Gulf Shores, Ala. — (OBA) —  Gulf State Park is preparing to welcome visitors to its first-ever Venture Out festival, a new three-day event centered on nature, education, and outdoor recreation. The festival will span multiple sites across the park and showcase the area’s trails, lakes, and coastal habitats. Families, day-trippers, and locals are all invited, with activities planned from morning through the afternoon. The event brings together government, hospitality, and education partners from across Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

The festival is scheduled for May 15–17, 2026, and will take place at various locations throughout Gulf State Park each day. Visitors can expect a full slate of outdoor activities, including bike rides, guided tours, rope course sessions, and beach and nature walks. A community cookout and a nature “bio blitz” are also planned, offering participants the chance to explore local plants and wildlife with expert guidance.

Event leaders describe Venture Out as part festival, part field classroom, featuring hands-on workshops on topics such as coastal ecosystems, native wildlife, storms, and safe ways to enjoy the outdoors. Sessions are open to residents and visitors and designed for a wide range of ages and experience levels. Organizers say they want people to leave with a better understanding of the fragile coastal environment and how small choices, such as staying on trails or respecting wildlife, can protect it.

Art will also play a prominent role throughout the weekend, with about a dozen local and regional artists stationed along the trails to create live paintings inspired by the park’s scenery. Their finished works will be displayed at The Lodge on Sunday afternoon from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., offering visitors a chance to see the landscape through different eyes. Organizers say this blend of art and nature is meant to show that the park is not only a place to play but also a place to reflect and create.

The festival will use several key sites within the park, including the Learning Campus, Lake Shelby, the Nature Center, and the Gulf Coast Eco-Center. Activities will also extend along the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, offering cyclists and walkers a route through marshes, forests, and lakeside views. With events spread across the park, visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and review the full schedule to select sessions and locations that fit their day.

Venture Out is a partnership among Gulf State Park, the Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability, Valor Hospitality, and the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Local officials say this mix of partners reflects a shared effort to promote outdoor tourism while keeping conservation central to the message. They hope the new event will become an annual draw, adding to the region’s spring festival lineup and giving visitors another reason to explore the park beyond the shoreline.

For many in the community, the festival is also a chance to showcase investments in trails, facilities, and programs that have reshaped Gulf State Park in recent years. Organizers note that the park’s combination of beaches, lakes, and forests allows them to offer everything from calm bird walks to more active rope-course sessions, all in one place. They say that the balance between fun and learning, and between recreation and protection, is what Venture Out is meant to highlight.

Admission details and the full schedule are available on the event website. Many activities are designed so families can drop in for a single workshop or spend the entire day in the park. With the festival scheduled during the busy May travel season, tourism groups are encouraging visitors to book lodging early and to consider using bikes or park shuttles, where available, to reduce traffic within the park. If the debut goes as planned, Venture Out could become a regular spring tradition on Alabama’s coast, offering locals and visitors alike a new way to connect with the landscape they share.