Your Guide to 30A
Activities
30A has more going on than a beach day. Paddleboards, kayaks, and bikes are easy to rent from multiple spots along the corridor, and the coastal dune lakes are worth exploring by board.
For something faster, jet ski rentals and parasailing are available out of Santa Rosa Beach. Book ahead in summer.
Golfers have four courses at Sandestin Resort, ranging from links-style to tree-lined. The Baytowne course is the most scenic.
On land, the Timpoochee Trail runs 19 miles through the trees parallel to the highway. Rent a bike and ride the whole thing, or just the stretch between Seaside and Watercolor.
Dining
Regional Favorites
The food scene along 30A punches well above its size. In Rosemary Beach, Restaurant Paradis is the place for fresh Gulf Coast snapper. Book ahead, especially on weekends. Cuvee 30A in Santa Rosa Beach has earned a reputation for its wine list and the kind of cooking that keeps people coming back every summer.
For a livelier night, the Red Door Saloon in Destin runs live music most evenings alongside a full bar and a crowd that stays late. Tailfins Seafood and Oyster Bar is the spot for raw oysters and cold drinks with a view of the harbor.
Beyond the restaurants, 30A hosts some of the Gulf Coast's best annual events. The Sandestin Wine Festival each spring draws serious collectors and casual drinkers alike. The 30A Songwriters Festival in January fills venues across the corridor with hundreds of performers. And the Seabreeze Jazz Festival brings a full weekend of outdoor concerts to the beach every April.
Slow Down
Relaxation on 30A
Start at Serenity by the Sea Spa inside the Sandestin Beach Resort. Their massage and facial menu is thorough, and the setting does the rest of the work.
Rent an e-bike and ride the Timpoochee Trail, which runs parallel to 30A through the trees and past the coastal dune lakes. Stop at the boutiques in Grayton Beach or Seaside along the way. The shops are small and the finds are genuinely local.
If you'd rather do nothing at all, the beach chairs are waiting. The Gulf is calm most mornings before the afternoon wind picks up.
From The Water To The Trails, There's More Here Than A Beach Day.
Things to Do on 30A
Fresh Gulf seafood, award-winning chefs, and live music most nights. Plus the festivals that bring people back every year.
Where To Eat On 30A
Did You Know
Uniquely 30A
Seaside's Famous Architecture
Seaside was designed in the 1980s as a model New Urbanist town. Its pastel cottages and white picket fences have appeared in films and architecture textbooks alike.
Coastal Dune Lakes
30A is one of only a handful of places in the world with coastal dune lakes. These rare freshwater lakes sit just behind the dunes and occasionally open to the Gulf.
Underwater Museum of Art
Just off Grayton Beach State Park, the first underwater sculpture garden in the U.S. doubles as an artificial reef. Snorkelers and divers can explore it year-round.
Justin Gaffrey Gallery
One of 30A's most recognized artists works out of a studio in Blue Mountain Beach. His thick-palette coastal paintings are collected across the country.
30A Songwriters Festival
Every January, hundreds of singer-songwriters perform in venues across the corridor. It's one of the most attended music events on the Gulf Coast.
Sandestin Wine Festival
Each spring, the Sandestin Resort hosts one of the Southeast's largest wine festivals, with tastings, dinners, and seminars spread across the property.
Explore 30A
Three Places Worth A Visit
Community
Seaside
Art
Justin Gaffrey Gallery
Adventure
Underwater Museum Of Art
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