There are places you visit. And then there are places that become part of your story.
For our family, Orange Beach, Alabama, is the latter.
We’ve been coming to Lower Alabama for more than 20 years, and somehow, we still find something new every time.
That’s one of the things I love most about this stretch of the Gulf Coast. Orange Beach can be active, alive and loud—and just a few minutes away, you can find a quiet place where time seems to slow down.
You can spend the morning on the beach, the afternoon fishing or exploring, and the evening watching the sun melt into the bay.
You can build a trip around adventure.
Or you can barely make it off the balcony.
And honestly, that’s the beauty of Orange Beach.
Our 20+ Year Orange Beach Story
Our story here actually began long before we had kids.
When my husband and I were still “just friends,” we started visiting Gulf Shores and Orange Beach with his parents. Twice a year, we found ourselves making the trip slowly collecting the little memories that eventually become the big ones.
We got engaged nearby on Navarre Beach.
We found a puppy we fell in love with and somehow flew home with him.
We celebrated family milestones here.
And we eventually laid my father-in-law to rest here.
Before we had our second child, we even put down a more permanent connection to this place and purchased land in Bear Point.
So when I say this part of Alabama holds a little piece of our hearts, I mean it.
Now, our boys are old enough to be part of the story.
They are experiencing Lower Alabama in their own way—fishing, exploring, chasing adventures, discovering new places and, of course, turning nearly every ordinary moment into an adventure.
That’s what makes returning to a place after 20 years so special.
You’re not just revisiting a destination.
You’re watching your family grow into it.
Orange Beach: More Than a Beach Trip
One of the biggest surprises for people who haven’t spent much time in Lower Alabama is just how much there is to do beyond the Gulf.
Don’t get me wrong—we love the beach.
But we’ve learned that you don’t have to spend every minute sitting in the sand to have an incredible Orange Beach vacation.
What I love is the variety. You can move from Gulf beaches to bays and waterways, marinas to restaurants, family attractions to quiet neighborhoods—and somehow, each one feels like a different version of the same destination.
And each side has a completely different feel.
The Gulf side is energetic and beach-focused.
The bay side feels slower.
The waterways bring the adventure.
And tucked between them are neighborhoods, restaurants and little pockets of peace that make you feel like you’ve discovered a different version of the same destination.
Orange Beach hasn’t always been the bustling vacation destination it is today. Long before the condos and beach crowds, the area was known for orange groves and eventually became a prominent fishing village. In fact, we own a little slice of land in Bear Point that is still evolving from its days as a fish camp into the quiet, golf-cart-friendly community and marina it is today. Fishing and boating are still at the heart of life and adventure here.
Tourism began growing significantly in the 1960s and 1970s, and Orange Beach officially incorporated on August 1, 1984. Today, more than 7 million visitors come to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach each year—a pretty remarkable transformation for a place that still manages to feel like a fishing village in some pockets.
And yet, somehow, there are still places where you can sit quietly and watch boats pass by.
That’s the Orange Beach I love.
And because our family keeps changing, the way we experience Orange Beach has changed, too.
These days, that includes figuring out where to stay now that my in-laws no longer have their home here.
For years, we didn’t have to think much about lodging. Now we do—and that meant trying something that isn’t usually our first choice.
And, as it turns out, we may have found a place worth talking about.
Next up: where we stayed, what surprised us, and whether we’d do it again.
→ Where We Stayed in Orange Beach: Our Caribe Resort B-105 Review
