Naval Live Oaks Is Open Again, and US 98 Still Splits It in Two
Where did you leave your car the last time you walked Naval Live Oaks before Hurricane Isaias? If the answer is a curb on Reservation Road, the trail behind it is still the hardest part of the park to reach.
Isaias made landfall near Destin on the evening of Oct. 9, 2026, according to the Pensacola News Journal. For more than two weeks afterward, the woods at 1801 Gulf Breeze Parkway were closed. The park is open again. It still works as two separate places, though, with US 98 as the dividing line, and the parking on each side matters more than the trail map does.
The National Park Service reopened Gulf Islands National Seashore in stages:
Superintendent Rick Clark said in the Oct. 26 NPS release that "Isaias caused no substantial damage to buildings or infrastructure" in the park's Florida or Mississippi districts. The same release asks visitors to use caution on trails and stay out of signed closed areas. So the paths you know are open, but you may still find a roped-off spot or debris pushed to the side of a trail.
The NPS sets the rules for its parks in a document called the Superintendent's Compendium. Most of the Naval Live Oaks rules are tied to one side of the highway or the other.
| What you bring | South of US 98, Santa Rosa Sound side | North of US 98, Pensacola Bay side |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle or e-bike | Allowed on the paved multi-use path, 2.411 miles long, running beside the highway behind a berm | Not allowed on trails |
| E-scooter, hoverboard, Segway, skateboard | Allowed on that same multi-use path only | Not allowed |
| Horse | Not allowed | Allowed on trails and fire roads only |
| Dog | Allowed on trails and paths on a leash, but not on the beach or in water shallower than 5 feet | Same rule along the bay shore |
| Glass containers | Not allowed on the shoreline | Not allowed on the shoreline |
One scooter rule is new this fall. The National Park Service issued a nationwide regulation on powered micromobility devices on Aug. 12, 2026, and it took effect Sept. 11, 2026. Under it, the Gulf Islands compendium allows e-scooters, hoverboards, Segways and similar devices in only one place in the whole seashore, the multi-use path along US 98 through Naval Live Oaks. The compendium says that path is one section of a 41-mile recreational route that runs through local, county and federal land.
For dogs, the NPS pets page sets the leash limit at six feet and requires owners to clean up after their pets. The compendium also requires you to carry a bag for that. Taking a dog down to the water at the end of the Fishing Trail breaks the shoreline rule, even though the trail itself is fine for dogs.
The hours apply to both sides. The automatic gate on the south side of US 98 opens at 8 a.m. and closes at sunset all year. The north-side gate stays closed unless a group is using the youth campground, and visitors can park in the lot next to it. Overnight parking is not allowed. Standard time began this week, and the compendium's seasonal hours elsewhere in the seashore switch over for November. Here the cutoff is still sunset, which now comes earlier in the evening.
NPS counts about 7.5 miles of hiking trail in the area. Its trail directory lists ten named trails. Sorted by where you can leave a car, they fall into three groups.
| Trail | Distance | Where it starts | Parking, per NPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brackenridge Nature Trail | 0.8-mile figure-eight, including a 0.3-mile accessible boardwalk | Behind headquarters, sound side | Headquarters and day-use lots |
| Fishing Trail | 0.92 mile one way | Brackenridge junction, plus three pullouts south of US 98 east of Gulf Breeze | Lots and pullouts |
| Andrew Jackson Trail | 2.4 miles one way | Group Camp/North Bay junction, the group campsite, northwest of Gulf Breeze Hospital, and Bayshore Road just north of US 98 | Several access points |
| North Bay Trail, also called Group Camp Trail | 0.3 mile there and back | Off Andrew Jackson Trail, down to Pensacola Bay | Reached by way of Andrew Jackson |
| Pine Scrub Loop | 0.5 mile | Andrew Jackson Trail, next to North Bay Trail | Reached by way of Andrew Jackson |
| Old Quarry Trail | 1.7 miles out and back | Bayshore Boulevard | Limited roadside parking |
| Beaver Pond Trail | 1.3 miles one way | Several points on Reservation Road | Extremely limited |
| North South Trail | 2.2 miles out and back | End of Reservation Road to US 98 | Extremely limited |
| Old Borrow Pit Trail | 1.8 miles round trip | Behind residential property on Reservation Road | None at the trailhead; a dirt pull-off farther down the road |
| Brown's Pond Trail | 2 miles out and back | Reservation Road | No parking |
The sound side is the easy start. The headquarters lot at 1801 Gulf Breeze Parkway puts you on the Brackenridge boardwalk, then the Fishing Trail along Santa Rosa Sound, and the multi-use path is right there if you brought a bike. The headquarters building is for staff only. The park's only public restroom is east of it, and there are no concessions, so bring your own water. The Brackenridge page says there is no entry fee.
On the bay side, Andrew Jackson Trail connects most of the rest. You can pick it up near Gulf Breeze Hospital or off Bayshore Road and follow it to the North Bay Trail and Pine Scrub Loop, both of which end at Pensacola Bay. Watch for one fixed closure on this side. The compendium closes the sand dune on the Andrew Jackson Trail west of the youth group site, in Butcher Pen Cove.
Four of the ten trails start on Reservation Road: Beaver Pond, North South, Old Borrow Pit and Brown's Pond. These are the trails NPS describes as running through a residential area, and their parking ranges from "extremely limited" to none. They are worth the effort. Beaver Pond Trail has a beaver dam at its north end.
The easiest way to reach these trails is on foot from somewhere else, or from home if you live close enough to walk in. North South Trail links Reservation Road to US 98, and Old Quarry Trail ends where North South does, so a walker who parks at the Bayshore Boulevard pullouts can reach the middle of the park without parking on a residential street. You can also walk in through the youth group campground when no group has it booked. The compendium keeps that access road closed to cars at those times but open to foot traffic.
The woods that were closed by downed trees this October are the reason the park exists. NPS says the Naval Live Oak Reservation was set aside in 1828 on the peninsula between Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound as the country's first national tree farm. The goal was to grow live oak strong enough for Navy warships, where it was used for curved hull supports and the deck braces called knees. The Andrew Jackson Trail name also has history behind it. NPS ties it to the first major federal highway in Florida.
The park is federal land, and its rules reach past the trails. Waterfowl hunting is banned throughout Naval Live Oaks, and the speed limit on US 98 through the park is set at 45 mph.
The picnic area on the sound side has a covered pavilion, uncovered tables, charcoal grills, restrooms and drinking water, all first come, first served. You can buy a seashore pass or get a park passport stamp at Fort Pickens, which NPS lists as open.
Some county facilities nearby took longer. Santa Rosa County's Oct. 22 update still listed Tiger Point Park and the Oriole Beach Boat Ramp as closed, so check the county's page before you go. The storm also cost Gulf Breeze one fall event. The Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce canceled the Oct. 23 Taste of Gulf Breeze "due to ongoing challenges following the recent hurricane."
Next up on the city calendar is the Jolly Market on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 100 vendors will be inside the Gulf Breeze Parks and Recreation Community Center at 800 Shoreline Drive.
The park rules above come from NPS's own pages and can change, so check the compendium or a ranger's posted notice before you rely on them.
Leigh, Susan and Meagan of Leigh McPherson follow how the parks, trails and waterfront access across the Gulf Coast are recovering this fall. If you're thinking about a home near the Naval Live Oaks trails or along the sound, we'd be glad to show you which streets put the trailheads within walking distance.
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