South Walton visitors and residents now have expanded access to one of the area’s most popular stretches of coastline with the completion of the new Seagrove Regional Beach Access, located at 3910 E. County Highway 30A.
The new regional beach access adds 100 feet of public beach frontage and becomes Walton County’s 10th regional beach access site. County officials say the project was designed to improve accessibility, parking and safety while helping accommodate growing demand along the Scenic 30A corridor.
The Seagrove Regional Beach Access includes 23 parking spaces for standard vehicles, ADA-accessible parking and bicycle parking, along with a 1,011-square-foot restroom facility, rinse showers and a handicap-accessible dune walkover connecting directly to the beach. The site also links to the area’s multi-use path system.
An extensive storm water exfiltration system was also incorporated into the project to help capture runoff from nearby neighborhoods and improve environmental management in the surrounding area.
According to Walton County officials, the total project cost was approximately $8.9 million, including $5 million for property acquisition. Engineering fees totaled slightly more than $200,000, with the remaining funds dedicated to construction.
The property was originally purchased by the county in 2017, with the completed project representing years of planning, engineering and infrastructure work aimed at increasing public beach access in South Walton.
The project was completed through partnerships involving Atkins Realis, GLC Contracting, Berube Leonard LLC and Stokes Architectural.
In addition to expanded public access, South Walton Fire District lifeguards are now staffing the beach from a newly installed lifeguard tower identified as Tower 21. The tower operates daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 31 and includes a beach wheelchair available for public use. The addition brings the district’s total to 19 staffed lifeguard towers covering Walton County’s 26 miles of coastline.
County officials noted that construction of the Seagrove Regional Beach Access was fully funded through Walton County’s Tourism Development Tax, commonly known as the bed tax, collected from short-term lodging stays within South Walton County.
For more information on Walton County beach projects and public beach access improvements, waltoncountyfltourism.com/projects or contact Beach Operations at (850) 267-4578.
