Fort Morgan, Alabama, has become a destination for tourists only recently. While the peninsula has always attracted fishermen and women, and a few beach houses have overlooked the beautiful beaches since the early 20th Century, the slender strip of sand that reaches out into the mouth of Mobile Bay has mostly been given up for military purposes for most of its Alabama history.

​

Because of its geographically strategic position on the Bay, the land has been the site for forts since before the War of 1812.  Fort Bowyer was built after the start of that war between the young United States and Britain but served an important role in keeping British ships out of the Bay before the war ended.  Fort Bowyer gave way to Fort Morgan, which served in the Civil War, for the Confederates; the Spanish American War; World War I; and World War II. The fort grew into a significant military presence in the area starting when it was reconstructed to serve in the Spanish American War and expanded even more during World War I and World War II. During both world wars the fort served as a protection for the coast as well as a training site for artillery troops. Today, the reconstructed fort’s history entertains visitors as a major tourist attraction in south Baldwin County, Alabama.

​

At the end of World War II, the first attempt to establish the Fort Morgan peninsula as a tourist destination was the use of the abandoned fort and air strip to create an upscale resort, complete with renovated rooms in the old 170th Cost Artillery Corp barracks, a restaurant (because it would have been a 30-minute drive to find a restaurant in Gulf Shores), and an air strip for private passenger planes to bring in guests.  The exclusive resort remained open for a decade before it was no longer considered economically viable.  The resort’s main competition was a more popular Point Clear Hotel resort a few miles up the Bay’s coast, which had served guests since the turn of the century. (Marriott’s Grand Hotel Golf Resort is now located on the site at Point Clear.)

​

The peninsula has rebuilt after three devastating hurricanes, in 1906, 1916, and 1979.  After the Level 5 Hurricane Frederic in 1979, the peninsula caught the attention of individuals wanting to built houses and investors wanting to construct condominiums and resorts.  Its close proximity to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama, makes the tourist attractions in those cities available to vacationers staying at Fort Morgan, and therefore much of the tackiness of many beach towns with their neon attractions has escaped the peninsula.

​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Getting There

Fort Morgan sits about 10 miles outside Gulf Shores. It is accessed in two ways:  From Alabama Highway 59, turn at State Highway 180 (aka Fort Morgan Parkway) and head west.  Or, if coming from Mobile, you can drive to Dauphin Island and catch the car- and foot-traffic ferry that runs every 30 minutes in summer and every hour in winter between Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan. The ferry closes at 5 p.m. in winter and 7:30 in summer, when two ferries run. Private planes can land at Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores. Commercial air passenger service is available at Mobile Regional Airport or Pensacola Regional Airport.

 

Accommodations

Most of the rental property in Fort Morgan proper will be houses, though there are two condo units, including The Indies, near the historic fort, Kiva Dunes, and two resorts, including The Beach Club Resort and Spa and Gulf Shores Plantation, which offers condos and beach houses.  Navy Cove Harbor is closer to the end of the peninsula and is a condo development with boat slips. Bay to Breakers is a housing development through which you can rent vacation stays through VRBO and other rental services. Beware when you search for a Fort Morgan place to stay, because many of the properties that will be offered to you will be in Gulf Shores. If you want the quieter beach vacation, choose Fort Morgan.  Homeaway/VRBO lists 300 houses and condos for Fort Morgan, at about $250 to $390 daily rates in the summer for a place that sleeps 6; if it has direct access to the beach it will be higher.  

 

Places to Eat

Tacky Jacks 2

1577 Highway 180

Hours:  8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday & Saturday to 11 p.m.

There are three Tacky Jacks in south Baldwin County.  This one sits about a mile from Fort Morgan, the historical site, next door to the Fort Morgan Marina.

Its full-service menu offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Rustic indoor seating and seating on a large deck that overlooks Mobile Bay.  Full bar for beer, wine, and mixed drinks. Specialty drinks include the Tacky Jacks Famous Bushwacker, Rum Runner, Amaretto Orange Blossom, Mimosas and Poinsettias, and Bloody Marys. Import bottles of beer and domestic bottle beer. No craft beers.  Limited wine offerings.  Sports bar atmosphere. Known for its frequent karaoke evenings and sometimes has live music.

​

Sassy Bass Amazin’ Grill and Market

5160 Highway 180

Hours:  8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There are four Sassy Basses in the area, including a crazy donut shop in Gulf Shores.  The Fort Morgan facility offers daily breakfast buffet and full menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Meals have a Caribbean flair, such as plantain French toast.  Lots of fish and shrimp dishes.  Specialty drinks are branded Smokin’ Bass Bowl Drinks and include Jamaica Me Crazy, Painkiller, Caribbean Screw, Hurricane, Coconut Margarita, and Swamp Sour. Frozen drinks, cocktails, and import, domestic, and craft beers.  They offer a Key Lime Pie Martini, a Patron Perfect Margarita, and an Ultimate Cosmo vodka cocktail.  Limited wine selection.  Frequent live music.  Seating inside and on the deck.

