Lighthouse Marina

Lighthouse Marina has served boaters on the north shore of Grand Lagoon since 1979, making it one of the longer-standing marine businesses in Panama City Beach. The marina sits at 5325 North Lagoon Drive, is open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, and can be reached at 850-234-3939. Coastal Marina Management runs day-to-day operations under Marina Director Jim Hamilton, and the marina’s fuel dock, described on site as the fuel station for all of Grand Lagoon, offers grab-and-go gasoline and diesel service for boats of any size, from small runabouts to larger sportfishing rigs.

Beyond fuel, Lighthouse Marina offers boat storage with a dedicated storage barn and loading area along the waterfront, giving local boaters and visiting anglers a place to keep vessels out of the weather between trips. The docks are also home base for the Sea Dragon Pirate Cruise and a number of charter boat captains who run fishing trips out into St. Andrews Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, which makes the marina a regular stop for anyone chartering a boat rather than bringing their own.

What sets Lighthouse Marina apart from a typical fuel-and-storage operation is its dockside dining. The Grand Marlin, a seafood restaurant led by Chef Gregg McCarthy, opened its second location here in the fall of 2016, following the original Grand Marlin on Pensacola Beach. The Panama City Beach location overlooks Grand Lagoon and built its reputation on a well-stocked oyster bar serving Apalachicola and East Bay oysters shucked to order, alongside daily seafood specials, steaks, and poultry. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 3 PM to 10 PM, with Sunday brunch from 10 AM to 2 PM followed by dinner service from 3 PM to 10 PM, and can be reached directly at 850-249-1500.

Attached to The Grand Marlin, the North Drop Bar keeps its own schedule, open Monday through Saturday from 3 PM to 10 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 10 PM, giving boaters a place to grab a drink dockside before or after a day on the water. Together, the fuel dock, storage, and dining options mean a visitor can gas up a boat, dock it for a meal, and store it overnight without leaving the property, a rare combination on Grand Lagoon.

Lighthouse Marina’s location on the lagoon’s north shore puts it near several other marine businesses that line Grand Lagoon, an area Panama City Beach’s tourism office describes as focused on fishing and boating access. For visitors without their own boat, the marina is still worth the drive for The Grand Marlin’s oyster bar and waterfront view alone, and staff are used to fielding questions about fuel prices, storage rates, and which of the on-site captains has room for a fishing charter that week. Anyone planning a boat trip out of Lighthouse Marina should call ahead during peak summer weekends, when fuel dock lines and charter bookings both tend to fill up early in the day. Nearly five decades after opening, the marina remains one of the most complete stops on Grand Lagoon for fueling, storing, docking, and dining in a single visit.