ResortQuest Fort Walton Beach

Across the bay from busy, well-heeled Destin lies its more down-to-earth neighbor, Fort Walton Beach.  Stretched between the two is Okaloosa Island, a hub of resorts, restaurants and beachfront clubs.  Known for its Coney Island-style boardwalk and white-sand beaches, the area exhibits a languid Southern charm: grits, gravy and down-home hospitality reign.

Where other resort towns fabricate authenticity, Fort Walton’s local flavor seems effortless.  Once a quiet, undeveloped stretch of the Gulf, its local economy has received a boost in recent years as the home of massive Eglin Air Force Base.  Affordable accommodations and kid-friendly attractions, like the Gulfarium and Emerald Science Center, make the area a popular family destination.  For couples and singles, The Boardwalk and public esplanade provide cocktails and live music overlooking the water.  Despite continued growth, large stretches of the area remain undeveloped, offering plenty of rolling sand dunes, salt marshes and fresh air for those inclined to peace and quiet.

Getting Around

Fort Walton Beach is an easy drive, whether you are coming from north, east or west.  Highway 85 North, from the Alabama state line, is a direct route to downtown Fort Walton Beach ending into Highway 98, just east of the historical Indian Temple Mound.  Highway 98 is a great option whether you are coming into Fort Walton Beach from the east or west and is part of Florida’s scenic highway route.

The Residents

Twelve thousand-year-old artifacts from the area have been radioactive dated by scientists, and archaeological evidence was uncovered for five distinct Indian periods between 600 and 1650 A.D.  There were notorious pirates, such as Billy Bowlegs, between 1500 and 1800.  In the mid-1800s Fort Walton was known both as Brooks Landing, in respect to settler Thomas Brooks, and Camp Walton, in honor of the Civil War encampment erected by the Walton Guards.  It was renamed Fort Walton in 1932 when a Civil War cannon was discovered and excavated from an Indian mound in the present downtown area on Santa Rosa Sound.

Tourists, resort hotels and the waterfront have been an integral part of Fort Walton Beach since its earliest days.  In the early 1900s, tourists came from the North, Midwest and Southeast to spend months at a time fishing, dancing, shopping and relaxing in the resorts of Santa Rosa Sound.  Today 22,000 year-round residents still enjoy an easy and relaxed lifestyle.

Don’t miss:

• The 10,000-year-old Indian artifacts at the Indian Temple Mound & Museum on the National Register of Historic Sites
• Night-fishing for 100-lb. tarpon beneath the lights on Okaloosa Pier
• Romantic Caffe Italia’s traditional risotto and gorgeous harbor view
• Okaloosa Island’s long-running Mardi Gras on the Island, complete with torchlight parade and New Orleans-style floats
• Discovering your inner pirate during the Billy Bowleg Festival’s annual Treasure Hunt
• For more on what not to miss please visit our attractions page