Communities and Things To Do

While picture perfect weather and natural beauty of the Emerald Coast attracts the greatest attention, the lure of other activities is as equally inviting.  Enjoy some of the best deep water fishing in the gulf, select from an almost endless array of water sports, choose from over 225 holes of award winning golf – courses designed by Fazio, Norman and Love.  Bike or hike across miles of natural trails and scenic byways, savor delectable seafood or browse a myriad of specialty shops including the largest outlet mall in the south as well as the large assortment of antique shops and unique boutiques.  If tennis is your game – Rosemary Beach, WaterColor, WaterSound, Alys Beach and Seaside offer courts.  Or just kick back, relax and bask in the warmest southern hospitality the beach has to offer.

Community Information:

Alys Beach:

Extending from the Gulf of Mexico across Scenic Hwy 30A on 158 acres, Alys Beach is designated in the tradition of English and Spanish architecture, specifically of Bermuda and Antigua, Guatemala.  Whitewashed masonry and stucco typical of the style possess an uncomplicated, organic beauty.  Homes have courtyards and rooftop terraces.  The resort promises to have the soul of a European Resort.

Amenities include or will include a 22 acre nature park with walking trails, Alys Beach Club, several swimming pools throughout the resort, tennis courts, fitness center, an amphitheatre, a Town Center that has an international news stand and press, restaurants, bistros, retail boutique shops, ocean plazas, and Alys Beach Market.  Three story mixed use buildings will line a waterfront plaza, which will serve as a gathering place in the community.  They will feature arcades and cafes at ground level and apartments above, all of which are presently under construction. 

According to the renowned architectural firm of Duany, Plater-Zyberk who designed Alys Beach, “The town will employ the best available urban design and architecture techniques to create a harmonious relationship between humans and the environment.”

Blue Mountain Beach:

"Mountain" is somewhat of a misnomer for a Florida landscape that is only 345 feet above sea level at its highest point (northern Walton County), but the first European settlers may have mistaken the Blue Mountain area's towering dunes for mountains after being at sea for months! They may also have been impressed by the lush vegetation covering the dunes, especially the spiky shape of the Gulf Coast Blue Lupine, which lives in the dune scrub and exists in only eight coastal counties in Florida's Panhandle. With its fuzzy blue leaves and purplish blue flowers that look like tiny sweet peas, it is easy to speculate that blue flowers covering tall dunes gave the area its unusual name.

Blue Mountain also marks the beginning of the Eastern Lake Hike/Bike Trail, which ambles through the rest of South Walton's beach communities. Take it slow and enjoy the trip past coastal lakes, dense woodlands and architecturally stunning communities that make up the Blue Mountain Beach area.

Carillon Beach:

This 104-acres of pristine gulf-front property located on the West end of Bay County of the Panhandle of Florida is a peaceful haven. It is a community created out of a desire to return to a quieter and gentler time when people cared for the land and the neighbors around them.

The community has many amenities, including a 12-acre lake, naturally landscaped parks, three swimming pools, tennis courts, and over 4000 linear feet of serene white sand beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

Dune Allen:

Dune Allen is an established community that surrounds Lake Stalworth, the first of 17 coastal lakes, which are unique to this part of the world. The lakes actually interact with the tides, forming their own biological communities. You'll see them dotted throughout South Walton County, just another cue that you are in a very special place.

Dune-Allen's other coastal lake, Oyster Lake, is actually shaped like an oyster shell, and was once filled with oysters! Families who visited Dune Allen for "holidays" would picnic on its shores, and if the water in the lake was high, the men would dig a trench from the lake to the gulf to get the water running off. The effect was to lower the water level to make it easier to catch fish and gather oysters!

Grayton Beach:

Grayton Beach was the first community established in South Walton, some time in the late 19th century. By 1919, it was nearly abandoned, due to the fact that there were no good roads leading to it. Today's Grayton Beach is a historic district, with many of the old cottages nicely restored. Here you'll find a strange and wonderful eclectic community.

Today Grayton Beach is best known for its incomparable natural beauty in Grayton Beach State Park, which spans the Gulf of Mexico and most of Western Lake. Bring your RV, tents or campers here, or try some of the cabins, also part of the state park. The hiking trail is fairly short, but one of the most scenic in the area, circling beach dunes, skirting the coastal lake, and cutting right through a dense scrub hammock.  The area shops are worth your time to get a sense of the area's wonderful blend of local art, antiques and unusual gift items.

Inlet Beach:

Inlet Beach gets its name from Phillips Inlet, which separates Walton and Bay Counties. Inlet Beach is where Scenic Highway 30-A again meets up with Emerald Coast Parkway. Inlet Beach is a well-established neighborhood, made up of several different types of housing and subdivisions, defined by modest homes inland, new and newly restored homes on the gulf side and sprawling lots north of Emerald Coast Parkway where rolling hills define the terrain.

