History

The 28th edition of the annual *Rags To Riches Regatta* returns to Grayton Beach on Saturday, June 28, 2025 in celebration of American Independence Day.

The small catamaran race is a tradition among SoWal sailors, families, friends, and Grayton Beach lovers. Come out to watch the regatta take off from the shores of Grayton Beach as they race to Seagrove Beach and back to Grayton. 

For more information & to register your vessel, visit www.ragstorichesregatta.org.

It was nearly lost forever, but a few tenacious nonconformists fought for a decade to save their precious beach
By Wendy O. Dixon

It’s Memorial Day, 2009, and local residents and tourists bask in the sun and bury their feet in the sugar-white sands of Grayton Beach. Children splash in Western Lake, trying to catch tiny fish by clasping their hands together. Sandcastles, rainbow-colored umbrellas and a few four-wheel-drive vehicles are sprawled along the shore.

The historic Seagrove Villas Motel welcomed SoWal beach lovers for over 60 years, but the doors closed and the neon sign dimmed for the final time in 2012.

All that will remains are the memories of so many beach lovers who have stayed at the motel and villas over the years. Thankfully, a few of the cottages on the north side of Scenic 30A will remain as shops. Perhaps to some a sad reminder of sunny days gone by when they visited the motel as part of "Old Florida".

We love the snow-white quartz sands of SoWal beaches that squeak when we walk on them with bare feet, the emerald green and turquoise waters of the Gulf; a bay pregnant with fish and oysters; the delta of the Choctawhatchee River; our 18,000 acres of forest, parks and preserves; plus our unique coastal dune lakes that make South Walton one of the most desirable places on earth to live and visit.

The Spanish began naming towns, rivers and bays, usually after Saints, as they explored and colonized Florida in the 16th Century. In the 17th Century, following Saint Rose’s death and Sainthood, the Spanish name a major bay in what is now the Walton County, Florida area “Santa Rosa Bay” and publish the name on maps of Florida.

The name was changed by the British around 1778 to Choctawhatchee Bay. Thus, the longtime Spanish name of Santa Rosa Bay became unknown to many contemporary residents and visitors to South Walton and Florida.

Do you love the REAL Florida? Do you love OLD Florida? Then a visit to Camp Helen State Park on the eastern edge of South Walton is a must.

The protected sanctuary is sandwiched between our largest coastal dune lake, Lake Powell, and the gulf. Camp Helen is a true gem not to be missed, with amazing views from high bluffs, rustic foot bridges over still waters, forested trails teeming with wildlife, and a bit of Florida history to boot.