Seacrest Beach is one of the older beach communities along Scenic 30A in South Walton County. It’s snugged in between Camp Creek Lake to the west and Camp Creek Golf Club on the east. This is another area where the land changed hands a few times before Seacrest Beach was finally established.
Sallie Williams, a teacher and woodworker, built her Gulf front home in 1962 and called the area Seacrest. “It is believed she coined the name Seacrest, using a combination of Seagrove Beach to the west and Emerald Crest, an old home located further east in what is now Alys Beach, built by the man who homesteaded the land.” (Pathway to Paradise on Florida’s Emerald Coast, by Robert O. Reynolds, 20109, page 100). The same year she built her new home, Sallie and two co-owners Ferris and Rebecca Barnes, filed a plat for Seacrest Beach. The plat included lots both south and north of 30A. Sallie was well known in the area for making and sharing her homemade wine, produced from her own white scuppernong grapes and elderberry flowers.
Since its beginnings, Seacrest Beach has grown into a casually upscale community with plenty of things to do and experience. One of the best ways to get around in Seacrest Beach is to rent a bicycle if you didn’t bring your own. Peddlers 30A has a large variety of bikes to pick from and they keep them in excellent condition. You can ride not just around Seacrest, but down the Timpochee Trail if you’re wanting to experience more of the beach communities in the area.
At Peddler’s Pavilion and The Villages of South Walton you’ll find multiple shops and lots of dining opportunities like Charlie’s Donut Truck, LaCo for more upscale dining, The Sweet Peddler, and Ticheli’s Italian Pizza for starters. If you’d love some handmade jewelry, you must stop in at Creatively Bent, or check out LMN Boutique for clothing, jewelry, and accessories.
Danny Margagliano, Realtor with World Impact Real Estate, is very familiar with Seacrest Beach. “This community is special because once you’re there you don’t need to go anywhere in your car with so many shops and restaurants available. I especially love Smallcakes, a cupcake store that bakes the best cupcakes you’ll ever eat. They’re small, so you can savor more than one.”
If exploring is your passion, you can visit one of South Walton’s spectacular dune lakes, Camp Creek Lake, and enjoy some stand-up paddleboarding. There are fifteen dune lakes in Walton County, the type of dune lakes found nowhere else in the world. They are protected and are excellent lakes for fishing and kayaking and enjoying the beauty of nature.
If you’d rather swim in a pool, High Pointe Resort and The Villas at Seacrest offer two of the best pools along 30A. But, really, isn’t the main reason you vacation in the Florida Panhandle is to soak up the sun on the beach while sinking your toes into the squeaky white sand? There’s nothing quite like feeling the breeze on your skin and the foam around your feet while watching the sun go down in a blaze of oranges and reds, purples and blues.
Seacrest Beach is one of many beach front communities in South Walton, and each one is unique with their own particular beauty. The local residents, who live here year-round, love this piece of paradise and work hard to keep it beautiful year after year.
Visiting Seacrest for the first time? CLICK HERE to check out Visit South Walton’s First Timer’s Guide.