Outdoor Fun
With an average of 300 days of sun, the Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Bay area is an outdoor activities paradise.
Of course, the snowy white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico beckons from across the Bob Sike's Bridge. There is a strip of beach waiting year round. Winter time affords lovely walks along the water's edge with a constantly varied selection of seashells. And the long, hot summers make fishing, diving, boating, water-skiing, paddle boarding, snorkeling and swimming a daily past-time.
The City of Gulf Breeze has more of its land (53%) devoted to parks than any other city of its size. The South Santa Rosa Recreation Center or Shoreline Park, is a 138-acre complex with indoor, outdoor and Sound-side waterfront resources for almost every sport, including a playground for young children. The Tiger Point Sports Park on east Gulf Breeze Parkway is a 30-acre County facility that also provides ball fields and tennis courts as well as playgrounds and walking/running track.
Competitive sports enthusiasts will find 5ks, 10ks, marathons, half marathons, triathlons, golf and tennis tournaments, and water events scheduled all year round. The Pensacola Bay area is also known for its strong athletic programs for children of all ages in golf, tennis, swimming, yachting, volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball, football and lacrosse.
The Gulf Islands National Seashore includes the Naval Live Oak Reservation on Gulf Breeze Parkway with trails, picnic areas, and a Visitor Center. Opal Beach Day-Use Area, between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach, offers picnic shelters and handicapped access. Fort Pickens (on Pensacola Beach) and Fort Barrancas, at NAS Pensacola, are Civil War era forts that provide hours of exploration. There is a fee to enter Fort Pickens. Picnicking, fishing, swimming, and camping facilities are available at Ft. Pickens also. 
Gulf Breeze is also home to the Gulf Breeze Zoo located at Gulf Breeze Parkway (highway 98). Zoo visitors can feed the animals in the petting zoo, stroll along winding sidewalks amid many caged habitats and ride the safari train in an open range living environment where animals are an arms length away or hanging out on lush green islands.
Golfing enthusiasts can reserve tee time on 40 courses within a 100 miles circuit from Gulf Breeze, beginning with an outing at Tiger Point Golf Club at Gulf Breeze Parkway.
Milton, the Canoeing Capital of Florida is 20 miles north which gives freshwater enthusiasts abundant opportunities for recreation on the Blackwater, Sweetwater and Coldwater Rivers. Blackwater River State Forest is the largest state forest in Florida, with more than 183,000 acres of woodlands, lakes and streams for camping, hiking, biking, tubing, canoeing and fishing. On the west side of Pensacola, visitors can also enjoy hiking, biking and camping at Big Lagoon State Park.
Every year Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Bay area resident enjoy two hometown shows of their own angels - the Blue Angels, the Navy's precision flight demonstration team stationed at NAS Pensacola. In July, they thrill audiences with a show over the Gulf on Pensacola Beach. In November, they end their season with a huge air show on base. These are "must see" events.
Pensacola is also home to a variety sports teams. The Blue Wahoos, a feeder team for the Cincinnati Reds, play in the brand new Maritime Park on the waterfront in downtown Pensacola. The Pensacola Civic Center turns into the icy home of the Pensacola Ice Flyers during ice hockey season. Also, the Pensacola Aviators are a nationally recognized rugby team that plays on the fields at the Univ. of West Florida. And racing enthusiasts can visit, Five Flags Speedway.
Indoor Fun
Gulf Breeze and the Pensacola Bay area are also home to many indoor shopping, cultural and historic activities.
Pensacola is the City of Five Flags because of its varied history under the Spanish, British, French, Confederate and American flags. The Pensacola Historical Society has carefully showcased this history in a grouping of museums in the downtown area. The city is also known as the Cradle of Aviation because of its long history of training Naval aviators which is beautifully showcased in the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
The Bay area does not lack in cultural opportunities. The newly refurbished Saenger Theatre is home to the Pensacola Symphony and Opera. Many traveling Broadway plays and other shows are performed there as well, including those of the local ballet companies. The Pensacola Little and Lob-lolly Theatres provide quite a variety drama expressions for all ages and interests. A variety of local bars showcase bands from jazz ensembles to indie. During the summer, free concerts are held on Pensacola Beach on Tuesday nights and in Pensacola on Thursday evenings.
For the art lover, the Pensacola Art Museum, as well as numerous galleries and art festivals offer variety and inspiration year-round. There are to art annual art festivals: Gulf Breeze Celebrates the Arts in the spring and Greater Gulf Coast Art Festival in the fall. But there is a festival of some type almost every weekend beginning with the annual Martin Luther King Day parades in January and closing with downtown Pensacola's own New Year's Eve Pelican Drop. Whether its our history we are celebrating or the two annual shows of the Blue Angels - the Navy's awesome flight demonstration team stationed at NAS Pensacola - Gulf Breeze and the Bay area loves a party.
For a day of shopping, Gulf Breeze is full of wonderfully divers shops beginning in the Seashell Collection of the City of Gulf Breeze all the way to the many antique shops along east highway 98. Shoppers can also explore the many shops of downtown Pensacola and Cordova Mall in northeast Pensacola.