Golf courses have challenging greens with more than forty courses to choose from between Gulf Shores, Alabama and Destin, Florida. Golf writer Ronnie Ramos ranks Navarre's Hidden Creek Golf Course as one of Florida's Top 100. Hot Times in the City Navarre exists for relaxation and fun in Florida's natural environment. The area, however, offers plenty of action for those seeking a good boutique, a classic play or a fine oil painting. Opera, ballet or community theater and variety shows can be found within a short drive at the local colleges and cultural centers.
Festivals crowd the calendar.
In January, runners enjoy the Navarre Beach Half Marathon, and in February, the town celebrates Mardi Gras. Other festivals held in the area throughout the year celebrate wine tasting, jazz, seafood and the arts. For the truly unusual, pencil in the Scratch Ankle Festival in Milton, the Billy Bowlegs Festival in Ft. Walton Beach, or the Mullett Festival in Niceville. The Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival attracts around 200,000 people the first weekend in November, the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival draws songwriters about the same time, and the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show over Pensacola Beach in mid-November wraps up the Fall excitement.