Field Guide  ·  Ocean Springs, MS

23 Things to Do in Ocean Springs, MS (Local Guide)

Ocean Springs sits on the north shore of Biloxi Bay, about an hour east of New Orleans, 50 minutes from Mobile, and 10 minutes from Biloxi. It is a small city, roughly 18,000 people, but it punches well above its weight for things to do. The arts scene is real, the food scene is serious, the water access is plentiful, and the pace is slower than the casino strip across the bridge. If you are coming from out of town and have two or three days, you will not run out of things to fill them.

By length of stay:

• 3 hours: Walter Anderson Museum + a coffee on Washington Avenue + sunset at Front Beach.
• Half day: Add the downtown gallery walk and lunch at a Government Street restaurant.
• Full day: Add Davis Bayou trails in the morning or sunset paddle in the evening.
• Weekend: Add the Ship Island ferry from Gulfport, an unhurried dinner reservation, and breakfast Sunday morning before heading home. The perfect weekend in Ocean Springs guide lays this out Friday-Sunday.

A few things to know before you plan:

• Most downtown shops are closed Sunday afternoon and all day Monday. Galleries on Washington Avenue tend to be Tuesday-Saturday with abbreviated Sunday hours.
• The first weekend of November is the Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival (~150,000 visitors over two days). Hotels and parking fill weeks in advance. Either build the trip around it or come a different weekend.
• October is the sweet spot for weather: 79°F average high, lower humidity, hurricane risk drops mid-month.
• Hurricane season runs June 1 - November 30, with peak risk August through early October.

Here is what is actually worth your time.

1. Walter Anderson Museum of Art

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art on Washington Avenue is the anchor of the cultural district and the reason many people make the drive to Ocean Springs in the first place. Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965) was a Mississippi-born artist who spent the last two decades of his life making thousands of paintings, drawings, and watercolors, most of them rooted in the Gulf Coast landscape. He paddled alone to Horn Island repeatedly, sometimes in rough weather, and documented what he found there with obsessive precision.

The museum’s collection spans his watercolors, block prints, and murals. The centerpiece is the Community Center Room, a small building behind the main museum where Anderson secretly covered every wall and the ceiling with a dense mural depicting a Gulf storm. He worked on it alone over years and sealed the windows with newspaper. No one saw it until after he died. Standing in that room is one of the more striking things you can do in Mississippi.

Allow at least 90 minutes. The gift shop carries quality prints.

2. Front Beach and East Beach

Ocean Springs has two accessible public beaches on the bay side. Front Beach is on the western end of the waterfront, near downtown, with a pier, calm water, and views of Biloxi across the bay. East Beach runs east along the shoreline and is less crowded on weekdays. Neither beach has the wide sugar-sand look of Pensacola, but the water is warm in summer and both spots are good for a swim, a walk, or watching boats come in and out.

Sunset at Front Beach is particularly good when the sky is clear. Bring your own chairs, as shade structures are limited.

3. Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou Unit

Most people think of Gulf Islands National Seashore as the barrier islands, and those are worth the ferry trip. But the Davis Bayou Unit, on the east side of Ocean Springs off Park Road, is a free, underused park you can walk into any day of the week.

The unit has short hiking trails through salt marsh and pine forest, a campground, a boat launch, and a visitor center with exhibits on the seashore’s ecology and history. The 1.5-mile Davis Bayou Nature Trail goes through the marsh and is good for birding, particularly from fall through spring. Great blue herons are a constant. Clapper rails, ospreys, and painted buntings show up seasonally.

Admission is free. The campground takes reservations through recreation.gov.

4. Historic Downtown and Government Street

The core of downtown Ocean Springs is roughly a six-block stretch centered on Washington Avenue and Government Street. The buildings along here are a mix of Victorian storefronts, early-twentieth-century commercial blocks, and the occasional newer infill, and the city has done a reasonable job of keeping chain retail out. What you get instead is independent galleries, clothing shops, bookstores, and a concentration of restaurants that would not embarrass a city ten times the size.

