We can’t promise you that any sea turtles will be laying their eggs during your visit, but if you come to Navarre Beach in the summer and early fall, you’ll be here during sea turtle nesting season. Sea turtles, including green sea turtles and leatherbacks, have been known to nest along our beautiful white sand beaches.
Turtle watchers get up early every morning and walk the beaches, searching for the telltale signs that a female turtle has come ashore, laid her eggs and buried them. When they find nests, they mark them carefully warning folks to stay back and give them space.
Eventually, if the weather and waves cooperate, tiny sea turtles will hatch and make their way back to the Gulf of Mexico, where they’ll take their chances with multiple predators.
Folks can live along Navarre Beach for decades and never spot these toddlers crawling back to the water’s edge. Those that have seen it say it’s a thrilling sight! You will likely see plenty of other marine life, from schools of bait fish – visible as a densely packed, ever-shifting cloud of tiny creatures – to shorebirds, dolphins and manta rays. Bring your binoculars and keep your eyes on the water. It’s like going to an aquarium – no tickets required.