Our pick is the 2026 Dodge Durango GT HEMI. Full stop. It gives a Panama City family seven seats, a 5.7-liter V8 rated by Dodge at 360 horsepower, and enough towing authority to pull a jet ski trailer over the Hathaway Bridge without the engine hunting for gears in summer traffic. The catch is worth saying out loud. You'll feel that 5.7-liter V8 at the gas pump, and if your family never tows anything heavier than a cooler, the V6 GT saves real money on every trip down Thomas Drive.
That tradeoff is exactly what this guide works through, stop by stop.
Browse the Durango alongside the Grand Cherokee if you want to see both three-row options on our lot before reading further.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
| Stop | What to Do | Best Time to Arrive | Parking Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hathaway Bridge / US-98 | Cross from Panama City to PCB | Before 9 AM or after 4 PM | No stopping; merge onto Back Beach Road promptly |
| St. Andrews State Park | Boat launch, beach, snorkeling jetties | 8 AM at park open | Small per-vehicle day-use fee; trailer spots available near boat ramp |
| Front Beach Road (FL-30) | Restaurants, beach access points | Mid-morning beats the dinner crawl | Numbered public beach access points west of the main strip are less crowded |
| Pier Park | Shopping, dining, evening entertainment | After 3 PM on weekdays | Large surface lot off US-98; high-clearance SUVs pull through easily |
| Conservation Park | 24 miles of trails, cypress boardwalks | Any morning | Free; pull-through parking handles longer vehicles and trailers |
St. Andrews State Park: The Stop That Earns the V8
St. Andrews State Park sits three miles east of Panama City Beach on Thomas Drive and is one of the few spots on the Gulf Coast where you can back a trailer onto a real boat ramp, walk to sugar-white sand, and snorkel the rock jetties all in one trip. The park covers 1,200 acres with more than a mile and a half of Gulf beach, a public boat ramp on Grand Lagoon, two fishing piers, and seasonal Shell Island ferry service.
Check the towing numbers before you settle on a trim. Dodge lists the GT HEMI's standard towing capacity at 7,200 pounds; add the Tow 'n Go Package (Class IV hitch, trailer brake control, tow drive mode) and that number climbs to 8,700 pounds. A pontoon or a center-console skiff sits comfortably inside those numbers. The base V6 GT is rated to 6,200 pounds, which covers a personal watercraft trailer just fine, but start adding a loaded skiff and you're at the edge of what that V6 was sized for.
We've had families come in and lean toward the V6 at first because the fuel economy is better (the EPA rates the GT V6 at 17 city / 24 highway versus 14 city / 21 highway for the GT HEMI). That's a real difference on a regular PCB run. But the V8 doesn't just tow more. It makes the tow feel effortless, and the Hathaway Bridge is where that difference shows up, especially in July.
See current Durango GT HEMI inventory at Bay Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
Local note from our team: The Hathaway Bridge spans St. Andrews Bay and carries a moderate grade in both directions. In July and August, summer tourist traffic stacks up on the approach, and a V6 pulling a trailer will downshift and slow the lane. The GT HEMI's 390 lb-ft of torque doesn't flinch. Call it physics, not a sales pitch.
Front Beach Road and the Durango's Practical Edge
Front Beach Road (FL-30) runs right along the Gulf and it's the scenic route families always want, though it's also where Panama City Beach traffic turns into a parking lot on summer evenings when speed limits drop to 25-35 mph. On peak weekends, the run from Pier Park to the eastern beach access points can stand still for a while, and traffic backs up west of the main strip once dinner rolls around.
The Durango's 85.1 cubic feet of maximum cargo space (with both rear rows folded) means you load the vehicle once and you're done. Beach chairs, a tent, a cooler, boogie boards, a stroller, all of it in one trip from the parking lot. With the third row up, you still have 17.2 cubic feet behind it, which holds a soft cooler and a gear bag. No lap-holding for the kids.
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Next step: If you're planning a trip to St. Andrews before the end of summer, the park is open year-round from 8 AM to sunset. The boat ramp is on the Grand Lagoon side. Call ahead to confirm Shell Island ferry availability before you drive over.
Why the GT HEMI Fits PCB Families Better Than the R/T
The 2026 R/T now comes standard with Dodge's 6.4-liter HEMI V8 producing 475 horsepower, and it's a genuinely capable engine with a sportier suspension tune and more aggressive styling, but for a family making regular Pier Park runs and state park mornings those attributes don't move the needle. You're paying for a performance platform that the grocery run and the boat launch don't use.
The GT HEMI also comes standard with AWD, a 10.1-inch Uconnect touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and seating for up to seven. That's the complete family toolkit without moving up a tier. In our experience, set the two spec sheets side by side and the GT HEMI covers what a PCB boat run actually asks for. The towing numbers are nearly identical for the boat scenarios a PCB run actually involves (7,200 lbs on the GT HEMI without the package versus the same threshold on the R/T without it), and the GT HEMI's fuel economy, while not light, is at least one step better than the R/T's 6.4-liter.
View all 2026 Durango configurations in our inventory
Tying It Together: What the Durango Does Between Trips
For a Panama City family, Panama City Beach is a regular run rather than a once-a-year event, with a 27-mile stretch of beaches, Pier Park entertainment, St. Andrews' boat ramp, the Conservation Park trails, and Coconut Creek Family Fun Park's maze and mini-golf courses giving reasons to make this drive repeatedly. The Durango GT HEMI handles every version.
Towing a watercraft to St. Andrews? It's built for it. Squeezing seven people plus a week's worth of gear down Front Beach Road? The interior handles it. Navigating the Pier Park lot on a Friday evening when it's three rows deep? The Durango's 41-foot turning diameter and available ParkSense rear and front sensors make that manageable rather than miserable.
The tradeoff stays real. The GT HEMI drinks fuel at 14 city / 21 highway, and regular beach runs add up. If towing truly isn't part of your PCB routine, the base GT V6 is a genuinely good choice. We'll tell you that on the lot.
Come talk to the Bay Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram team at 636 W 15th St in Panama City. We know this drive, we know this market, and we'll help you pick the configuration that earns every mile between here and the beach.
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