How many of the beach accesses along County Highway 30A have changed since last October? If you count only what Walton County finished building in 2026, the answer is two regional beach accesses, a new history station in Grayton Beach, and a tram network with a fresh schedule. Starting tomorrow, October 1, that network switches to its off-season timetable.
The timing is what makes this fall different. Both new accesses are complete. The bayside nature center in Santa Rosa Beach is close behind. The county's next three 30A access projects are still being designed, with construction not expected before fall 2027. For anyone who lives here year-round, that leaves a full off-season with new facilities open and no new access construction scheduled.
Two Accesses That Didn't Exist Last Fall
Seagrove Regional Beach Access opened on April 7, 2026, at 3910 E. County Hwy. 30A. It sits across 30A from Cafe' Thirty-A. It is the county's 10th regional beach access, and construction had been underway since July 2024. The site has 23 parking spaces, with dedicated spots for standard vehicles, ADA access and bicycles. It also has a 1,011-square-foot restroom building, an ADA-accessible dune walkover with rinse showers, and a direct connection to the multi-use path. The total cost was $8.9 million, and $5 million of that went to buying the land. Much of the work happened below ground. The project includes an exfiltration system that captures stormwater runoff from the surrounding neighborhoods.
Two months later, Grayton Beach got its own. The Bets "Beachmama" Haynes Regional Beach Access at 44 Hotz Ave opened June 9, 2026, and was formally dedicated at a ceremony on June 15. It sits across from Chiringo. The 1,600-square-foot facility has restrooms, rinse showers, a boardwalk, a 360-degree observation deck and a Beach Tram stop. It also has a local information station on the founding and history of Grayton Beach. The county put the total project cost at $4.3 million.
The name fits the location. The county describes Bets Haynes as a public access advocate and beach safety steward. She led the campaign behind the state's 1985 purchase of nearly 900 coastal acres, which became Grayton Beach State Park. SoWal's history of the town reports that she founded and coordinated Friends of Grayton Beach. She was raised in DeFuniak Springs and spent summers in Grayton with her husband and four daughters before her death in 2005. The upstairs history cases include a chapter on Haynes and the Butler family. Neither new access was open last off-season, so this is the first fall and winter to see both of them running.
The Tram Schedule That Takes Over on October 1
Walton County's free Beach Tram links paid parking facilities with regional beach accesses. The county says all trams run daily, and its off-season schedule starts October 1. In other words, the tram keeps running daily through fall and winter. Here are the off-season routes:
- Grayton Express, from Grayton Beach Park and Ride at 1505 County Hwy 283 S, goes directly to the Bets Haynes access every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. The last departure is at 9:40 p.m.
- Blue Mountain Local, also from Grayton Beach Park and Ride, runs hourly from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It stops at Blue Mountain, Gulfview Heights, Dune Allen and Fort Panic regional beach accesses before ending at 393 Beach Park and Ride. The last departure is at 6 p.m.
- Ed Walline Express, from 393 Beach Park and Ride at 1668 S County Hwy 393, goes directly to Ed Walline Regional Beach Access every 10 minutes from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The last departure is at 6:50 p.m.
- Dune Allen Local, from 393 Beach Park and Ride, runs hourly from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and covers the same stops in reverse toward Grayton. The last departure is at 6:30 p.m.
The Grayton Express has by far the longest window of any route, from 6 a.m. to nearly 10 p.m. That reach into early morning and evening is unusual. At the Grayton lot, you can park in a facility with 204 spaces, an air-conditioned lobby and restrooms, then ride a few minutes to the new boardwalk. The 393 lot is smaller, with 74 spaces and four ADA-accessible spots.
The state parks drop off the route map. Tram service to Grayton Beach State Park and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park runs only from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and it does not appear on the off-season schedule. Until next summer, getting to either state park means driving, biking or walking in.
October Still Pays Summer Rates
The tram switches to its off-season schedule on October 1, but the parking rates don't change until November. Both park-and-ride lots are part of Walton County's paid parking program. Non-resident parking without a permit costs $5 per hour or $15 for the full day from March through October. From November through February, it drops to $5 per day. That leaves a month of off-season tram service at peak-season parking prices, followed by four months at a third of the full-day rate.
The county's published figures are non-resident rates. Non-residents who park often can also buy an annual permit for $205 or a weekly permit for $90. Walton County residents should check their own terms on the county's Park Walton portal. The guest who visits a 30A home over Thanksgiving pays different rates than the one who came in early October.
A Bayside Addition Due Before Winter
Not every 2026 project faces the Gulf. The Kellogg family donated 9.75 acres at 855 E. Nursery Rd. in Santa Rosa Beach for the Kellogg Park Nature Center. Its final phase is an 1,800-square-foot assembly-style building for nature observation, educational programs and community gatherings. County crews are also building ADA-accessible sidewalks to a new 16-by-16-foot picnic pavilion at the existing trailhead. Three more 8-by-12-foot pavilions are planned along the trail network, which runs through the property and links to Kellogg Bayside Park.
Back in June 2025, WJHG reported a projected opening in summer 2026. The county's project page now says the center is still under construction and expected to be finished "late this fall." No opening day has been announced. In the meantime, Kellogg Bayside Park already offers Choctawhatchee Bay access for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards, along with bayside benches and picnic tables. If the county stays on schedule, the nature center will open during the same off-season as the two new Gulf accesses.
Why the Quiet Lasts About a Year
The next round of county access work along 30A is in design, not under construction. Three projects are listed, and all three are expected to break ground in the same season:
- Gulfview Heights Regional Beach Access right-of-way improvements. Design B was selected at an August 24 public meeting and is going through approval with the Board of County Commissioners. Plans include more parking, resurfacing of Gulfview Heights St., a realigned multi-use path, more accessible parking, low-speed vehicle parking, and a sheltered Beach Tram stop. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2027.
- Blue Mountain Beach right-of-way improvements. These include 225 linear feet of on-street parking, curb and gutter, and sidewalk additions, continuing parking work completed in 2018. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2027.
- CR 30A right-of-way improvements from east of Hilltop Lane to west of Allen Loop. After a September 21 public workshop, the plans are being revised before going to the Board of County Commissioners. They include on-street parallel parking, drainage improvements and a realigned multi-use path. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2027.
Gulfview Heights, Blue Mountain and Dune Allen are all stops on the off-season tram routes listed above. All three sites are still in design, and the earliest any of them is expected to start construction is a year from now. Until then, the off-season tram serves them as they are. People who want a say in how they change can email [email protected] to get notices about public meetings.
On a larger scale, FDOT's study of widening U.S. 98 from near CR 30A at Sandestin to west of the Phillips Inlet Bridge is still a 19.4-mile planning study. Its project page gives no construction or completion date. For year-round residents, the beach-access changes that will matter most over the coming months are the ones already finished.
If you own a 30A home that guests use through the fall and winter, small details shape their stay: which tram stop is closest, when parking rates drop, and which access has restrooms. The team at Marie Babin follows these county updates as part of managing coastal homes for owners who can't always be here. Connect with our Coastal Experts and we'll help you put together an off-season beach-access guide for your 30A property, so your guests know which access to use and when to go.
