Crestview: Zoo, Parks and Local History

Crestview offers a range of ways to shape your stay: at Emerald Coast Zoo, a guided penguin feeding is one of the activities on offer; at Twin Hills Park, park and play areas come together; and several institutions are dedicated to the city’s history. If you’re looking for hotels in Crestview, this guide can help you choose based on your interests. Wildlife experiences, time in the park and historical topics each offer a different focus.

Wildlife Experiences and a Visit to the Park

At Emerald Coast Zoo, visitors can help feed penguins under the guidance of an animal keeper. Guests take part in the feeding, with guidance from the animal keeper explicitly included. This makes the zoo interesting for travelers who want to include a hands-on wildlife experience in their plans.

Twin Hills Park offers a different kind of outing. The park covers 24 acres and includes picnic tables, barbecue facilities and a lake. The Children's Park, with state-of-the-art play equipment for children, is also located in the park. This lets you choose between a guided animal activity and a visit to a park with picnic and barbecue facilities or a play area. These different highlights can help you plan your stay around the activities that interest you most.

Crestview's History

Settlement in Crestview dates back to the 1880s and developed along the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad. The railway later became known as the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Both names are part of the timeline of the settlement’s history.

Another specifically dated part of local history is Carver-Hill School. It was founded in 1915 and was a segregated school for African American children. The Carver-Hill Museum documents its history through several exhibits and memorial tributes. Visitors interested in the school’s history will find both exhibits and commemorations related to the subject at the museum. The school’s history offers a different focus from the settlement’s development along the railway.

The Environmental Museum at the Environmental Center features exhibits about the forestry industry, which contributed to the founding of Northwest Florida and the Crestview region. This look at forestry adds an economic and regional perspective to the other historical topics. Crestview therefore offers several different ways to explore its history: the settlement’s development along the railway, the history of Carver-Hill School and the role of forestry.

Events and Travel Planning

The Carver-Hill May Day Festival and Museum Day includes amateur sports competitions, food and drinks, museum tours and a large community parade. The program brings together different kinds of activities. If you’re particularly interested in the museum, you can consider the tours as a separate part of the program; sports, refreshments and the parade round out the event.

MSCA also hosts Triple B, the Fall Festival, the 4th of July Celebration & Party in the Park, and the Christmas Parade. The event names give you specific ideas for planning your trip, without implying that a particular event date is set for your stay. Check the event dates before planning your trip around them.

These attractions offer different reasons to choose Crestview as a destination: the zoo features guided penguin feeding, Twin Hills Park offers picnic and barbecue facilities as well as a dedicated play area, and the museums explore different aspects of local history. Events can also factor into your plans if their dates fit your trip.

Explore more destinations: Destin, Shalimar, Mary Esther, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach.

Return to the regional travel guide: Okaloosa.