Grayton Beach State Park is a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

located between Panama City Beach and Destin, near the unincorporated area of Grayton Beach, on CR 30A, in northwestern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Its sister park is Deer Lake State Park. The of land for the park was obtained from a lease from the Florida Board of Education in 1964 and opened in 1968. A separate unit of the park located one mile (1.6 km) west of the main park offers duplex cabins for rent and also has beach access.

About Grayton Beach

Grayton Beach State Park is one of the most popular parks in the state of Florida. Salt marshes, sea oat covered dunes, crystal-white sand, and blue-green waters make up this state park. Western Lake, the second-largest coastal dune lake in the Florida Panhandle, is just one of the many coastal dune lakes that visitors see while driving down

Scenic Highway 30A State Road 30A (SR 30A) is a Florida Department of Transportation designation shared by four alternate routings of SR 30 in the Florida panhandle. Two segments have SR 30A signage; the other two do not as they are segments of U.S. ...

. The park also offers facilities for swimming, fishing, snorkeling, and camping. Grayton Beach provides visitors with a variety of activities. The park covers a 2,200 acre area. Included in this 2,200 acres is space for recreational vehicle and tent camping as well as 30 cabins accommodating up to six people.

Recreational activities

The park has such amenities as

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

es,

bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, ...

, boating, canoeing,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, kayaking, picnicking areas,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

viewing, and full

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

facilities.

History

According to the Coastal Heritage Preservation Foundation, in 1885,

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

major Charles T. Gray was the first to settle the land now known as Grayton Beach. At the time, the federal government owned most of the land so people had little reason to settle there. The soil was way too sandy to farm, and better timber was located inland. The closest settlement was approximately five miles to the north. This settlement was located at Point Washington on

Choctawhatchee Bay Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, has a surface area of . It is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, connected to it through East Pass (also kn ...

. In 1890, Army General William Miller and William Wilson became Gray’s neighbors. They mapped out where the newly found village’s streets and blocks would be constructed. They named the new area Grayton Beach, after Charles T. Gray. In 1913, W. H. Butler and his son Van R. Butler made the day-long trip from DeFuniak Springs to Grayton Beach. Soon thereafter, the Butler family became the community’s leading promoter. In 1926, a major hurricane swept through the area creating Destin’s East Pass. This storm flattened most of the dunes, which left the beach flat. At the beginning of the 1930s, Highway 98 was completed, the Highway 331 bridge was built, and the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

was cut through Walton County, which made Grayton Beach and South Walton (SoWal) County much easier for everyone to get to.

Present day Grayton Beach

Florida has kept Grayton Beach small by surrounding it with all park land. The state used land that it owned east of Grayton to establish the Grayton Beach State Recreation Area in 1967. Florida purchased the village’s beach front, dunes, and forest land to the west and north, after they lobbied with residents for years. Grayton beach consistently remains ranked as one of the most beautiful and pristine beaches in the United States.

References

External links

Grayton Beach State Park
a
Florida State Parks

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State Parks

Coastal Dune Lakes Documentary
{{authority control Parks in Walton County, Florida State parks of Florida Beaches of Walton County, Florida Beaches of Florida 1968 establishments in Florida Protected areas established in 1968