Casino Beach Pier Pensacola

EarthCam and affiliate Pensacola Beach Properties have teamed up to deliver live webcam views of Pensacola, Florida. This popular location is the perfect place to virtually relax, unwind and explore, and enjoy live scenic views of Casino Beach 24/7. Pensacola Beach Pier is conveniently located on Casino Beach just seconds from entertainment for the whole family. The pier is 1,471 feet long. Several establishments are within walking distance that provide food and entertainment for all ages! You’ll find Endless opportunities for fun and relaxation on the island: enjoy fresh gulf seafood at a variety of restaurants, take a walk or catch fish on the Pensacola Beach Pier, or simply relax in the sun and watch your worries float away. A portion of Casino Beach to the right of the pier is marked off as an alcohol-free zone. Pensacola Beach is home to Casino Beach. Pensacola Beach is a walkable city well known for its restaurants and beaches. If you'd like to find things to do in the area, you might want to stop in and see Pensacola Naval Air Station and Pensacola Beach Pier.

• Pensacola Beach Pier Fishing Report
• Pensacola Beach Pier Cam
• Casino Beach Pensacola Beach Map

Escambia County's new snorkeling reef at Casino Beach is finally installed and already attracting wildlife.

Contractors for the county wrapped up installation Saturday morning on the reef, which is located roughly 600 to 700 feet off the shore, depending on the tide, east of the fishing pier. The project was paid for with a $59,500 grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission grant and is made up of 17 reef modulus.

Robert Turpin, the county's Marine Resource Division manager, said he's already had the chance to snorkel around the newly-installed reef and spotted a yellow jack fish.

'I saw the first fish on the reef within minutes of its installation,' Turpin said.

County staff are developing signage and a web page for the new reef, which should be coming in the next couple weeks. For now, Turpin said he's installed a temporary small white buoy on the reef so others can find it.

Fritz Sharar, owner of MBT Divers in Pensacola, said talk of the new reef is already abuzz among customers at his dive shop. He said he thinks it will draw everyday beach-goers, tourists and people learning to dive.

'(Customers) are excited, very excited. They're all looking forward to the opportunity to get out to Pensacola Beach and check it out,' Sharar said.

Some of the fish likely to appear are butterfly fish and juvenile flounder and snappers, among others. Sharar is expecting plenty of juvenile sea turtles, octopus and other reef fish.

'I think it's an incredible asset,' Sharar said. 'It's going to have an abundance of marine life. They're not going to see just some sand dollars and some broken shells, there will actually be marine life that the tourists can look at and observe.'

More coverage

Reef proposed: New artificial snorkeling reef coming to Pensacola Beach this summer

County approval: Snorkel reef at Casino Beach gets final approval, scheduled to be installed by August

Earlier this month, the county moved to name the reef Charles Fennell Gonzalez, IV, Casino Beach Reef after former Geographic Information Systems director, Charlie Gonzalez, who died unexpectedly in January following a 20-year career with the county. The snorkeling reef was one of the final projects he worked on.

'He was one of those guys that you can't imagine that somebody could be that nice, that skilled, that dedicated all in one package, that friendly,' Trupin said, adding that they worked together during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. 'I used to say that he had a great combination of stoked and laid back.'

The snorkeling reef is not part of the county's ongoing effort to install Pensacola Bay Bridge rubble as artificial reefs in county waters. This rubble wasn't used on the snorkeling reef because it's too heavy for the sand in a near-shore environment.

So far, the county has dropped 139 barge loads of concrete for artificial reefs with between 30 to 40 remaining, Turpin said, adding that the vast majority of the bridge will be recycled as artificial reefs.

In all, Escambia County has 528 fishing and diving reefs and four snorkeling reefs. The other snorkeling reefs are at Park East, Park West and Perdido Key

Turpin said it's important for snorkelers and divers at all the reefs to use a dive flag. Those indicate the presence of divers to boating traffic.

'It's for your safety. I can tell you as a diver in the water, it's hard to see above the water and below the water at the same time so we need to be visible,' Turpin said. 'And it's hard to be seen, especially by boaters, so that's why we need those dive flags so that we're visible to the boats that are running around.'

Pensacola Beach Pier Fishing Report

Madison Arnold can be reached at marnold@pnj.com and 850-435-8522.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: New snorkeling reef at Casino Beach finished, wildlife already appearing

The Pensacola Bay Bridge opened for traffic in June 1931 and allowed tourists to motor to the new Casino Beach Resort on Santa Rosa Island. The ease of access allowed guests to celebrate together and usher in a new chapter in tourism and recreation opportunities for Escambia County businesses, citizens, and tourists. The Casino Resort developers built a pier into the Gulf of Mexico, creating both fishing opportunities and scenic viewpoints for guests. The wooden structure stretched 600 feet into the Gulf of Mexico, providing visitors with an exciting opportunity to view large schools of fish while casting their line from the pier. Families gathered together, under an expansive shade provided by the pier, while enjoying a day at the beach. The Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier soon appeared on postcards, and became a landmark, representing Pensacola in the living memory of residence and visitors.

Hurricane season became an important factor in the history of the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier, standing as a natural target for storm surges and battering waves. The pier endured many powerful storms and underwent numerous repairs due to the destructive force of these tropical systems. In 1979, Hurricane Frederic challenged the integrity of the pier, entering the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane. The massive storm made landfall at the Dauphin Islands in Alabama, bringing hurricane force winds to Pensacola Beach. The Pier underwent substantial repairs due to Hurricane Frederic’s destructive winds recorded as 96 mph, and a storm surge measuring 9 feet above normal. In 1985, the pier again underwent repairs resulting from Hurricane Elena.

Hurricane Opal, in 1995, posed the biggest challenge to this large wooden structure hitting the pier with great force, producing substantial damage. Extensive damage prompted a decision to rebuild the pier in nearly the same location. Using stronger materials, and innovative techniques, the structure became more resistant to major weather events. The new pier design allowed visitors to enjoy the same beautiful view of Casino Beach, and invited fishing opportunities extending 1,470 feet into the Gulf of Mexico. The structure, upon completion, became the longest pier extending into the Gulf. This title, though no longer held by the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier, will again belong to a Florida pier upon completion of a 1,540-foot pier at Navarre Beach, Florida. The storm surge of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and Hurricane Dennis in 2005, brought additional challenges and damage to the pier, yet, its new, resilient design prevailed.

Recommended Readings

Clark, Ralph R. “Fishing Pier Design Guidance Part 1: Historical Pier Damage in Florida.” Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems. May 2010. 7-26. Accessed March 15, 2017. https://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/pdf/PierRptPtI.pdf

Mayfield, Max. “Preliminary Report: Hurricane Opal 27 September-6 October 1995.” National Hurricane Center, NOAA. Department of Commerce. November 2, 1995. Updated September 9, 2014. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL171995_Opal.pdf

Pensacola Beach Pier Cam

Featured Image:
Ritzie, Diana. “Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier.” Photo. History Department. University of West Florida. March 2017.

Casino Beach Pensacola Beach Map

Author: Diana Ritzie
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6678-3157