Rosemary Beach:

With calm gulf waters, soothing rays of sunshine and silky sand beaches, Rosemary Beach, Florida is a great place to unwind and soak up the scenery. Rosemary Beach's unique architecture is what first captures your attention, with its Dutch and West Indies-inspired homes and commercial buildings. Building palettes run to colors found in nature-mostly shades of rust, tan, green and brown, with Bermuda shutters, wide second floor porches, and arched garage doors. Gates and fences open with a latchkey, with steps leading to entrances on the second floor. Walls line both sides of the solid entryway steps, a feature right out of the Caribbean. Footpaths and boardwalks lead to large decks over the dunes and, of course, to Rosemary Beach below.

The result is something completely different, classical, and inspiring. The town, established in 1995 and named for the dune rosemary, is still growing, adding not only homes, but also new places to shop and dine in the Town Center.

Santa Rosa Beach:

Running both north and south of Emerald Coast Parkway, Santa Rosa Beach encompasses the largest tract of land of all the beach communities. The Santa Rosa area includes the historic town of Point Washington where Eden State Gardens incorporates the old Wesley mansion on Tucker Bayou, once a thriving sawmill. Topsail Hill State Preserve could be the state's most pristine piece of property; its beach, dunes, coastal lake and cypress swamp remain nearly untouched since the time the first Europeans landed here five centuries ago.

Several entrances to Point Washington State Forest take you into the 15,000-acre preserve with more than ten miles of trails. Travel north on Hwy. 393 for a little local history and lore plus a shopping stop for antique treasures and garden statuary.

Seacrest Beach:

Seacrest Beach begins after the big bend in the road on Scenic Highway 30-A. The road still follows the gulf here, and passes through areas with an up-close view of just how wild and dense the coastal scrub can get. Suddenly, rising out of the dunes, is the residential community of Seacrest. Camp Creek Lake is one outstanding feature of the area, as is the area golf club with its marshlands, perfect for wading birds, plantings of more than 200 live oaks, and its challenging landscape.

Seaside:

Seaside made a giant splash in the architectural world when developer Robert Davis carved out a modern Victorian town with narrow streets, picket fences and homes arranged close together to encourage walking-and neighborliness. It was the first of its kind, creating the model for towns across America. Seaside's "walk-to-anywhere" design brings necessary shops and services to its residents and guests, including a post office and a school. Seaside's centerpiece contains the market, art galleries, a florist, an ice cream store, a post office, and other small boutiques. Find many artists-in-residence at galleries lining Ruskin Place.

Although many of the homes can be rented on a daily or weekly basis, Seaside also offers a motor court and bed and breakfast. Park your car and rent bicycles to explore this wildly successful pioneering town, featured in the 1997 motion picture "The Truman Show."

Seagrove Beach:

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, families came to Seagrove Beach to rent modest one-story cottages with paddle fans instead of air conditioning and wide screened porches (perfect for sleeping). The same families returned year after year, and now second and third generations make the journey. Many of those cottages still exist, although they've been updated for today's travelers and are now thoroughly shaded by mature scrub trees and plants.

Swimming and sandcastle building were once the popular pastimes, since there weren't many commercial ventures in the Seagrove area. Now visitors have numerous options for recreation as well as dining. Just up the road are art galleries and antique stores. Eastern and Deer Lakes make wonderful spots for quiet reflection, or put in a canoe or kayak for a day of exploration around the Seagrove Beach area.

WaterColor:

The neighborhoods of WaterColor, one of the newer of 30-A's beach communities, are a testimony to southern coastal architecture, defined by color palette and architectural style. Five public parks welcome residents and guests to relax outside, while a large outdoor amphitheater will serve as the setting for concerts and festivals on Western Lake. Three restaurants for casual or elegant dining, a gourmet market, pools, a boathouse, and a traditional southern cutting garden create an inviting atmosphere.

Except for the cutting garden in Cerulean Park, all landscaping at WaterColor is native to Florida's Panhandle, and homeowners are encouraged to continue the tradition.

Watersound Beach:

256 acres of rolling dunes situated along Scenic Hwy 30A, Watersound Beach offers a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life.  The beauty of the emerald green waters on the Gulf of Mexico, the distinctive flora and fauna that surrounds Camp Creek Coastal Dune Lake and the sugar white sand beaches and dunes are exquisite in this charming beach community which is accented by wooden pathways and bridges that wander through these natural surroundings.  Nearby you’ll find restaurants, specialty shops and art galleries for which this stretch of the Gulf Coast has become known.

Wild Heron:

Wild Heron is a sanctuary for “living life fully” on the Emerald Coast of Florida.

A rambling 734 acre preserve along the shores of Lake Powell forms a unique coastal habitat for fewer than 600 families.  Anchored by the private, members – only Greg Norman-designed championship golf course, Wild Heron is located in West Bay County and features numerous world class amenities.