Fort Walton Beach(Okaloosa Island)

Located on an island named Okaloosa Island, Fort Walton Beach is a long and wide beach situated at the northwestern end of the state of Florida.  Fort Walton Beach is in front of the Gulf of Mexico and is east of Henderson Beach State Park. Fort 

Walton Beach offers many amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, showers, picnic tables, barbecues, fire pits, playgrounds, volleyball courts, a party scene, and a pier. 

There are many fun activities at Fort Walton Beach including swimming, surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, boating, fishing, jet-skiing, paddleboarding, picnicking, and beach walking. If you are looking for additional activities, you can drive 10 minutes east to Destin East Jetty that offers jetty rides to Santa Rosa Island. 

Getting to Fort Walton Beach is very easy – the beach’s free parking lot is situated at 900 Santa Rosa Boulevard and is within walking distance to the beach. 

If you are looking for nearby attractions, there are many options within a five-minute drive of Fort Walton Beach. Wild Willy’s Adventure Zone is a fun family-friendly tourist attraction site with a miniature golf course, roller coaster rides, laser tags, go-karts, bumper boats, and an arcade. The marine park Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park features swimming with dolphins, touch tanks, – and sharks, rays, and dolphin shows. If you like fishing, Okaloosa Fishing Pier is a 1,262-feet long fishing pier that is known for birdwatching, diving, watching dolphins, sea turtles, herons, pelicans, sea urchins, crabs, and salmons. Another great attraction near Fort Walton Beach is the Pensacola Museum of Art that is home to works of many 20^th and 21^st century artists including Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, and Kathe Kollwitz.

If you get hungry, you can drive three minutes to many restaurants near Fort Walton Beach. Al's Beach Club and Burger Bar is an open-aired family beachfront restaurant featuring classic American burgers, homemade custard milkshakes, DJs, and weekly firework shows – it is a seasonal restaurant that remains open between March 1^st and October 31^st. Floyd's Shrimp House is a local waterfront restaurant that serves the award-winning coconut shrimp, raw and baked oysters. Another good restaurant near Fort Walton Beach is Rockin Tacos that offers authentic Mexican dishes including fried avocados, Baja fish tacos, and Mexican burgers with house-infused margaritas and tequila cocktails. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Fort Walton Beach, there are many hotels within a six-minute drive. Four Points by Sheraton Destin - Fort Walton Beach is a 3-Star hotel – it offers numerous amenities including a pool, bar, restaurant, fitness center with gym, and business center. Hilton Garden Inn Fort Walton Beach is an affordable hotel with hot tubs, an indoor pool, a poolside bar, an outdoor fireplace, a lazy river, and fire pits. If you are looking for an affordable hotel near Fort Walton Beach, Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach has several amenities including indoor and outdoor pools with waterfalls, a fitness center, a bar, ATMs, a game arcade, and a business center.