The Anderson-designed murals inside the Ocean Springs Community Center building (not the museum, the civic building) are worth finding. The public art scattered through the downtown blocks rewards slow walking. If you are here on a weekend, give yourself two hours just to walk it.

For food and coffee while you explore downtown, see our best restaurants in Ocean Springs and best coffee shops in Ocean Springs guides.

5. Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center

The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center, on Washington Avenue near the bayou, is the main performing arts venue in Ocean Springs. It hosts theater productions, music performances, gallery shows, and community events throughout the year. The building itself was renovated and expanded from an old school, and the main performance hall has decent acoustics and sightlines.

Check their calendar before your visit. If something is on during your stay, it is usually worth the ticket price. The center also has visual arts programming and classes that are open to the public.

6. Kayaking and Paddleboarding the Bayou

Ocean Springs sits at the confluence of Biloxi Bay and several tidal bayous, including the main Davis Bayou. Kayaking or paddleboarding through the marsh gives you access to parts of the coast that are invisible from the road.

Several local outfitters offer rentals and guided tours. The marshes around Davis Bayou and the shoreline east toward Pascagoula are the most productive for wildlife, particularly in the early morning. You will see mullet jumping, occasional dolphins working the bay, and more bird species than you would expect this close to a town.

The water is shallow and protected enough that moderate paddlers can handle it without a guide, but a guided trip adds context if you are not already familiar with the marsh ecosystem.

7. Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival

The Peter Anderson Festival happens on the first weekend of November each year, and it is the largest arts and crafts festival on the Gulf Coast. It draws around 200 juried artists and roughly 100,000 visitors over two days, which is a remarkable number for a town this size.

The festival is named for Peter Anderson, Walter’s brother, who founded the Shearwater Pottery on Porteaux Bay Road. It is free to attend, covers the entire downtown area, and the quality of the work is generally high. If you are planning a fall trip to Ocean Springs, build it around this weekend. Book lodging months in advance.

8. Shearwater Pottery

Shearwater Pottery has operated on the Anderson family property on Porteaux Bay Road since Peter Anderson founded it in 1928. The family still runs it. They sell functional pottery, decorative pieces, and collectibles made on site, and the property has a small museum area that covers the Anderson family’s artistic legacy alongside the Walter Anderson Museum.

The drive out on Porteaux Bay Road is pleasant. The shop hours are limited, so check ahead before making the trip.

9. The Ocean Springs Harbor

The Ocean Springs Small Craft Harbor, off Hwy 90 near downtown, is a working marina with commercial and recreational boats. There is public access to walk the docks, watch the fishing boats unload, and catch views across the bay toward Biloxi. Charter fishing boats depart from here regularly for trips into the Gulf and around the barrier islands.

If you want fresh catch to take home or cook yourself, talk to the dock captains when boats come in. Several run informal sales off the boat.

10. Fishing, Inshore and Offshore

The waters around Ocean Springs are some of the best accessible fishing on the northern Gulf Coast. Inshore, the marshes and grass flats hold redfish, speckled trout, and flounder. The bay has sheepshead around structure. Offshore trips reach blue-water species including amberjack, red snapper, and king mackerel.

The harbor has multiple charter operators offering half-day, full-day, and overnight trips. Prices and boats vary, and your experience will depend heavily on the captain. If you are fishing inshore from shore or from a kayak, the Davis Bayou area and the grass flats east of town are productive.

Mississippi requires a fishing license for most saltwater fishing. Check current regulations at the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources website.

11. The Fairground Area and Farmer’s Market

Ocean Springs holds a Saturday morning farmers market at the old fairground near Washington Avenue. It runs seasonally and carries produce from local farms, prepared foods, and craft goods alongside fresh seafood. The market is smaller than a big-city counterpart, but the local vegetable growers and the fishmongers selling Gulf shrimp and oysters are worth the stop.

