In a short, half-hour tour along the water and through the forested hammock zone with park ranger Barbara Roberts, we saw a majestic heron perched on a pole and some snowy white egrets. I didn’t see any, but manatees aren’t uncommon in the local waters. Gamble Rogers State Park on the south end of town has a pretty shoreline and also an interior portion that backs onto the Intracoastal Waterway. There’s shopping and eating to be had, but this part of Florida is more about enjoying nature and the simpler things in life. The only chain I spotted was a 7-11 and a bank. The result is awesome views with nothing but small palmettos and grasses and dunes and a two-lane road between you and the ocean.įlagler Beach is a quiet, throwback kind of town, with a small square and scattered, casual shops and restaurants. With the exception of a snack shack a couple miles south of town and the Funky Pelican restaurant on the edge of the town’s pier, all the buildings in this part of northeast Florida are forced to the other side of the quiet highway that runs along the coast.

Unlike many parts of Florida, the golden sand in Flagler isn’t marred by buildings. “What else do you need?” he asks with a laugh. The pub’s general manager laughs and stretches out his right hand towards the Atlantic Ocean, as if personally unveiling the golden beach and the rolling, green waves and the long pier. I ask him what draws people to an out-of-the-way, little known spot such as Flagler Beach. FLAGLER BEACH, FLORIDA-Bob Wilson is hanging out with me on the second floor patio of the Golden Lion Pub, where folks gather around soft blue, green and yellow railings and snack on local seafood and cold beer.

Florida beach life