Scenic Highway 30A stretches 20 miles along the beautiful pristine coastline of the Gulf of Mexico along the panhandle of Florida between Destin and Panama City Beach. Located in the Santa Rosa Beach area of South Walton County, 30A meanders through more than a dozen picturesque beach communities, sweeping dunes, extremely rare coastal lakes and a handful of state parks with miles of hiking trails through protected forest. 30A offers guests a unique opportunity to get away from it all without the hustle and bustle of ordinary beach towns.
A bike path running the full length of 30A allows guests the option of leaving the car behind and exploring this extraordinary area on two wheels. All along 30A, you will find world-class restaurants, fun beach bars, recreational facilities (pools, gyms, tennis, fishing and more), art galleries, shops, and a wide range of family-friendly activities such as outdoor concerts and movies.
The pristine white sand beaches and stunning clear emerald waters of the Gulf will take your breath away and make you want to come back year after year. It's no wonder Frommer's named this area one of its Top Destinations in the world in 2010, noting the "Stunning white beaches, nature trails . . . great restaurants, and a cozy, yet quirky, sense of community." And all of the beaches have been certified as Blue Wave Beaches by the country's only environmental-certification program for beaches.
For more information and our recommendations for restaurants, activities and more along 30A, book your rental today and go to "For My Guests." For a calendar of upcoming events along the South Walton Beaches, click here.
From East to West:
Rosemary Beach (approx. 14 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 2 miles east of Blue Tide)
Located at the far east end of 30A, just west of Inlet Beach (where 30A meets with Highway 98), Rosemary Beach features a series of interconnected sand pathways, boardwalks and hidden passages meeting in an old fashioned town center complete with a Town Hall and Post Office. Nine dune walkovers, a collection of common grassy areas and a handful of parks (including a butterfly garden) give visitors many options for spending time out in the fresh air.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Rosemary Beach, click here.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Rosemary Beach, click here.
Alys Beach (approx. 13 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 1 mile east of Blue Tide)
Located just west of Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach is the newest of the planned communities along 30A. Featuring stark white buildings, a 21-acre nature preserve, an amphitheater and the luxurious Caliza pool and resturant, Alys Beach's motto is "A life of balance, a life of beauty, a life of simplicity, a life of grace. A life defined."
For a calendar of upcoming events in Alys Beach, click here.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Alys Beach, click here.
Seacrest (approx. 12 miles east of Alma at the Sea)
Sitting on some of the highest dunes along 30A and featuring virtually no commercial development, Seacrest is comprised of a collection of residential neighborhoods and private coastal homes scattered to the east and west of Alys Beach. Here, you will find Blue Tide, sitting high above the beach on a beautiful bluff with a private grassy area and stairs down to the beach just outside. From the bluff, you can see dolphins swimming in the distance and nearby is Camp Creek, one of the most scenic of the coastal dune lakes.
Seagrove (approx. 7 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 3 miles west of Blue Tide)
Dating back well before Seaside and other villages along 30A, Seagrove has been one of the best kept secrets of Florida since the 1940s. In fact, this is where my great grandmother and her two sisters settled, and where I spent my summers as a child. Seagrove features a blend of "Old Florida" homes and new developments, intermixed along the Gulf, tucked away on gravel roads lined with Southern Magnolia and Saw Palmetto trees or just steps from the beach on sandy dirt roads in the triangle formed by 30A, Eastern Lake and the ocean. Seagrove is home to a number of small businesses, many of which have been fixtures of 30A for decades.
Seaside (approx. 6.5 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 6 miles west of Blue Tide)
The most famous of the towns along 30A, Seaside was the setting for the "perfect" town in The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey and has been featured in publications across the country, including Newsweek, which described it as, "with its cozy, narrow streets and its jumble of pastel-colored homes, Seaside is probably the influential resort community since Versailles." Seaside features nine unique beach pavilions, cobblestone streets, a large central amphitheater, a post office, beautifully designed cottages and a wide range of one-of-a-kind shops, galleries and restaurants.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Seaside, click here.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Seaside, click here.
Watercolor (approx. 6 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 6.5 miles west of Blue Tide)
Just a bit east of 30A's spectacular Western Lake and steps away from Seaside, Watercolor Resort is a high-end resort community with expansive nature preserves, bike trails and award-winning golf courses. The gulf-front "Watercolor Inn," a Four-Diamond AAA Hotel featuring the award-winning "Fish Out Of Water" restaurant, has been honored with World's Best awards from Travel + Leisure, Forbes and Conde Nast Traveler magazines.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Watercolor, click here.
For a calendar of upcoming events in Watercolor, click here.
Grayton Beach (approx. 2 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 7 miles west of Blue Tide)
Covering almost four miles, Grayton Beach is one of the oldest communities along 30A, seamlessly blending the classics (Red Bar) and the new (Starbucks) with a wide array of cottages, shops, lively music-filled bars and restaurants, a campground and a beach access that allows you to drive a 4WD vehicle directly onto the sand (with a proper permit), as well as a public dock for boating and fishing. The stunning Grayton Beach hiking trail will take you over sand dunes, around a coastal dune lake and through a path immersed in old oak trees. Grayton Beach State Park was named by Stephen P. Leatherman as the #1 beach in America.
Blue Mountain Beach (approx. 11 miles west of Blue Tide)
Named for the blue wildflower Lupine covering its rolling hills and sitting at the highest point along the Gulf of Mexico, Blue Mountain Beach is made up of unspoiled nature preserves and coastal dune lakes (the expansive Draper Lake and the smaller Alligator and Big Red Fish lakes) interspersed with residential neighborhoods and a handful of businesses, including a healthfood store, cafe and bakery. Only a few minutes walk from Old Florida Village, Gulf Place is the vibrant epicenter of the west end of 30A, with a collection of shops, restaurants, ponds and a large amphitheater in the Town Center.
For a calendar of upcoming events at Gulf Place, click here.
For a calendar of upcoming events at Gulf Place, click here.
Dune Allen (approx. 0.5 miles east of Alma at the Sea or 13 miles east of Blue Tide)
Rounding out the west end of 30A, Dune Allen features several of 30A's rare coastal dune lakes and lowlying beach and lakefront homes that have survived their fair share of storms over the years. A slow curve north takes 30A to meet back up with Highway 98.