12. Gulf Islands National Seashore Barrier Islands (Horn Island, West Ship Island)

The barrier islands that make up Gulf Islands National Seashore are accessible by ferry from Gulfport (for West Ship Island) and by private boat for the others. Horn Island, the island Walter Anderson returned to repeatedly, is accessible by private boat only and requires permits for overnight camping. It is undeveloped, has no facilities, and the interior is mostly slash pine forest surrounded by Gulf beach. Going there is an experience distinct from anything on the mainland.

West Ship Island has a staffed visitor center, a historic fort (Fort Massachusetts), and a ferry service from Gulfport. It is a more practical day trip than Horn Island for visitors without a boat.

13. Biloxi Bay Bridge and the 120-Foot Mosaic

The bridge connecting Ocean Springs to Biloxi across Biloxi Bay is one of the longer bay crossings on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The view from the bridge, looking west toward the Gulf and east toward the marsh, is a good orientation to the geography. If you are driving from New Orleans, the bridge gives you your first real look at what the coast is doing here, and it is a better introduction than the casino skyline on the other side.

At the Ocean Springs end of the bridge, on the harbor walkway, is a 120-foot ceramic mosaic by Elizabeth Veglia and four local artists, depicting the marine life and history of Biloxi Bay. It is free, takes 10 minutes to walk past, and is the kind of unmissable detail most “things to do” lists skip.

14. Best Seafood in Ocean Springs

The combination of proximity to the Gulf and a culture that has been eating local seafood for generations means that Ocean Springs has a legitimate seafood dining scene. Oysters, Gulf shrimp, blue crab, and fresh fin fish all appear regularly on local menus. The options range from no-frills seafood shacks to sit-down restaurants with serious kitchens.

For a full rundown of where to eat, see our best seafood restaurants in Ocean Springs guide. We track what is actually good and update it when things change.

15. Art Galleries on Washington Avenue

Outside the Anderson Museum, Washington Avenue and the surrounding blocks have a cluster of independent galleries showing work by Gulf Coast artists. The quality varies, but several of the galleries have programming that changes regularly and represents artists worth knowing. If you are buying art, the concentration of options makes this stretch a serious place to spend an afternoon.

16. The Maritime Memorial and Waterfront Park

The waterfront park area near Front Beach is anchored on its east end by the Maritime Memorial, a quiet plaza commemorating Mississippi Gulf Coast mariners lost at sea. The memorial uses photo-tile walls and engraved stones to name individual fishermen and the boats they were on. It is the kind of place that does not announce itself but pays off if you walk through it slowly.

From the memorial, the boardwalk runs west along the bayou edge before it meets the bay. It is a short walk, maybe a quarter mile of boardwalk, but it offers close access to the marsh and is a better place to watch birds and fish jumping than the beach itself. Families with kids find the shallower, calmer water here easier to manage than the open beach.

17. Live Music

Ocean Springs has a live music culture that shows up in its bars and restaurants throughout the week, not just on weekends. The style leans toward blues, Gulf Coast soul, country, and rock, with occasional jazz. Several downtown venues book local and regional acts regularly. If music is a reason you travel, check the venue calendars in advance. The scene is small enough that a good act will be packed.

18. Ocean Springs Events and Annual Calendar

Beyond the Peter Anderson Festival, Ocean Springs has a calendar of annual events including the Spring Food and Wine Festival, holiday events on Washington Avenue, and recurring art walks. The Ocean Springs events calendar page on this site tracks the schedule. If you are planning a trip around an event, build in a night on each side to have time for the non-event parts of town.

19. Birding at Davis Bayou and the Marsh

Ocean Springs sits in a productive birding zone. The Davis Bayou unit, the marsh edges along the bay, and the scrub areas around the barrier islands all hold species that attract serious birders. Painted buntings appear in winter at feeders around town and in coastal scrub. Shorebird migrations through here in spring and fall bring species you will not find farther inland. The fall hawk migration, while not in the same league as the Texas coast, is visible from elevated spots near the shore.

