About the Beaches
Beaches of South Walton
Spanning 26 miles in between Destin and Panama City beaches, the Beaches of South Walton range from exclusive stretches home to the rich and famous and dotted with mansions to wide open expanses touched only by sea turtles and few people. Comprised of 15 smaller beach communities – some perfectly planned and others delightfully quirky – the beaches of South Walton and their diverse surroundings have enough pizzazz and stunning beauty to fill months of vacations.
A great way to find that perfect beach to celebrate year after year is by simply driving or biking along highway 30A. Stop at the artsy Grayton Beach, home of "friendly dogs and nice people" then spend some time in Seaside, one of the first ‘new urbanism’ towns. It hosted filming of “The Truman Show” and is one of the most charming towns in America with architecture donning shades the color of ice cream. Or for that big city beach feel where beach bars and high rise condos deck the beach, visit the beaches of Sandestin where there is always entertainment daytime and night. It’s just east of Destin off Hwy 98.
While the experience at each beach will be little different depending on the beach neighborhood, the Florida warning flag system assures visitors of a safe day at the beach whichever one it is.
Beach Conditions Flags
- Double red means water conditions are too rough to enter
- Red means strong currents and or high surf
- Yellow means conditions are pretty moderate
- Green signifies that it's all right to take a swim
The Beaches of South Walton have also developed a service that will text the beach conditions for the day directly to your cell phone. Visit www.visitsouthwalton.com/beach-safety to get the text number, learn the eight locations of the public beaches with lifeguards and learn how to identify rip currents.
You can also visit www.sowal.com to see live web cams, read local blogs and learn about Beaches of South Walton events.
