Santa Rosa Beach

Santa Rosa Beach spans the western portion of Scenic 30A and north across US 98 to the Choctawhatchee Bay. Enjoy outdoor fun along with a variety of dining and entertainment choices in Santa Rosa Beach.

Santa Rosa Beach includes the historic community of Point Washington. There you’ll find the hidden gem of Eden State Gardens, where stands the stately Wesley Mansion, built in the 1890’s, and housing a large collection of original Louis XVI antiques. Once a thriving lumber mill during the turn of the century, it has since been dedicated to the state for preservation.

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park just might be the state’s most pristine piece of property. Its beach, dunes, coastal dune lakes and cypress swamp have remained nearly untouched since the first Europeans settled here five centuries ago.

Santa Rosa Beach offers several entrances to Point Washington State Forest, a 15,000-acre preserve with more than 10 miles of trails. The Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club is nestled between the Emerald Coast’s favorite attractions….the sugar-white sand beaches, and thriving woodlands. It features 18 challenging golf holes that wind through the pure white sands, pristine ponds and lush vegetation of Santa Rosa Beach.

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.

In the late 1800s, towns were beginning to form south of the Choctawhatchee Bay. By the early 1900s, Hogtown Bayou in Santa Rosa Beach was a bustling town center. Steamboats bringing in residents from Mobile and Pensacola helped to quickly grow the area’s population to nearly 1,200 people. Unfortunately, a crop disaster followed by a hurricane spelled doom for the town.

The town eventually took on a lawless “Wild West” vibe and many residents boarded steamboats and left en masse. The town’s hotels, churches, stores, cafés, and cottages took on the feeling of a true ghost town. The few remaining locals eventually dismantled the town for lumber. Today, Cessna Landing (named for the town founder) is a public park and quiet place with picnic areas and a fishing dock. Next to the park, the Bayou Arts Center of Walton County hosts groups for art classes, workshops and other cultural events.