Tell me about Long Beach, Mississippi

[My3kiddos]

We are thinking about visiting New Orleans this summer, but would like to spend a few days at the beach too. Can anyone tell me if Long Beach, MS would be a good place to visit? If not can you tell me a beach within 2-3 hours of New Orleans that would be a good place to go?

 

[hineshm]

I do not know much about Long Beach, but the best beach closest to New Orleans is Gulf Shores, Alabama or Orange Beach, Alabama.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

Alabama beaches are nowhere near New Orleans. You have to go completely across the whole state of Mississippi then half way across Alabama to get to Orange beach and Gulf Shores.

Long Beach is going to be the same as Biloxi or Gulfport. It is the GULF OF MEXICO. It's not really pretty icy blue waters. It's kind of brown and dull looking. The beaches are clean and usually not very packed with ppl.

Long Beach would be a fine choice of beaches within a few hours of New Orleans. I think Long Beach is about 1.5 to 2 hours from New Orleans.

I live in Mississippi by the way.

 

[McDuck]

We are currently stationed in Gulfport, which is the next town east from Long Beach. Like has been stated, you're not going to get the pretty blue waters of the Gulf, but the beaches here are decent and it's about 90 minutes from New Orleans (which is where I'm from! so being stationed here is great!) From Gulfport you can take a ferry to Ship Island, which I haven't been to yet, but I hear nice things about.

 

[NotUrsula]

Eh, "close" is relative. When I was in college we thought nothing of driving from coastal Louisiana to Panama City to go to the beach for the day.

ALL of the Gulf Coast is the Gulf of Mexico; from Corpus Christie right down to Ft. Myers, FL. Water clarity varies greatly depending on the local currents, and the currents in coastal Mississippi deposit a lot of silt from the Mississippi River, which is what accounts for the brownish water in that area.

Long Beach is right on the edge of the Mississippi Sound, and was one of the towns hardest hit by Hurricane Camille in 1969, and it was hit again by Katrina, nearly flattened, in fact. The beach has narrowed there for that reason; they haven't had a lot of money for re-nourishment.

If you have a full day, it can be fun to take the Ferry out of Gulfport to West Ship Island. The trip out is an hour each way, and dolphins often follow the boat. The island's beaches are nice, and the water clarity is much better out there. There are food concessions and chair/umbrella rentals available on the island.

 

[FloridaPixie]

Pensacola is 2.45 minutes from NOLA (we live in Pcola), and the beaches are great here, as are the ones in Orange Beach or Gulf Shores, Alabama. Take a peek at a map and you'll see that while you do have to drive through Mississippi and Alabama to get to Pcola, it is a very, very short trip through both because you're only driving through the small parts at the bottom of the states : ), and Pensacola is just about on the Alabama/Florida line. We are in NOLA often, so the driving time is very accurate. Have a wonderful trip to the Gulf Coast!

 

[fizbobunny]

Long Beach itself is nice. There is white sandy beaches. The water is very shallow. The joke around here is you can walk for a mile and the water won't go above your knees. The water is brownish. Gulfport is a big town right near Long Beach.

There is a waterpark in Gulfport. http://www.gulfislandswaterpark.com/


In Gulfport, there is a great children's musuem type place and it's right off the beach. It's called Lynn Meadows Discovery Center and it is just amazing. http://www.lmdc.org/

There is also a marine mammal research center that has dolphin encounters in Gulfport. http://www.imms.org/dolphin_program.php

There are also some very nice casinos in Biloxi/Gulfport if you are interested in that.

 

[RobertLC]

I had posted a good reply a few days ago, but now it's not here and I've lost about 23 of my posts.

Anyway, I live in Long Beach, MS and there are some decent beaches.

I also used to work for the State Department of Marine Resources and can tell you why the water is brown and that my entire family has been in it and we're ok.

Anything you need to know, just ask me!

 

[RobertLC]

Found my post. Turns out this thread is duplicated in another area.

Anyway, here's my original answer:


I live in Long Beach, MS.

If you do want to just sit on a beach and get some sand, there are some decent beaches.

You can even get in the water if you want, it never gets much above waist or chest level (depending on the tide) for several hundred yards out.

The MS Gulf Coast has the longest man-made beach in the world, I think, at 26 miles.

It's true that due to the barrier island effect, you won't get the huge waves of other beaches and the water is not blue/green. That's due to all the local estuaries that are on the Coast that provide the breeding habitat for our shrimp and other marine life. The water in the estuaries contains lots of leaves and other decomposing plant matter, which in turn makes the water slightly dark and brown.

But there's nothing wrong with the water, it's like steeped tea. I and my family go in it in the summer and we're all fine, no mutations or disease.

If you have any questions, just ask me!

 

[Maddies Mama]

We are currently stationed in Gulfport, which is the next town east from Long Beach. Like has been stated, you're not going to get the pretty blue waters of the Gulf, but the beaches here are decent and it's about 90 minutes from New Orleans (which is where I'm from! so being stationed here is great!) From Gulfport you can take a ferry to Ship Island, which I haven't been to yet, but I hear nice things about.

Ship Island is a beautiful way to spend a day at the beach. My husband is stationed at Keesler so we live in Biloxi and absolutely love this area. However, I think the beaches on the coast here are gross. I will not get in the water here (I will at Ship Island). If you have the time to spare, driving the extra 1.5 hours to go to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores in AL (and eat at Lambert's on the way!) is the way to go, but I understand you may not want to make that sort of trek. However, here in southern MS, there is a lot to do that is non-beach. But like it was stated before, if you want to just lay in the sand and soak up some sun, the beach here is just fine. Personally I think it's gross to get in the water here, but lots of people do anyway.

 

[PrincessShanShan]

Dh is from NOLA and I'm from the Alabama gulf coast. It is true that you have to drive across Mississippi and Alabama to get to orange beach or gulf shores, but it really isn't that far. I'm near Dauphin island Alabama and I'm an hour and forty five minutes from NOLA and an hour to gulf shores. So you're looking at about a 3hour drive from new Orleans to gulf shores/orange beach/perdido key.

 

[Maddies Mama]

It really isn't that far across MS - I'm pretty sure the last mile marker before crossing into AL is #75 or so. You can make it through MS in an hour.

 

[Swan4Me]

Honestly- I would NOT visit my Favorite city- NewOrleans in the summer- it really is a hot oven of a place- I'd go to gulf shores AL- whose beaches are far better than MS"..........or drive a couple hours to Destin which has the prettiest beaches and water on the Gulf Coast