​

Behind the Pines Restaurant

8818 Highway 180

Hours:  11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Behind the Pines sits behind the Pines convenience store and pizzeria.  It bills itself as a seafood restaurant with fish, oysters, and shrimp, and it also has burgers. The only steak you’ll be able to get is a hamburger steak or a tuna steak.  Bang Bang Shrimp is a favorite. Full bar.  Sometimes has live music. If you’ve been on a fishing trip, will cook what you catch. Locally owned.

​

Coast Restaurant and Sushi Bar

453 Beach Club Trail at The Beach Club on Highway 180

Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the summer tourist season

The Coast Restaurant is a high-end restaurant with white tablecloths. Good food and the sushi bar is excellent.  John Hamme is the chef. Food is American and Italian, with fresh seafood and high-quality steaks. Full bar. One of the better restaurants in south Baldwin County.  Extensive selection of wine. Quite expensive, though.  In the summer, The Beach Club has food trucks parked out front off Highway 180 with reasonably priced and decent food.  And there are games for the kids.  Call 251-224-3600 for reservations during busy summer months.

​

The Village Hideaway

925 Beach Club Trail at The Beach Club on Highway 180

Hours:  11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A second restaurant at The Beach Club that is less formal.  It offers pizza, burgers and other sandwiches, and seafood. Full pub bar.  Billiards, shuffleboard, and arcade games for entertainment.

​

Kiva Grill

815 Plantation Road at Kiva Dunes Golf Resort on Highway 180

Brunch 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; lunch 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Offering full-service breakfast and lunch at a medium price. American and grill foods of burgers and seafood.  Breakfast offers several types of eggs Benedict, including an original Cajun one that uses Conecuh Sausage and blends crawfish into the hollandaise sauce – superb!  Also offers French toast and waffles.  Lunches include grilled cheese with chili, as well as other sandwiches. Drink and coffee bar.  

​

Sassy Bass Island Grill

375 Plantation Road, at The Plantation on Highway 180

Hours: 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily

Another Sassy Bass original, this one with a Caribbean feel. For breakfast, it has grits and eggs and potatoes and eggs, Café Benedict and other takes on eggs Benedict as well as Corn Flake crusted French toast, “donut meals,” and an array of breakfast bar drinks.  For lunch and dinner, it offers conch fritters, Bahama cakes, shrimp and potato cheese soup, coconut shrimp, fish and taters, fresh catch and other seafood and prime rib, and chicken encrusted in cashews topped with goat cheese and red pepper sauce.  The Bora Bora is two country ham steaks and massed potatoes with grilled pineapple slices.  Special drinks include Dirty Banana (made with dark rum) and the Painkiller.

​

Fort Morgan Pizza and BBQ

9989 Highway 180

Hours: open for lunch and dinner

(251) 540-2622 for delivery

The folks at this locally owned pizzeria offer fresh cooked pizzas and can do a non-baked pizza that you can bake at your place. The BBQ is pulled pork sandwiches. They’ll make you a salad if you ask.  Pick up or delivery.

​

​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​Nature Excursions

Fort Morgan offers much for the nature lover.  Most prominently, the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge takes up 7,000 acres along the peninsula and protects the natural habitats that are in abundance.

​

In addition to the beautiful beaches, there are hiking trails, as well as an internationally significant birding opportunity in the fall and spring as migrations occur.  Fall bird migration starts in August and peaks in mid-October. Spring bird migration begins in March and peaks in early April.  You can pick up a Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Bird List at the Refuge office.

​

Monarch butterflies migrate in mid-October. Wildflowers bloom in September and October. Sea turtles nest on the beaches from May to October, so care must be taken not to harm the nests during these months. 

​

In addition to the public beach along the part of the shore where rental houses face the ocean, there is a lesser known Bon Secour beach near the end of the peninsula across from the Fort Morgan Marina and Tacky Jacks.  Visitors can pull into the road on the south of Highway 180 and park on the roadside.  A short walk towards the sea opens onto a truly beautiful beach in a natural setting.

​

Trails

Off Highway 180 closer to Gulf Shores, turn south onto Mobile Street that will take you to the head of Gator Lake trail, a mile-long trail that is sandy until you get to a boardwalk that takes you to the freshwater lake.  It also takes you to an intersection with Pine Beach Trail.  (Pine Beach Trail can be accessed at the start of Mobile Street as well).  At the intersection, turn right and the trail takes you to the shoreline and a beach.  Turn left, and you will intersect with Centennial Trail, a two-mile walk parallel with Little Lagoon that will intersect with the Jeff Friend Trail, which is actually in Gulf Shores.  (The boardwalk on Centennial Trail is in disrepair and cannot be walked on at this time. A plan to dispense with the boardwalk and move the trail further north next year is being considered.) 

