News & Info

Watersound Town Center has lots of room to grow along US 98 in eastern South Walton County. A visit to the heart of Watersound reveals a growing open-air, walkable center where daily lifestyle meets coastal luxury. Bordering the entrance to the Watersound Origins community, the continuously expanding collection of shops, restaurants, and event spaces are designed to serve the broader Watersound community & surrounding areas.

Here is the 2026-2027 School Calendar from Visit South Walton - Use it to help plan your trips to SoWal & 30A. Locals can see when to promote business, events, and when to plan around traffic, and crowds at restaurants and grocery stores. The school calendar shows when K-12 schools and universities/colleges in our major travel markets will be on break and for school start dates.

South Walton School Calendar includes 30A travel info for Fall Break, Winter Break, Spring Break and other holidays.

Walton County Tourism (WCT) rebranded the free Beach Tram program, along with its website and two county paid parking lots to make beach access information easier for visitors to find. Formerly known as Walton County Transportation, the service is now operating as Walton County Beach Park and Ride. The updated name better reflects the program's purpose: helping visitors park their car, ride the tram and reach the beach with less stress.  

Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach is an art festival that employs the latest in digital technologies to project original works onto the town’s expansive white walls. The collection of events celebrates the creative process of integrating art, technology, and architecture. The new urbanist town on Scenic 30A provides an open-air, nighttime gallery space with an exhibition footprint spanning just under one mile.

Living on the beautiful Northwest Florida coast comes with a familiar trade-off: our stunning South Walton beaches are paired with the annual reality of Atlantic hurricane season. When it comes to tropical weather, protecting your property isn’t a matter of if a storm will threaten the coast—it’s a matter of when.

The South Walton Fire District Junior Lifeguard Program returns this summer with more than 200 participants preparing to dive into a season of beach safety education, lifesaving skills, and hands-on surf rescue training along the Emerald Coast.

The program kicks off Tuesday, June 2, and once again features both Foundations and Advanced curriculum tracks, allowing first-time and returning Junior Lifeguards to learn at a pace tailored to their experience level.

Summer visitors to Walton County will once again be able to enjoy complimentary day-use admission to Grayton Beach State Park and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Walton County Tourism is expanding its free Beach Tram service on March 1, with routes running to and from regional beach accesses from the new 393 Municipal Parking Facility, which is 4 blocks north of 30A on Hwy 393 at Gulf Place,  and Grayton Beach Municipal Parking Facility, which is 4 blocks north of 30A on Hwy 283.

Note that these large public parking lots have covered waiting areas with seating and restrooms, as well as inside air-conditioned waiting areas with local art.