Forgotten Coast · US-98

The Forgotten Coast on US-98, one way: from Port St. Joe the route crosses to Apalachicola, takes the John Gorrie bridge over the bay to Eastpoint and rides along the Gulf, with the water a few yards from the road, to Carrabelle. It's 46 miles, flat and with no toll. Expect crosswinds on the long bridges and long gaps between towns. Hurricane Isaias hit the Panhandle on October 9, 2026: check the state of the road before you go. St. George Island is a side trip, not part of the route.

East of Panama City the Gulf coast gets quiet, and locals call it the Forgotten Coast. From Port St. Joe the route rides US-98 east to Apalachicola, the oyster town on the bay, where Battery Park has parking by the water. Then it crosses Apalachicola Bay to Eastpoint on the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge, named for the Apalachicola physician whose patent laid the groundwork for refrigeration and air conditioning; the first bridge opened in 1935 and was replaced in 1988.

East of Eastpoint, US-98 runs along the Gulf with the water a few yards from the road, past the Carrabelle Beach wayside, to Carrabelle, which claims the world's smallest police station: a phone booth set up on US-98 in 1963, with a replica on the highway today. It's a one-way ride of 46 miles, flat, with no toll, crosswinds on the long bridges and long gaps between towns. Hurricane Isaias hit the Panhandle on October 9, 2026; US-98 reopened the next day, but check the state of the road before you go. St. George Island is a side trip across its own bridge and not part of the route.