Ocean Springs Best
Linocut illustration of Ocean Springs: live oak with Spanish moss, a wooden pier with a pelican on a piling, a sailboat on the horizon, and marsh grass.
The Local Guide  ·  Ocean Springs, MS

A small town, honestly covered.

Local guide to 191 ranked best-of lists and nine field guides. Honest rankings from real Google reviews, refreshed monthly.

Browse the 191 rankings → Or start with a field guide →

Ocean Springs is small enough to know and rich enough to write about. The pages here are sorted from real customer ratings, not paid placements. The one paid placement is the Featured slot at the top of each list, and it never moves the ranking beneath it. That is the whole deal.

Plan Your Visit

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01

Things to Do

Beaches, the museum, the bayou, the bike loop, the festival weekend.

02

Walter Anderson Museum

The artist who painted Horn Island. The Little Room is here. Plan ninety minutes minimum.

03

Front & East Beach

The bay-side beaches. Sunsets, crabbing, parking notes, when to arrive on weekends.

04

Gulf Islands Seashore

Davis Bayou, Horn Island, West Ship. The campground, the bike route, the boat options.

Guides to Ocean Springs

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art on Washington Avenue, Ocean Springs.
The Walter Anderson Museum of Art on Washington Avenue, Ocean Springs. Photo by Georgianotthestate , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
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Front Beach at sunset, looking across Biloxi Bay.
Front Beach at sunset, looking across Biloxi Bay. Photo by Anably , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
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The Gulf Islands National Seashore Visitor Center at Davis Bayou.
The Gulf Islands National Seashore Visitor Center at Davis Bayou. Photo by Peterwchen , CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
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A storefront on Government Street, downtown Ocean Springs.
A storefront on Government Street, downtown Ocean Springs. Photo by Paul Lowry , CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
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The historic L and N Depot, Ocean Springs.
The historic L and N Depot, Ocean Springs. Photo by Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History , via Wikimedia Commons.
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Horn Island and the Mississippi Sound barrier islands, from above.
Horn Island and the Mississippi Sound barrier islands, from above. Photo by Robert A. Morton U.S. Geological Survey , via Wikimedia Commons.
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The Field Guides

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Linocut of a pelican on a piling.

The big list

Things to Do

23 places, stops, and experiences worth your time, ranked by a local.

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Linocut of a great blue heron in flight.

Field guide

Walter Anderson Museum

The artist, the Community Center Room, and how to plan an unhurried visit.

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Linocut of a beach with pier and gulls.

Field guide

The Beaches

Front Beach vs East Beach: where to crab, where to walk, where the sunset is.

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Linocut of barrier island marsh.

Field guide

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Davis Bayou, the barrier islands, the ferries, and what to do once you arrive.

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Linocut of cypress in the bayou.

Field guide

Davis Bayou

Free trails, a kayak launch, the fishing pier, and the only campground in town.

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Linocut of a tree-lined main street.

Field guide

Downtown

Government Street, Washington Avenue galleries, the L&N depot, and how to walk it.

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Linocut of small shops along brick sidewalk.

Field guide

Shopping

Independent boutiques, galleries, antiques. No chains, no malls — just the real ones.

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Linocut of an Adirondack chair on the sand.

Itinerary

A Perfect Weekend

A Friday-through-Sunday route that hits the museum, the beaches, downtown, and Davis Bayou.

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Linocut of a child on a beach with a kite.

Family guide

With Kids

Pier crabbing, calm bay water, kid-sized trails, and which museums hold their attention.

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The Town Index

all 191 rankings
Restaurants Coffee Seafood Bakeries Bars Donuts Dentists Plumbers Electricians Hair Salons Veterinarians Tree Service Auto Repair Nail Salons Gyms Real Estate Grocery Self Storage

From the Best-Of Desk

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Best Restaurants 25 ranked Best Fast food restaurants 16 ranked Best Seafood restaurants 10 ranked Best Donut shops 6 ranked Best Shopping malls 6 ranked Best Parks 19 ranked Best Veterinarians 11 ranked Best Used car dealers 9 ranked Best Pizza restaurants 7 ranked Best Mexican restaurants 5 ranked Best Tire shops 8 ranked Best Coffee shops 11 ranked