The Perfect Weekend in Ocean Springs, MS (Local Itinerary)
Two nights in Ocean Springs is enough time to cover the best of the town without rushing. The itinerary below routes you through the cultural district, the waterfront, and the natural areas in an order that makes geographic sense so you are not backtracking across town repeatedly. It is written for someone who wants substance and variety rather than a checklist of tourist attractions.
Friday: Arrive, Settle In, and Get to Know Downtown
Arrive in the afternoon if you can. Ocean Springs is about an hour east of New Orleans and a few hours west of Mobile. The drive in on Highway 90 gives you your first view of Biloxi Bay and the bridge crossing, which sets the context for the geography of the town.
Check into your hotel and then head to downtown Government Street before dinner. The goal on Friday afternoon is not to do everything but to get oriented. Walk the length of Government Street from the west end toward Washington Avenue, see what shops are open, and note what you want to return to on Saturday morning. The galleries on Washington Avenue stay open into the early evening on Fridays and are worth a preliminary walk.
For dinner, the best restaurants in Ocean Springs page covers the current options with ratings and category. Downtown has a high density of good restaurants within a short walk of each other. The bars on Government Street pick up after 9 p.m. if you want to see the live music scene, which is active on Friday nights. The best bars in Ocean Springs page covers current venue options.
Saturday Morning: Walter Anderson Museum and the Gallery District
Saturday is the cultural day. Start before 10 a.m. if you can, when the Walter Anderson Museum of Art opens and before the main crowd arrives.
Plan to spend at least 90 minutes at the museum. The main building has rotating selections from Anderson’s permanent collection: watercolors, block prints, and drawings from decades of Gulf Coast observation. The gift shop is worth browsing before you leave.
The real priority is the Community Center Room behind the main building. This is the small building Anderson secretly painted floor to ceiling with a mural of a Gulf storm, working alone over years with the windows sealed. Nobody saw it until after he died in 1965. Allow yourself time to simply stand in it.
After the museum, walk Washington Avenue south through the gallery corridor. The galleries are within a short walk of each other and most are open by 10 a.m. on Saturdays. Downtown Ocean Springs shopping is concentrated on these two streets and the connecting blocks. Shearwater Pottery is accessible from Washington Avenue and sells hand-thrown pieces from the working studio.
Get lunch downtown. The best coffee shops in Ocean Springs can anchor a morning break between the museum and the galleries.
Saturday Afternoon: Front Beach, East Beach, and the Waterfront
After lunch, go to the water. Front Beach and East Beach are a short drive from downtown. Front Beach is closer to the harbor and has a pier that is good for crabbing and fishing. East Beach is less crowded and better for a long walk.
The goal on Saturday afternoon is not a structured activity. Walk the beach, sit on the pier at Front Beach, watch the boat traffic on the bay, and stay until the light gets good in the late afternoon. Sunset at Front Beach over Biloxi Bay is one of the better free things in Ocean Springs, particularly in fall and spring when the sky color is more dramatic.
If you want to add an outdoor activity, the Davis Bayou Unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore is a 10-minute drive from downtown and closes at sunset. A late-afternoon walk through the maritime forest trail is manageable in about 60 to 90 minutes and gives you a completely different environment from the beach.
Dinner on Saturday can be more planned than Friday. Make a reservation at a restaurant you identified the night before. For seafood specifically, the best seafood restaurants in Ocean Springs page covers what is worth the visit.
Sunday Morning: Davis Bayou and the National Seashore
Sunday morning is for the outdoors. Get up early and drive to the Davis Bayou Unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore by 8 a.m. if you can. The visitor center opens at 9 a.m. on most days but the park itself is open earlier.
The options from Davis Bayou depend on what you brought:
If you have a kayak, the launch at Davis Bayou is the best calm-water paddle near Ocean Springs. A morning on the bayou before the wind picks up is quiet in a way that is hard to replicate anywhere else in the area.
If you are fishing, the pier at Davis Bayou is worth an hour or two in the morning before the sun gets high. Redfish and speckled trout are in the bayou channels.
If you are just walking, the main trail loop through the maritime forest takes about 60 to 90 minutes and is one of the better short hikes in the region. The birding on Sunday morning in the trails is reliably good.
Sunday Midday: Departure Timing
Ocean Springs is compact enough that you can finish a morning at Davis Bayou and still have time for a late breakfast or lunch on Government Street before you leave. Sunday brunch is active at several downtown spots. See the best restaurants in Ocean Springs for current options.
If you are coming specifically during the Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival (first weekend of November), expect the downtown area to be significantly busier and add at least a half day to your plans for the festival itself. It is worth reorganizing the itinerary around.
For everything that did not fit into this weekend, the full things to do in Ocean Springs guide covers 23 activities and serves as the comprehensive starting point for planning a longer visit.