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane refuge is a short drive east toward Gautier. The cranes are non-migratory, and the refuge has guided tours worth booking in advance.

20. The Anderson-Influenced Visual Art Trail

If you go deep on Walter Anderson’s work, you start noticing his influence on the visual culture of the city: murals, shop signage, public tile work, and the general color palette of downtown. Several other Ocean Springs artists have built on the tradition he represents, and the galleries and studios scattered through the city form something close to an informal art trail. Pick up a gallery map at the Walter Anderson Museum or the Mary C. O’Keefe.

21. Eating and Drinking Downtown

Ocean Springs has restaurants worth traveling for. The downtown blocks have a high density of independent places, from casual lunch spots to more serious dinner kitchens. For coffee before a morning walk through the galleries, the best coffee shops in Ocean Springs guide covers what is actually good.

22. Antiques and Independent Retail

The side streets off Washington Avenue have antique shops and used book dealers that are worth exploring if that is your thing. The quality and pricing are generally more reasonable than comparable shops in New Orleans or Nashville. A few of the dealers specialize in Gulf Coast furniture and decorative objects from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

23. Just Driving the Neighborhoods

The residential neighborhoods west of downtown, particularly along Lover’s Lane and the streets that run toward the bay, have well-maintained Victorian and Craftsman houses behind live oak canopies. The streets are not set up for walking safely in most places, but driving them slowly gives you a sense of what the city looked like before the Gulf Coast became the casino coast. Hurricane Katrina wiped out significant parts of the southern neighborhoods in 2005, but Ocean Springs rebuilt more intact than most Mississippi Gulf Coast cities.

Planning Your Trip

Ocean Springs is a 90-minute drive from New Orleans, about 15 minutes from Gulfport, and roughly 40 minutes from Mobile. The city does not have a commercial airport. Gulf Coast summer temperatures run hot and humid, so May and June are tolerable but July and August are genuinely difficult if you plan to be outside for long stretches. October and November are the best months. The Peter Anderson Festival falls in early November, and temperatures are generally in the 60s and 70s by then.

For more on what to eat and drink during your stay, see the best restaurants in Ocean Springs and best seafood restaurants in Ocean Springs guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is one day enough in Ocean Springs?

For a focused day yes — Walter Anderson Museum, a coffee on Washington Avenue, a downtown lunch, and sunset at Front Beach is a satisfying 6-8 hour visit. For Davis Bayou or the Ship Island ferry on top of that, you need a weekend.

What is open on Sunday in Ocean Springs?

The Walter Anderson Museum opens at 1 p.m. on Sundays. Davis Bayou is open. The beaches are open. Most downtown shops and galleries are closed Sunday afternoon. Sunday brunch is active at downtown restaurants.

What is closed on Monday?

Many galleries on Washington Avenue and several downtown restaurants (including Vestige, the James Beard-recognized tasting menu) are closed Monday. The Walter Anderson Museum is open Mondays during peak season. Always check.

Is Ocean Springs walkable?

The downtown core (Washington Avenue + Government Street) is about six walkable blocks. The beaches and Davis Bayou require a car. Locals use golf cart rentals (Downtown Cart Rentals) and e-bike rentals (Tour De Coast) for a hybrid approach.

What is the best time of year to visit?

October. Average high 79°F, lower humidity, hurricane risk drops mid-month, and the Peter Anderson Festival is in early November if you want the biggest gathering. April and May are also good, before peak summer heat.

How far is Ocean Springs from New Orleans?

About 90 minutes by car (75-90 miles depending on route). It is 50 minutes from Mobile and 10 minutes from Biloxi.

Is Ocean Springs worth visiting?

For anyone interested in art, food, or quiet coastal access, yes. Walter Anderson alone is worth the drive. The combination of museum + waterfront + walkable downtown + Davis Bayou + accessible barrier islands makes it the strongest small-town visit on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.