Hathaway Bridge Area

The Hathaway Bridge is the span everyone in Bay County crosses eventually: it carries US-98 over the waters of St. Andrew Bay, connecting Panama City on the east side with Panama City Beach on the west. If you are staying at the beach and heading into town — or arriving in PCB from the east — this bridge is your route, and the high arc of the crossing delivers one of the best free views in the county, with the bay spreading out below and sailboats and fishing boats working the channel.

Each end of the bridge has its own character. The Panama City side is the county’s education hub, home to Gulf Coast State College and the Florida State University Panama City campus, both sitting near the water by the bridge’s eastern approach. The Panama City Beach side is the gateway strip: almost as soon as you come off the bridge, US-98 fans out toward Back Beach Road, Front Beach Road, and Thomas Drive, so the first mile of the beach side is where you commit to a route. Miss your lane here on a busy Saturday and you will feel it, so know before you cross whether you want the beachfront strip, the inland parkway, or the Grand Lagoon side.

Around the bridge

The area near the bridge is more useful to visitors than it first appears. The bay on either side is popular water — jet ski outfits like Sunshine Watersports PC run rentals and Shell Island dolphin tours from the beach side, and anglers work the waters around the crossing. A short drive west puts you at Shipwreck Island Waterpark and the heart of PCB. The bridge itself also carries a protected lane used by cyclists and walkers, a favorite hill workout in a famously flat county.

Practically speaking: the Hathaway is the only direct link between Panama City and the beach, so it concentrates traffic on summer Saturdays when rental turnover sends thousands of cars across in both directions. Build in a few extra minutes on peak weekends, enjoy the view from the top, and you will be over it before the song on the radio ends.