​

If you continue driving south on Mobile Street, you will reach a beach access on the Gulf. Pine Beach Trail goes south past Gator Lake and the western end of Little Lagoon and ends on the shore and a beach on the Gulf of Mexico.  The Jeff Friend Trail will take you east and north to a parking area off Highway 180.  All the trails are of moderate difficulty with a stretch on the Jeff Friend trail that is boardwalk and of easy difficulty, which is also wheelchair-accessible.  What you’ll experience is maritime forest, dune swells, and wetlands.  The intact dune ecosystem is home to many species of birds, seaside plants, and small animals.  Gator Lake, though, is home to, as the name implies, alligators.

​

Wildlife you can see year around in the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge acreage include bobcat, squirrels, marsh and cottontail rabbits, opossum, raccoons, alligators, skinks, and nine-banded armadillos.

​

The Refuge office is at 12295 State Highway 180 and is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Fishing

Whether pulling a Seatrout out of the water from the beach, snagging a Grouper from the depths of the sea further out, gigging a Flounder at night, or hooking a fighting Marlin for the catch of a lifetime, the Gulf of Mexico reigns supreme.  You can travel to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, or Dauphin Island (by taking the ferry) to get a charter. But you can find one closer to your rental in Fort Morgan, too. The most targeted fish for Fort Morgan are Spanish Mackerel, Red Snapper, King Mackerel, and Redfish.

​

Three types of fishing await: 

• Inshore fishing around the jetties sticking our into the bay for Flounder, Seatrout, Redfish, or Pompano;

• Bottom fishing around the reefs, rock piles, and gas platforms in Mobile Bay for Triggerfish, Sheepshead, Flounder, Spanish Mackerel, and Bluefish.Going out into the Gulf, you can catch Amberjack, Grouper, and Red Snapper.

• Deep Sea fishing takes you out 60 or more miles for Mahi Mahi, Wahoo, Cobia, Blue Marlin, sharks, and Yellow Fin and Black Fin tuna.

• ​

One choice of charters is at the Gulf Shores Yacht Club and Marina at Fort Morgan (Fort Morgan Marina for short), where six boats stand ready to take out fishermen and women for off-shore charters – Mojo, Red Eye, and Lazy Line; Ni-Cole, Gulf Adventures, Dottie-Jo for inshore fishing charters. They also offer shrimp charters and shark fishing.  Other Fort Morgan charters are Another Fish Charters – Fort Morgan and Sunrise Charters --Fort Morgan.  If you don’t want to contact the charters individually, you can use a booking agent at FishingBooker.  If you want a personal charter, check with Dr. Mike’s School of Fish.  He’s big on fishing on shore from the beach and likes to teach youngsters.

​

Dottie Joe Charters by Captain Joe Garris Jr.  Offers inshore and offshore trips, light tackle. They have a 26 foot boat for inshore and a 32 foot boat for offshore. The captain has 40 years’ experience fishing local waters. They advertise that they specialize in teaching parents and children to fish. Fishing licenses are included.  Half-day, 6-hour, and 8-hour trips available. Located at Gulf Shores Marina Fort Morgan. Dolphin cruises are available. 251-213-6680. dottiejocharterservice@yahoo.com

​

​

Adventure Sports

If you want jet ski rentals, parasailing, or ziplining, you’ll have to go into Gulf Shores.  In Fort Morgan, you can rent a kayak and put it in the water at a number of places either on the Gulf side or the Bay side.  Go Go Kayaks is on Highway 180 and they will deliver. Call 251-540-7529.  If you want an off-the-beach canoe or kayak adventure, check out Beach N’ River Canoe and Kayak in Foley, a locally owned service that puts you on the Bon Secour River. 

​

If you’re looking for bicycles or paddle boards, coolers or beach chairs, check out Gear Rentals.  You can call them at 251-800-1167.

​

Pontoon boats, jet skis, and kayaks can be rented at the Fort Morgan Marina, too. 251-540-2628. gulfshoresmarina@yahoo.com. The marina is at 1577 Highway 180, Fort Morgan. Cosson Watersports rents Yamaha Waverunner jet skis for 30 minutes to all day. They also have pontoon boats for rent and kayaks. They operate out of Fort Morgan Marina. 251-517-2089.

​

Attractions

There are no specific tourist attractions at Fort Morgan except the historic Fort Morgan and the peninsula’s beautiful beaches.  Check out our listing under destinations for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach because attractions in those cities are a half-hour to an hour away from accommodations in Fort Morgan.

​

 

​