Booking beachfront vacation rentals along Alabama’s picturesque Gulf Shores provides many wonderful opportunities for outdoor adventures, including boating, fishing, and diving. The Cotton State also features one of the largest artificial reef programs on the planet, which began in 1953 when the Orange Beach Charter Boat Association asked to place 250 car frames off Baldwin County. The reef has grown considerably since then to include more car bodies, parts of planes and bridges, boats, and other rubble. If beachfront vacation rentals on the Gulf Shore are part of your travel plans for the year, learn how you can enjoy these fascinating artificial reefs.

Fishing Excursions

The artificial reefs found off the coast of Alabama provide habitats for a wide variety of marine life, including encrusting organisms such as sponges and coral, and reef fish such as red snapper, grey triggerfish, amberjack, and mangrove snapper among many others. The abundance of reef fish in the Gulf Shores area thanks to the artificial reefs provides many excellent fishing opportunities, including the chance to hook sizable red snappers. Mature snappers weigh anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds. Numerous charter fishing companies are found throughout the Gulf Shores so you can enjoy fun days on the water catching red snappers and other reef fish.

Diving Adventures

The 17,000 artificial reefs over 1,200 square miles on the Gulf Coast have not only made the area a hot fishing destination, but it also draws diving enthusiasts from around the country and world. Scuba diving expeditions include exploring the Lulu, a 271-foot freighter that was sunk 17 miles off of Perdido Pass in 2013. The Lulu is also in close proximity other artificial reef structures, including thousands of limestone pyramids, oil rigs, Vietnam-era army tanks, and barges. It is ideal for both novice and experienced divers. Other artificial diving reef options, such as the USS Oriskany, require advanced open water certification. The Oriskany, a sunken aircraft built after World War II and used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, is the largest artificial reef in the world.

Gulf Shores Rentals offers the highest-quality beach and pet-friendly vacation rentals on the Alabama coast. Specializing in Gulf front condos among other beachfront vacation rentals, enjoy picking from numerous package specials, including the Stay and Play program that includes free dolphin cruises and party boat admissions. Call (855) 727-2334 with any vacation rental questions, or visit the website to see what’s available. Like the Facebook page for the latest updates and deals.