Photo by Paul Christiansen.
A great blue heron on the beach of Dauphin Island.
Clinging to the water’s edge, the great blue heron held steady while the waves lapped at his sand-covered toes. He was hunched against the cold, feathers ruffled in a downy mass, and yet he refused to leave and seek shelter from the biting wind—a silent sentinel standing watch over the spit of white sand gently rising above the sea.
I like to think he was drawn here, in much the same way people seek solace and relaxation at the beach. Most come in the summer, when the sun drenches their skin with warmth and a dip in the salty water counterbalances the heat. I prefer the winter, when the beaches are quiet except for the cold-weary snowbirds visiting from the north and the occasional fisherman.
In January, my family and I crossed the long bridge from Alabama’s mainland to the coastal town of Dauphin Island. It’s a place that has lured visitors for more than three thousand years, and in the depths of winter, the barrier island reveals glimpses of earlier days. These first inhabitants, seeking food and freshwater flowing from a nearby spring, left behind mounds of oyster shells interlayered with charcoal, fish bones, and potsherds. The compacted ridges are still evident on the island’s bayside at Indian Shell Mound Park, a forested area that today serves as a significant habitat for migrant birds.
Europeans found the island in 1519, when Spanish explorer Alonzo Pineda mapped Mobile Bay. However, legend tells of explorations as early as 1171 by Prince Madoc of Wales. The French came in 1699 under the leadership of Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville, and upon finding the skeletal remains of about sixty lost souls, he named the land, “Île du Massacre.” Later, they came to call it, “Île Dauphine.”
In those days, the French would dock their large ocean-going ships at the island and shuttle people and goods in flat-bottom boats up shallow Mobile Bay to the growing city of Mobile. When the controversial Louisiana governor, Antoine Laumet de Lamothe Cadillac, made his home here in 1713, Dauphin Island became the temporary capital of the Louisiana territory. His house is long gone, but the location is still marked by present-day Cadillac Square, an idyllic spot for a shady picnic under the outstretched arms of live oak trees. Although Dauphin Island would change hands over the years, from British to Spanish to American, the French heritage is still honored in the island’s coat of arms, decorated with three golden fleurs-de-lis, and in the many streets bearing French names.
Today, the fourteen-mile-long island is home to around 1,300 permanent residents, who largely live on the east end, where higher ground and a maritime forest offer protection from storms. Still, their homes, balanced high in the air on stilts, are testaments to the precariousness of living at the mercy of Mother Nature. The west end, a narrow stretch of sand dunes and wide-open skies, plays host to elevated vacation rentals before leaving behind civilization to point a long, powdery finger into the recesses of the Gulf.
Photo by Paul Christiansen
Fort Gaines, a Civil War stronghold famous for its role in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
This is where my family and I stayed, gathering seashells on long morning walks, counting the evening’s stars from the enveloping warmth of the hot tub, and falling asleep to the harmony of gently rolling waves. Our days, however, were spent rediscovering the island’s secrets, exploring its history and geology while embracing its natural beauty and family-friendly fun side.
When viewed from above, the island fittingly resembles a fish swimming east. At its mouth sits Fort Gaines, a formidable stronghold famous for its role in the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay. As a child growing up in south Alabama, I vividly remember learning of the exploits of Union Admiral David G. Farragut and his infamous directive upon seeing the fort, yelling, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
Our guide of the fort, Robert Bean, dressed in period attire, began our tour with a bang, firing a cannon to the delight of everyone walking the grounds. He explained how Fort Gaines’s design mirrored that of Fort Clinch near Jacksonville, Florida, and was the last design for a brick fort in the United States. Built between 1821 and 1861, the five walls of Fort Gaines are surprisingly well-preserved despite gunfire damage and its proximity to the sea. We browsed the museum’s artifacts, including historic maps, soldiers’ uniforms, and various weapons, and scaled the walls for impressive views of Mobile Bay and the surrounding Gulf. From the courtyard, we accessed arched hallways leading to the former bakery with its brick ovens, the blacksmith’s shop where a local blacksmith still comes to forge his crafts, and innovative latrines that were “flushed” twice a day by the incoming and outgoing tides.
When viewed from above, the island fittingly resembles a fish swimming east.
Across the street from Fort Gaines, a fishing pier juts out into the water, flanked by large rocks occupied by squatting seagulls and pelicans. This is East End Park, which also has a boat launch for easy access to the waters east and south of the island. In the distance, large platforms hover over the water, extracting natural gas from sandstone up to 20,000 feet below the surface. This area is a hotbed for fossil fuels. In fact, the largest natural gas field in the continental United States lies beneath Mobile Bay and Alabama’s Gulf waters.
Of course, those waters also play host to the area’s vital fishing and marine industry. Within walking distance of Fort Gaines is the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama's Marine Research and Education Center. A full complex designed to train future generations of oceanic and coastal scientists, the Sea Lab engages the public through boardwalk talks, excursions, summer camps, and the popular Alabama Aquarium. Highlighting coastal Alabama’s four main habitats, the Aquarium took us on a visual journey though the world of sea life residing in the Mobile Tensaw River Delta, Mobile Bay, the barrier islands, and the northern Gulf. In various tanks, pancake-shaped flounders shimmied beneath the sandy bottom, speckled trout and spadefish swam laps, and tiny seahorses clung to grasses with their corkscrew tails. Outside, in the Rays of the Bays exhibit, visitors were invited to extend two fingers into the touch tank and gently stroke the backs of sting rays and hammerhead sharks.
Photo by Paul Christiansen
As we left the aquarium, the Mobile Bay Ferry blew a lone, mournful horn and pulled away on its forty-minute journey to Fort Morgan. Departing regularly throughout the day, the ferry offers an affordable alternative to the two-hour drive between the two locations.
Back in our car, we headed down the street to stretch our legs along the boardwalks and nature trails in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. The route leads through pine trees and live oaks to a freshwater lake with massive soft-shell turtles. From here, the path splits, heading around both sides of the lake on a meandering path to the beach where an enormous osprey nest resides on an elevated post, overlooking the Gulf waters beyond. In all, three miles of trails wind through 137 acres of forest, marshes, and sand dunes. In the spring and fall, the trees come to life with the wings of hundreds of species of migrating birds stopping over on their long-distance journeys.
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From the beach on a clear day, it’s easy to catch sight of a solitary line rising out of the water about three miles to the south. This is the Sand Island Lighthouse, one of the most endangered lighthouses in the country. The last in a series of lighthouses built on tiny Sand Island, this final surviving structure was completed in 1873 and functioned as an active lighthouse until 1933. Over the years, erosion and hurricanes shrunk the more than four-hundred-acre island down to a mere circle of rocks and sand slightly larger than the lighthouse’s base. The keeper’s house and the accompanying buildings are all gone, yet the lighthouse still manages to defy the odds and stand proudly at its post.
The Bird Sanctuary is not the only beach access point; the road around Fort Gaines leads to the East End Beach with jetties, sunrise views, and an expanse of sand set against the backdrop of Fort Gaines and the maritime forest. Clear across the island, West End Beach faces the setting sun and provides miles of unblemished white sand. Here, you only have to walk a short distance before embracing the solitude the area affords. As a critical bird nesting habitat, West End Beach is the island’s only public beach that doesn’t allow dogs.
Photo by Paul Christiansen.
Nature trails in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary on Dauphin Island.
If You Go
Stop by the Little Red Schoolhouse, the island’s original elementary school, which was relocated to the center of town and now serves as the Visitor’s Center. Browse the museum to see historical photos of the island and its residents through the years, enjoy some coffee and cookies, and search through the thousands of books and puzzles in the Lending Library to find a few to enjoy during your stay.
Also consider bringing bicycles or renting some from Dauphin Island Kayak & Bicycle Rentals & Tours or Island eBikes. It’s the perfect mode of transport to embrace the slower island life. In the warmer months, rent a kayak to paddle around the bayside, or surfboard or paddleboards for catching the waves on the Gulf side.
Where to Stay
From campgrounds to motels to individual vacation homes, there is something on the island to fit everyone’s needs. The town itself maintains a list of places to stay. We highly enjoyed Toes in the Sand, with its inviting swim spa, offered through Boardwalk Realty.
Where to Eat
If you’re renting a vacation home with a kitchen and looking to spend some time cooking, Ship & Shore will be your go-to grocery. They’ll have everything you need for whipping up three meals a day, plus all the fishing supplies, sand buckets, and any other items you forgot to bring with you.
For recommendations on eating out, I enlisted the advice of my sister, Ricarda Manning, who’s lived on the island for years. She suggested Islanders Restaurant & Bar, as well as getting “fresh steamed seafood to go at Skinner’s, Captain Snapper's for the fried seafood platter, Carriage Wine & Market for sunsets, Pelican Pub, Dority’s for an outdoor music venue and food, and, of course, Lighthouse Bakery for pastries and sandwiches. Pirates Pizza is probably our favorite.” She also highly recommended Pirates Bar & Grill, which will be opening at a new location inside the island’s red-and-white lighthouse later this spring.
