This time of year is when cooler weather emerges, and the beaches are less populated, making it a great time to visit and relax. Our lodging partners are offering amazing specials, so visit our Stay page to learn more. The sunsets are in the orange and pink era, which is always a favorite each year! Cooler weather, unspoiled beaches, and sunning sunsets; it just doesn’t get much better than fall in Mexico Beach.

Our annual photography contest garnered over 250 entries, and we are excited to announce this year’s winners. We appreciate everyone who took the time to capture Mexico Beach through their lens and hope to see even more amazing work in next year’s contest. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or simply enjoy snapping photos of our beautiful surroundings, we encourage you to keep exploring, creating, and sharing your vision of Mexico Beach. Congratulations to our winners, and a heartfelt thank you to all those who entered.

Around Mexico Beach

1st Place: Bill Fauth

2nd Place: Zack Barnes

3rd Place: Saralyn Harder

Sunrise & Sunset

1st Place: Bill Fauth

2nd Place: Cathy Haynes

3rd Place: Kim Dean

The Beaches

1st Place: Rosie Gammell

2nd Place: Bill Fauth

3rd Place: Jennifer Rhodes

Fishing & Boating

1st Place: Noni Heckert

2nd Place: Wallace Lamb

3rd Place: Elizabeth Atkinson

People

1st Place: Priscilla Hightower

2nd Place: Wallace Lamb

3rd Place: Ralph Ridley III

Flora & Animal Life

1st Place: Bill Fauth

2nd Place: Saralyn Harder

3rd Place: Betsy Lurvey

Mexico Beach is a Leave No Trace community, and we appreciate your assistance in helping us keep our beaches clean. Any items left on the beach unattended from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. will be removed and disposed of by the City of Mexico Beach. Items include, but are not limited to, tents and tent frames, beach chairs, coolers, umbrellas, toys, etc. Also, please fill in any holes before you leave and please remain off the sand dunes and out of the sea oats to ensure their continued nourishment. There are boardwalks and walking paths that can be accessed to reach the beach. Your assistance with these requests will keep our beaches beautiful and pristine. For full details on this ordinance or questions, click here or contact City Hall at (850) 648-5700.

We publish it with the compliments of the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association cookbook (MBARA.org).

For the Horseradish Potatoes:

1 lb. new potatoes, cooked in the skin

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, finely sliced

2 Tbsp sour cream

2 Tbsp creamed horseradish

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Spicy Mackerel:

8 mackerel fillets

4 oz. butter, softened to room temperature

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. sweet smoked paprika

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp Coleman’s mustard

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Dash of Tabasco 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Horseradish Potatoes: Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes, still in their skins, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and, when cool to handle, cut into quarters.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, then add the potatoes and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Fry the potatoes for 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Remove the fried potatoes from the pan and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

For the spicy mackerel: Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Score the skin of each mackerel three times on each side using a sharp knife. Mix all the remaining spiced mackerel ingredients in a bowl to form a thick, spiced butter and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rub the butter over the mackerel fillets, and then grill for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once or twice until just cooked through.

To finish the horseradish potatoes, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Stir in the shallots, sour cream, and creamed horseradish and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Stir in the chives. As soon as the mackerel is cooked, transfer it to serving plates and spoon the horseradish potatoes alongside.

Serve and enjoy!

Labor Day symbolizes our determination to achieve economic freedom for the average man, which will give his political freedom reality.

—Franklin D. Roosevelt 

It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.

—Vince Lombardi

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

—Colin Powell

The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.

—Amelia Earhart

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling but in rising every time you fall.

—Nelson Mandela

The phoenix must burn to emerge.

—Janet Fitch

When you’re open to receiving them, the possibilities just keep on coming.

—Oprah Winfrey

In every human endeavor, persistence is everything.

—Joan Rivers

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

—Mother Teresa

The greater the obstacle, the greater the glory in overcoming it.

—Molière

This saying used today means to initiate conversations in a social setting where people don’t really know one another or are meeting for the first time. A social “icebreaker” is meant to make conversation and collaboration more comfortable moving forward. However, the saying has an entirely different origin. During the 17th Century, ships traveling through icy waters would often get stuck. Smaller ships called icebreakers were used to break the ice and clear the pathway for the larger vessels. Thus, literally breaking the ice made moving forward possible.