Things to Do in Ocean Springs
Discover Ocean Springs — art galleries, Gulf Islands National Seashore, downtown harbor, and why this art town actually lives up to its reputation.
Ocean Springs calls itself “the city of discovery,” which is the kind of slogan every small town has, except this one actually makes sense. There’s more here than you’d expect.
The Art Thing
Ocean Springs is an art town. Not in a pretentious way — more in a “retired painters and potters moved here and opened galleries” way. Washington Avenue downtown has a dozen galleries within walking distance. Most of them are open Saturday afternoons. You can browse without anyone pressuring you to buy anything.
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art is the anchor. Anderson was a local artist who painted wildlife and spent years living alone on Horn Island. His work is strange and beautiful. The museum has rotating exhibits too, not just Anderson stuff.
Outside
Gulf Islands National Seashore includes Davis Bayou, which is right in town. Hiking trails through the marsh, a fishing pier, boat launch. Free to walk around, $25 for an annual pass if you want to kayak or launch a boat regularly.
The beach at Front Beach is small but fine for wading and watching the sunset. It’s not Panama City — the water is calmer and murkier. That’s just how the Mississippi Sound works.
Horn Island is twelve miles offshore and completely undeveloped. No facilities. No people most of the time. You need a boat to get there, but if you can arrange that, it’s genuinely wild. Camping is allowed.
Biking around town is easy. It’s flat, the traffic is light, and there’s a bike path along the beach road. Rent a bike from the shop on Government Street if you didn’t bring one.
Downtown
Friday nights from spring through fall, downtown does the “Gallery Walk” thing. Galleries stay open late, there’s usually live music somewhere, and you can wander around with a drink from one of the bars. It’s low-key.
The harbor is worth walking even if you’re not getting on a boat. Shrimp boats, sailboats, the occasional pelican. Grab food from somewhere and eat on the seawall.
The farmer’s market runs Saturday mornings in the little park off Washington Avenue. Local produce, bread, honey, that kind of thing. Gets crowded by 9 AM.
Food and Drink
I wrote a whole separate guide about restaurants, but the short version: lots of good options for a town this size. Seafood, BBQ, a Lebanese place that’s been here forever. Bars are mostly casual — this isn’t a nightlife destination.
Day Trips
Biloxi is fifteen minutes away and has casinos, a lighthouse, and the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum if you want to learn about shrimping. Also more beach access.
Mobile is an hour east. Bigger city, Mardi Gras history, the USS Alabama battleship if you’re into that.
New Orleans is ninety minutes west. You know what’s there.
The Vibe
Ocean Springs is quiet. Not dead — there’s stuff happening — but quiet. It’s the kind of place where you recognize people at the grocery store. Good for a weekend trip. Better for longer if you like that pace.