Grayton Beach, Florida
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Grayton Beach, Florida Grayton Beach is a small resort town located directly on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico in Walton County Florida. It is an eclectic village, dominated by pristine sugar white beaches, quiet cottages, an art gallery, a few quirky shops, a couple fine resturants and the magnificent straight ahead jazz played live each night at the Red Bar. There is a mixture of moods here: casual beach sophistication and the hip, freewheeling life style of beach life. A number of rentals, from the simple to the elegant, are available (prices are much lower in the winter) and the location is directly west of the well known architectural aracadia, Seaside. Grayton Beach has a broad natural beach and is one of the few beaches in the Panhandle that permit the driving of vehicles on the pure white sand. A small quiet resort about a 35 minute drive from the night life of Panama City and Destin, the village of Grayton Beach is adjacent to Grayton Beach State Park, with its protected land teaming with natural beauty. Grayton Beach was settled by General Charles T. Grayton 106 years ago and what is now the Red Bar was built as the Butler General Store in 1913. There are historic beach cottages on quiet narrow tree lined streets as well as a tiny inlet where the salt water of the warm Gulf meets the fresh water of Western Lake. As much as this is a tourist town, it retains the feel of an old beach town with its natural, eclectic charm. Writer Cassandra King, wife of Pat Conroy, used Grayton as the setting of much of her novel, Sunday Wife. While the waves here at usually too small for serious surfing, it is a great area for fishing, kayaking, boating, beach lounging and simply enjoying the sun as it sets with a glass of wine with the sounds of jazz in the background. If you want glitz go east or west 30 miles, if you want the subtle nuances of the beauty of nature and the offbeat sophistication a quirky artist's village, this "non-resort/resort" town is the center of the universe.
