Hiking

Celebrate Coastal Dune Lake Appreciation month with a tour of the nature trail surrounding Western Lake in Grayton Beach State Park on Thursday, Oct. 17th from 9AM - 11AM.

Join University of Florida's Panhandle Outdoor Live team for a guided walking tour of the nature trail. Meet at the beach pavilion (restroom facilities available) at 8:45 am with a lecture and tour start time of 9:00 am sharp. Tour is approximately 2 hours. Admission into the park: $5.00 per vehicle, so car pooling is encouraged.

SoWal hikers, bikers, and equestrians are thankful that the McQuage Bayou Trail is once again open for business.

Formerly used primarily by equestrians (horizontal posts still exist for tying up ol’ Trigger), the newly improved trail was officially re-opened with a Florida Forest Service event July 21, 2017.

On the east side of South Walton just east of Inlet Beach, turn off Highway 98 and through the gate of Camp Helen State Park and be amazed how fast you go from freeway frenzy to total tranquility.

Grayton Beach State Park has showcased the best natural environment South Walton has to offer for nearly 50 years. 

The park encompasses 2,200 acres of pristine rolling dunes along the Gulf and Western Lake, and a magnificent coastal forest habitat with unusual scrub oaks and magnolias twisted by winds and time. Western Lake is the centerpiece of the park, one of our rare, freshwater coastal dune lakes.

Most people are astonished to learn that Florida has caves, but the limestone ecosystem of the central Florida panhandle is quite different than anywhere else in the state.

South Walton is beautiful in ways that challenge the imagination. Word has gotten out about our sleepy collection of sophisticated-yet-casual communities whose prominent allure is the pristine white-sand beach and its complement – the glistening emerald-hued Gulf. While the shore whets travelers’ appetites, it’s what’s off the beach that may be most deserving of our attention.