Ocean Springs, MS

Ocean Springs sits on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Jackson County, a few miles east of Biloxi across the Back Bay of Biloxi. With a population of approximately 18,000, the city has the feel of a small, art-minded coastal town rather than a busy resort strip. Lined with live oaks and Spanish moss, its walkable downtown is filled with locally owned galleries, restaurants, and the studios and shops that have long given the town its creative reputation. Ocean Springs is best known as a gateway to Gulf Islands National Seashore and as one of the more characterful stops along the Mississippi coast. It lies roughly 85 to 90 miles east of New Orleans, about a 90-minute drive depending on traffic.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art anchors the town's creative identity. The museum celebrates the work of Walter Inglis Anderson, a Mississippi artist known for his nature-inspired paintings, watercolors, and prints, and it sits in the heart of downtown near the community's main arts venues. The collection offers visitors a focused introduction to one of the South's most distinctive twentieth-century painters and is a natural starting point for anyone exploring the area.

A short drive east of downtown, the Davis Bayou area of Gulf Islands National Seashore provides easy access to nature without leaving the city limits. The seashore protects a chain of barrier islands offshore, but the mainland Davis Bayou unit offers walking trails, a small campground, a fishing pond, and a boat launch into the bay. It is a convenient way for visitors to experience the national park system from a quieter base than the busier beachfronts farther west.

Shearwater Pottery, founded in the late 1920s in Ocean Springs, is another longstanding draw. The pottery sits on a wooded property that doubles as a sculpture garden, and pieces produced there over the decades are collected across the country. It is one of several stops in town that speak to the artistic heritage the community is known for, and it ties directly to the annual Peter Anderson Festival, a downtown arts celebration held each fall in honor of one of the pottery's most famous artists.

Downtown Ocean Springs itself functions as the main attraction for many visitors. Government Street and the surrounding blocks host the weekly fresh market, regular art walks, and a steady rotation of festivals throughout the year. The compact, walkable core makes it easy for guests staying short-term to leave the car parked and explore on foot before heading out to the water.

For short-term-rental owners, Ocean Springs offers a balance that is hard to match elsewhere on the Mississippi coast. It is close enough to the casinos and beaches of Biloxi to draw day-trippers, far enough from the highway noise to feel like a real coastal town, and surrounded by enough natural and cultural appeal to fill a long weekend. That combination of small-town character, art-driven tourism, and proximity to a national seashore gives the city a steady and growing appeal for vacationers.