Sports Lovers’ Paradise
Spectator or participant, you’ll find plenty of sports action in the Perdido Key area. Golf, tennis, sailing, fishing, skateboarding, paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, surfing, zip lining and more are in Perdido Key and nearby. Lost Key Golf Course (625 Lost Key Dr.) is a par71 championship course and the first in Florida to be certified as an Audubon International Silver Signature Sanctuary. Follow the footsteps of legends like Payne Stewart, Jack Nicklaus and Curtis Strange, who played at Perdido Bay Golf Club (1 Doug Ford Dr). The premier championship course was the site of the Pensacola Open, a longtime stop on the PGA Tour. There are two free public tennis courts on Avon Road, with a large park and children’s playground right next door. Skateboarders will enjoy the skateboard park on Innerarity Point Road. There’s no shortage of fishing (onshore or offshore), annual tournaments and charter boat captains ready to take you out for the day. Then again, you can stay
on dry land and fish from the beach, a fishing pier or Big Lagoon State Park. If you like kayaking and canoeing, explore the scenic Perdido Key Blueway paddling trail, a link on Florida’s 1,515mile Blueway Trail. The Perdido Key segment extends 5½ miles along the south shore of Big Lagoon. (Launch site: Johnson Beach) The Southwest Escambia Sports Complex draws thousands of young players for tournaments each year. It covers nearly 200 acres, with lighted baseball, softball, soccer and football fields, an open play area, playground and covered pavilions (2020 Bauer Rd). The Pensacola Blue Wahoos play Double-A baseball at the waterfront Community Maritime Park (301 W. Main St.) in Pensacola. And fans love the Pensacola Ice Flyers, a Southern Professional Hockey League team that plays at Pensacola Bay Center (201 E. Gregory St). When the pros aren’t playing, the ice rink is open to the public. On Pensacola’s west side is Five Flags Speedway (7451 Pine Forest Rd.) and the Escambia Equestrian Center (7750 Mobile Hwy). Veteran stars and newcomers alike battle at Five Flags, which brings the stock car season to an exciting end with the Snowball Derby. The Equestrian Center offers horse shows, dog shows and rodeos year-round. Close by, the Pensacola Greyhound Park has one of Florida’s few remaining greyhound tracks, as well as a poker room. WWW.VISITPERDIDO.COM | 47