By no means heard of Ocean Springs, Mississippi? Neither had we! Nevertheless it caught our eye on round-ups like Southern Dwelling’s 15 Most Lovable Small Cities and USA As we speak’s 10 Greatest Coastal Small Cities the place it ranked #1. So just a few months in the past our household determined to test it out for ourselves. It did NOT disappoint! We truly thought-about detouring by means of Ocean Springs on our weekend journey to New Orleans two years in the past. However now we’re glad we didn’t shortchange it with a fast pitstop and gave it a full journey of its personal.
Ocean Springs lived as much as the hype of being an lovable, small, historic city with heaps to discover. Actually it reminded us A LOT of Cape Charles, the little Virginia seaside city the place we renovated two houses. Each locations are tremendous walkable, have a bunch of enjoyable retailers and eating places, and sit on a quiet bay with shallow water for youths to play in.
We visited Ocean Springs in late November throughout our children’ Thanksgiving break, so we didn’t spend time on the seaside (though it did get into the low 70s every day). However even with out having fun with the water, we discovered a lot to do in Ocean Springs.
The place is Ocean Springs, Mississippi?
Ocean Springs is situated on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, proper throughout the Biloxi Bay from, nicely, Biloxi. It’s about 3 hours west of our house in Northwest Florida and nearly 90 minutes east of New Orleans.
We spent most of our Ocean Springs go to strolling round and exploring the historic downtown and beachfront. We actually didn’t get in our automotive as soon as due to renting an Airbnb in an excellent walkable space! We hit up parks, retailers, eating places, toy & sweet shops, and – after all – poked round some charming neighborhoods too. It was the proper laid-back, slow-paced household getaway.
The place to Keep In Ocean Springs
Ocean Springs has numerous short-term leases in addition to boutique accommodations and B&Bs, so there are a whole lot of lodging choices – together with stylish ones like the trendy cabins on the Beatnik Motel.
We stayed at a dog-friendly Airbnb proper off of one of many primary downtown streets, which was clear and well-stocked, however after strolling round many areas there, we wouldn’t advocate that particular spot, so I’m not going to hyperlink it right here. It was a bit of loud from some adjoining eating places, however there have been some very charming areas south of Authorities Road that we’d decide to remain in subsequent time. This one known as Gaslamp Home is a bit of dear, however it all the time catches my eye!
However once more, there’s additionally no scarcity of cool accommodations. We walked by The Roost Boutique Resort, which regarded like an up to date outdated farmhouse. The pool space appears to be like superior on the web site too!
Barely nearer to downtown is The Springs Resort, which additionally homes a cool floral and present store known as Palmette (extra on that later). That’s why Sherry is marching so determinedly into the lodge beneath!
I stayed outdoors with the canine, however Sherry obtained to sneak some peaks of the within of the lodge whereas purchasing. It was tremendous nicely designed!
I imply, simply have a look at the toilet!
We had been undoubtedly pleasantly stunned by the extent of lodging choices in Ocean Springs.
The place To Eat in Ocean Springs
We wouldn’t name ourselves foodies (zero refined palates right here), however by some means our holidays all the time revolve round meals! Ocean Springs had tons of nice restaurant choices which can be each child & dog-friendly. In our 48 hours there, we had 2 breakfasts, 2 brunches, and a couple of dinners… plus some desserts! Right here’s an inventory of the place we went, with extra information and pics beneath:
- Vivid Eyed Brew Co
- The TatoNut Store (donuts)
- Fats Spoon Cafe
- Woman Might
- Glory Sure Gyro Co
- Pop Brothers (popsicles)
- Sweet Cottage
We additionally ate a terrific brunch on the Fats Spoon Cafe, however didn’t take any pictures!
Woman Might
We liked Woman Might a lot that we ate there twice – as soon as for dinner after which the following morning for brunch. They’d a terrific patio and the menu had crowdpleasers from flatbread pizzas and burgers to omelets and waffles.
Glory Sure Gyro Co
Our first dinner was at Glory Sure Gryo Co which, we later discovered, is a sister restaurant to Woman Might. It additionally had burgers, salads, and pizzas but in addition tons of gyros with totally different topping and sauce combos. It wasn’t fancy, however it was SO GOOD we virtually ate there the second night time (however ended up at Woman Might as an alternative).
Pop Brothers
After a protracted stroll, we handled ourselves to some gourmand popsicles at Pop Brothers. It’s situated in “Money Alley” which is adorned with colourful umbrellas overhead and graphic sidewalk artwork beneath. There are dozens of artisan popsicle flavors to select from (I did Vietnamese Espresso and Sherry did chocolate peanut butter). We extremely advocate paying the additional greenback to have it dipped in chocolate!
Sadly we missed getting a New Orleans-style snow cone at close by Caboose Cones, which had closed for the winter season. However I think about it’s an iconic place to chill off in the summertime.
We additionally loved some novelty sweet on the Sweet Cottage, which is correct subsequent door to Woman Might. It had TONS of customized chocolate creations, plus the same old favs.
What To Do in Oceans Springs
The seaside is actually an enormous draw for Ocean Springs, however even in November we discovered a lot to maintain us busy out of the water. Largely it concerned strolling round, exploring, dropping into retailers, and taking within the stunning neighborhoods.
A variety of Historic Downtown Ocean Springs appears to be like just like the streets pictured above and beneath. Cozy sidewalks, large oak bushes, and enjoyable little retailers, parks, and houses alongside the best way.
Ocean Springs appears to have a vibrant artwork scene too, with one well-liked cease downtown being the Walter Anderson Museum of Artwork. Lots of people additionally discuss Shearwater Pottery, however we sadly didn’t make it there throughout open hours.
The following block down is the aforementioned Springs Resort, which can also be house to a floral and artwork store known as Palmette.
I stayed outdoors with Penny whereas Sherry and the children shopped. Primarily based on the period of time spent, I might inform it was one in every of their favourite stops!
Sherry purchased this brass tiger pendant there and loves it endlessly.
I don’t keep in mind the title of each little retailer we stopped into, however that was type of the enjoyable of it. There was all the time one thing attention-grabbing to see.
My solely want is that Ocean Springs had an area bookshop (we love trying out unbiased bookstores on trip). We did come throughout a number of Little Free Libraries, so I assume that was a detailed second!
It was additionally enjoyable being downtown as issues had been beginning to get decked out for the vacations. We even obtained to see the toy retailer actively hanging theirs!
Along with purchasing the downtown, we additionally loved strolling down a few of the neighborhood streets to admire the houses. I’ve by no means thought a lot about what a “quintessential coastal Mississippi” neighborhood may appear like, however by some means Ocean Springs is precisely that. It undoubtedly had a whole lot of New Orleans vibes, with stunning outdated houses, native retailers, and tree-lined streets.
There have been numerous sprawling porches, picket fences, and big mossy oaks.
Probably the very best half about our go to to Ocean Springs is that we left wanting to return again. Whereas I believe we hit a whole lot of highlights in our quick go to, it seems like we might use extra time to soak it in, absolutely chill out into its laid-back vibe, and perhaps bike round city or hang around on the seaside on a summer season day.
Oh, and I actually need a kind of snow cones from the practice caboose.
Ocean Springs, Mississippi: A Recap
In the event you’re on the lookout for all of the issues we talked about in a single spot, right here ya go!
The place to Keep:
The place to Eat
The place to Store & Browse
Extra Household Journeys We’ve Taken
In the event you’re all for our tackle different locations or are in quest of family-friendly journeys, you may also take pleasure in these posts:
