I prefer the pull offs with medians between the road and parking. Park directly on the roadside if you'd prefer, just pay attention to cars going by at 45 MPH or more. The beaches offer easy to find spots for your visit. There are some popular spots that get a bit crowded (they have vendors doing rentals) and such. Otherwise, there are miles of your own personal beach available. Now, the not so good news. Our Gulf water isn't generally clear. The barrier islands keep a good portion of the Mississippi River water in making for sometimes murky water. It's fairly shallow out about 100 yards, so you can walk out quite a way (posts identify the safe limit). If you enjoy wide open, beautiful beaches, this is the place. If you want clear water and crowded beaches, head on to Alabama or Florida:) I like our wide...

First time visiting Gulfport Beach, MS, as my husband brought us here for his work. The area is not hopping busy as we are a few weeks before Memorial Day Vaca'ers hit the area. Most days, I had the whole beach to myself..the neat thing is that there is pull off parking street side, with concrete and pebble stone steps all along the beach area for easy access. The beach does have white sand which runs all along the coast line. Do not expect to see the blue/green waters that are associated with the beach as Gulfport sits at the mouth of the Gulf where the Mississippi River meets the up with Gulf of Mexico call the Mississippi Sound. I would call it possibly "brackish" waters, aka "muddy waters". Not a popular place to find sea shells, unless you like oyster shells, then on a good day you may find some washed up on the sand. All in all any day at a beach...

We spent three days in Gulfport. Not impressed at all. The area seems to have an identity issue being an unbalanced blend of Bourbon street and Florida beaches. Smokey bars and loud bands cheap vodka kool-aid drinks. Decent food is hard to find. Stay away from the misleading downtown area. It belies it appearance. We were enticed into the Irish pub and a bistro located through Google maps. But when we got there, they were smoke filled pool halls full of bar thugs. It's truly sad, because this could be a beautiful place and experience if only the local government would clean the place up for a more family friendly destination. Shift about 2 hours east to Florida for a far better experience for roughly...