Beach Guide: Seaside - Upscale Oasis on Florida's Gulf Coast

A. Seaside sits on County Road 30A in Walton County, along the Gulf coast of the Florida Panhandle. WaterColor is immediately west of it and Seagrove Beach immediately east. Here’s where you can see the official Seaside site.

Grayton Beach State Park is about two miles west. Santa Rosa Beach, where 30A meets U.S. Highway 331, is roughly 10 miles away.

A. Not through Seaside's own walkways, no. Seaside is a private town, and its Gulf front is reached through nine gated pavilions controlled by the individual street homeowner associations. Guests who book a Seaside rental get the entry code for the pavilion on their street.

There is one exception. The public can reach the sand at Town Center (Georges Gorge and Coleman) by reserving a chair setup through Cabana Man, Seaside's beach service, which you book in advance online. Personal chairs, umbrellas, tents and full-size coolers are not permitted in Town Center.

You can still walk the shoreline. Walton County's wet sand is public for all 26 miles of coast, so plenty of people park at a public access and walk past Seaside along the water. You just cannot cut through the town to get there.

A. A mere few blocks east of town, Hickory Beach Access, located at 2630 W County Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459, welcomes the public. And a little over a mile west of Seaside, Grayton Beach State Park promises a glorious stretch of sand, nature trails, and a rare dune lake.

Santa Clara Regional Beach Access, at 3468 E. Scenic Highway 30A, is about two miles from Seaside and the closest full-service option. It has a lifeguard tower in season, an accessible boardwalk, accessible restrooms and a free beach wheelchair.

The newer Seagrove Regional Beach Access at 3910 E. County Highway 30A is about three miles east, with restrooms, an accessible boardwalk and accessible parking, though no lifeguard tower. The Eastern Lake parking facility adds 16 standard spaces and 18 low-speed vehicle spaces.

One to cross off your list: Van Ness Butler Jr., just west of Seaside, is no longer a public access. The county gave up the easement and the land now belongs to the WaterColor Community Association. The similarly named municipal parking lot at 20 Western Lake Drive is a different place and still operates.

A. Seaside runs managed paid parking every year starting March 1, in marked zones around Smolian Circle and other designated spots in town. You pay by text or through the Passport Parking app.

A free shuttle runs daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, with three shuttles in service at all times. It picks up at the Seaside lot off Highway 331 South, just past the Sanctuary at 331 apartments, and drops you under the Lyceum Archway. Guests staying in Town Center get parking passes from their rental agency. Details are on Seaside's parking and shuttle page.

A. Not at Seaside. The pavilions are private access points, not guarded beaches.

The South Walton Fire District staffs towers at the county's regional beach accesses from March 1 through Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with limited roving coverage the rest of the year. Santa Clara is one of the tower locations. Seagrove is not. Here’s more lifeguard information: https://www.visitsouthwalton.com/beach-safety/

Whether or not a guard is on duty, read the flag. Green means low hazard, yellow means moderate surf or currents, red means high hazard, purple means stinging marine life, and double red means the water is closed. Going in under double red flags carries a fine and criminal charges. Current status is posted twice daily on the South Walton Fire District surf conditions page, and you can text SAFETY to 31279 for alerts.

A. It is the town that started New Urbanism. Robert Davis inherited 80 acres of Gulf-front scrub from his grandfather, J.S. Smolian, who bought the land in 1946, and broke ground in 1981.

He hired Miami architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, who toured the South studying old towns before drawing the plan: narrow streets, deep porches, picket fences, everything within walking distance. Seaside is described as the world's first New Urbanist town, and it now holds more than 300 homes plus restaurants, shops and galleries. The full story is on Seaside's history page.

It is also, famously, Seahaven. "The Truman Show" was filmed here in 1998, and the town's uncanny tidiness on screen was not a set.

A. Nine beach pavilions stand at the ends of the streets running down to the Gulf, each designed by a different architect. They are the town's signature.

East to west they are Tupelo, Savannah, East Ruskin, Seaside, Coleman, West Ruskin, Pensacola, Odessa and Natchez. Coleman, the obelisk-shaped one at the foot of Town Center, is the central access point. Walking the row and comparing them is worth an hour. Seaside's pavilion guide covers who designed each.

A. Start with Airstream Row, the line of silver food trailers near Central Square. It is open year-round, with hours varying by vendor, and includes Wild Bill's Beach Dogs, Wild Nectar, 'drome and The Meltdown on 30A. Seaside's sit-down restaurants and shops fill in around the square: see the dining page and the shopping page.

The amphitheater keeps a weekly rhythm, offering events that include a farmers market Saturdays, Central Square Cinema., Sounds of Seaside, and children's theater. Beachside yoga runs daily 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. from March 1 through Oct. 31; bring your own mat. Current listings are on the events page.

The Seaside Repertory Theatre, a professional company, performs downtown behind Modica Market. Austin Magee's Surf School runs on the beach behind Coleman Pavilion each spring and summer.

A. Not onto the beach. Walton County requires a permit for a dog on any public beach, and the permit goes only to county residents and property owners who show current rabies vaccination. Permitted dogs are allowed on a leash from 3:30 p.m. until 8:30 a.m. the next morning.

Visitors staying in a rental do not qualify. The permit rules are on the county's dog beach page.

A. Walton County sets them in its waterways and beach activities ordinance, and code compliance officers enforce them along 30A.

No glass is allowed on the sand. Tents are capped at 10 feet by 10 feet including straps and legs, must sit on the upland half of the beach, and need a four-foot walkway between them. Umbrellas cap at eight feet by eight feet. Dig holes no wider than three feet and no deeper than two feet, stay with them, and fill them before you go. No overnight camping is allowed.

Another rule is Leave No Trace: anything left on the beach between one hour after sunset and one hour after sunrise becomes county property. Take the chairs and the cooler back with you. Bonfires need a permit from the South Walton Fire District and are limited to Gulf-front property; see the bonfire permit page.

A. Nesting season runs May 1 through Oct. 31. Loggerheads, greens, Kemp's ridleys and leatherbacks all use this coast.

South Walton Turtle Watch sums up the rules as clean, dark and flat. Carry off everything you brought, fill in holes and flatten sandcastles at the end of the day, and keep light off the beach after dark, phone screens and camera flashes included. Read the details on the South Walton Turtle Watch FAQ and the county lighting ordinance page. To report a sick, stranded or entangled turtle, call 850-865-4503.

A. Spring and early fall give you the best combination of warm water and thinner crowds. Managed parking starting March 1 is a fair marker for when the season gets going, and June through early August is the busiest stretch.

The Gulf runs into the mid-80s by late summer and drops into the 50s and 60s during the winter months, when most people skip swimming whatever the air temperature says. You can check the current reading at the NOAA Panama City Beach station.