The 30A Beach Communities, From Dune Allen to Inlet Beach
Where Scenic Highway 30A starts and ends, the beach communities along it from west to east, who governs a 30A address, and what to check before you buy.
Scenic Highway 30A is South Walton's beach road, and in real estate shorthand the name stands for every community along it. A trail runs the length of the road, but the places it connects differ in age, street layout and rules. This guide works west to east. Listings are on the 30A page.
Where does 30A begin and end?
Walton County's tourism department puts the western end in Dune Allen, where 30A leaves US 98 at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, and says the Timpoochee Trail runs alongside the road the whole way from Dune Allen to Inlet Beach. At the other end, Rosemary Beach's own history puts the town near the point where Scenic Route 30A runs out on the east side, and the trail finishes just past it in Inlet Beach.
Who governs a 30A address?
Walton County, the whole way. The county's comprehensive plan lists only three municipalities, Freeport, DeFuniak Springs and Paxton, and none of them is on the beach, so every community on 30A is unincorporated. Some of the older ones also sit under a neighborhood plan the county adopted; Grayton Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Inlet Beach and Old Seagrove are on the county's list. The master-planned towns add their own architectural standards on top, enforced by their associations rather than by the county. So one 30A lot can answer to as many as three sets of rules: the county code, a neighborhood plan and the town's recorded covenants.
The western end of the road
The road and the trail both start in Dune Allen. The tourism department counts five coastal dune lakes there; the county lists fifteen named lakes along its whole coast. Three miles in, where 30A crosses 393, Gulf Place is a cluster of shops and restaurants. Then comes Blue Mountain Beach, which the tourism department puts at South Walton's highest point, 65 feet, and says is named for the blue lupine on its dunes. Our coastal dune lakes guide covers what owning near one of those lakes involves.
The middle of the corridor
Florida State Parks calls Grayton Beach one of the oldest townships on the Gulf in Walton County. Grayton Beach State Park is next door and took its name from the town. WaterColor spreads over 499 acres beside Western Lake, one of the coastal dune lakes, with an inn, a boathouse and parks, Cerulean Park among them. Seaside was laid out around its Central Square; construction there began in 1981. Seagrove Beach comes after it, and Old Seagrove has one of the county's adopted neighborhood plans.
East of Seagrove
WaterSound, Seacrest and Alys Beach come next; at Alys Beach the first shovels went into the sand in 2004. Rosemary Beach dates to 1995. Past it, the trail ends at Inlet Beach. Deer Lake State Park is on this stretch too, with its address on East County Road 30-A.
Three questions for any 30A lot
Start with which rules apply to the lot: the county code, a neighborhood plan, a town's architectural standards, or all three at once. Then read what the association's recorded documents say about how the property may be used, rentals included, and look the lot up on FEMA's flood map. Gulf-front lots add permitting and boundary questions; our beachfront buying guide goes through them. Our agents work the whole corridor, so ask us about any lot on it.
Frequently asked questions
What communities are on 30A, from west to east?
Walton County's tourism department lists them from the western end as Dune Allen, Gulf Place, Santa Rosa Beach, Blue Mountain Beach, Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove, WaterSound, Seacrest, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach and Inlet Beach. All of them are governed by Walton County, and none is an incorporated town.
Is any 30A community an incorporated city?
No. Freeport, DeFuniak Springs and Paxton are the county's only municipalities, and none of them is on 30A. The county governs every community along the road, and private associations layer their own rules on top.
Is there a bike path along 30A?
Yes. Walton County's tourism department describes the Timpoochee Trail as running beside 30A for the road's full length, Dune Allen in the west to Inlet Beach in the east.
How old are the planned towns on 30A?
Each town's own history gives the date. Construction at Seaside began in 1981 and Rosemary Beach dates to 1995, while at Alys Beach the first shovels went into the sand in 2004.
