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Grayton Beach State Park is a Florida State Park

Florida State Parks

The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...

 located between Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach, Florida

Panama City Beach is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico coast. The city is often referred to under the umbrella term of "Panama City", despite being a distinct municipality from the older and larger inland Panama City to the east, making Panama City and Panama City...

 and Destin

Destin, Florida

Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is a principal city of the Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green waters...

, near the unincorporated area of Grayton Beach

Grayton Beach, Florida

Grayton Beach is a small, historic beach village on the Florida Panhandle Gulf coast halfway between Destin and Panama City in Walton County and adjacent to Grayton Beach State Park...

, on CR 30A

State Road 30A (Florida)

State Road 30A is a Florida Department of Transportation designation shared by four alternate routings of SR 30 in the Florida panhandle. Two segments have SR 30A signage; the other two do not as they are segments of U.S. Highway 98...

, in northwestern Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Its sister park is Deer Lake State Park

Deer Lake State Park

Deer Lake State Park is a Florida State Park located in Santa Rosa Beach, on CR 30A, in northwestern Florida. Its sister park is Grayton Beach State Recreation Area.-Recreational Activities:...

.

The 2200 acres (9 km²) of land for the park was obtained from a lease from the Florida Board of Education in 1964 and opened in 1968. A separate unit of the park located one mile (1.6 km) west of the main park offers duplex cabins for rent and also has beach access.

About Grayton Beach

Grayton Beach State Park is one of the most popular parks in the state of Florida. Salt marshes, sea oat covered dunes, crystal-white sand, and beautiful blue-green waters make up this state park. Western Lake, the second largest coastal dune lake in the Florida Panhandle, is just one of the many coastal dune lakes that visitors see while driving down Scenic Highway 30A. This park also offers facilities for swimming, fishing, snorkeling, and camping. Grayton Beach provides visitors with lots of different activities. This park covers a 2,200 acre area. Included in this 2,200 acres there is plenty of space for RV and tent camping as well as 30 cabins accommodating up to six people.

Recreational activities

The park has such amenities as beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es, bicycling, birding, boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

, canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

, picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

king areas, swimming, wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

 viewing and full camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

facilities.

History

According to the Coastal Heritage Preservation Foundation, in 1885 Army major, Charles T. Gray was the first to settle the land now known as Grayton Beach. During this time the federal government owned most of the land so very few people had a reason to even settle there. The soil was way too sandy for farmland, and better timber was located inland. The settlement that was closest to here was around 5 miles to the north. This settlement was located at Point Washington on Choctawhatchee Bay. In 1890 Army General William Miller and William Wilson became Gray’s neighbors. They mapped out where the newly found village’s streets and blocks would be constructed. They named the new area Grayton Beach, named after Charles T. Gray. In 1913, a man by the name of W. H. Butler and his son Van R. Butler made the day long trip from DeFuniak Springs to Grayton Beach. Soon thereafter the Butler family became the community’s leading promoter. In 1926 a major hurricane swept through the area resulting in Destin’s East Pass and leaving the beach wiped flat. This storm flattened most of the dunes, which left the beach flat. At the beginning of the 1930s Highway 98 was completed, Highway 331’s bridge was built, and the Intracoastal Waterway was cut right through Walton, which made Grayton Beach and South Walton(SoWal) County much easier for everyone to get to.

Present day Grayton Beach

Florida has kept Grayton Beach small by surrounding it with all park land. The state used land that it owned east of Grayton so that they could establish the Grayton Beach State Recreation Area in 1967. Florida purchased the village’s beach front, dunes, and forest land to the west and north, after they lobbied with residents for years. Grayton beach consistently remains ranked as one of the most beautiful and pristine beaches in the United States.

External links

• Grayton Beach State Park at Florida State Parks
• Grayton Beach State Recreation Area at State Parks