Cycling in Ocean Springs

Ocean Springs is the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s ride-a-cruiser town: a walkable arts village of galleries, oyster bars, and streets shaded by centuries-old oaks. The marquee ride is the Live Oaks Bicycle Route, a 15.5-mile round-trip signed route that links the historic L&N Train Depot downtown with the Davis Bayou area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, rolling past the harbor and under the mossy canopy the route is named for. It’s flat, low-speed, and perfect on a beach cruiser or e-bike; the Chamber of Commerce hands out route maps downtown.

Getting wheels is easy. Front Beach Cottages, a four-cottage inn a block and a half off the sand, includes YOLO cruiser bikes (plus kayaks and crab traps) with every stay. Tri Hard Sports rents bikes from its Porter Avenue shop a few blocks from the route, and Tour De Coast — the coast’s first e-bike share — scatters app-unlocked Class 1 e-bikes around town from about $30 a day, running 6 a.m. to midnight.

Come between October and April for dry air and quiet roads; summer brings serious heat, afternoon storms, and hurricane-season watchfulness, so locals ride early. Tack on the Davis Bayou park roads for alligator-country bayou views, or cross the Biloxi Bay bridge path at sunset for the postcard shot.