Blue Mountain Beach, Florida, is located between Santa Rosa Beach and Grayton Beach. Blue Mountain Beach is the highest point on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States. It’s a short drive from Panama City, Florida, but a world away from that city’s more commercialized beach experience. The South Walton Beach area of Florida’s Gulf Coast is renowned for its soft, white beaches, emerald green waters and uncrowded, family-friendly atmosphere.
Due to its elevation, Blue Mountain offers spectacular views of the coastline, and views from the water are equally stunning. Local legends say pirates gave Blue Mountain its name. They spotted the beach's tall dunes covered in Gulf Coast Lupine, a rare plant with blue flowers. This beach and all the beaches of South Walton boast the "Blue Wave" Environmental Certification from the Clean Beaches Council for all 26 miles of its coastline. The Blue Wave Campaign helps travelers identify well-managed coastlines. Beyond the beach, 15 coastal dune lakes and four state parks are havens for outdoor activities. Coastal dune lakes are so rare, they are found only in beaches of South Walton and parts of Africa, Australia and Madagascar.
Blue Mountain Beach rentals include a wide variety of luxury condos, ocean-view homes and quaint cottages. Book a hotel, motel or resort room in nearby Santa Rosa Beach. Blue Mountain dining is a mixture of fresh seafood, sushi, southern, Greek and Irish cuisine and sandwich shops. Suggestions include stocking your kitchen at For The Health of It Health Food Store & Juice Bar, finding fresh seafood and house specialty crab legs at JC’s Off the Hook, eating sushi at Basmati’s Asian Cuisine & Sushi, dining elegantly at Café Tango with its excellent menu and wine list in a little cottage, and enjoying Greek dishes the Grecian Gardens Restaurant.
Sailing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, hiking and biking are all options for enjoying yourself in the daytime in the Blue Mountain area. Explore the Timpoochee Trail, a 19-mile paved path that runs along Scenic Highway 30A and traverses state parks, dunes and coastal dune lakes. You can do it on foot or by bike. Try the new sport of YOLO (You Only Live Once) boarding, a new kind of surfing that suits those who love the water but not the waves. YOLO involves standing up and paddling on a big and safe long-board. On rainy days explore art galleries, studios and unique specialty shops. If you are in Blue Mountain for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January, check out the 30A Songwriters Festival.
Beach safety: A colored flag system tells visitors when it's safe to get in the water. The flag system was adopted to indicate surf conditions and to keep visitors out of harm's way when conditions aren't safe.
When to visit: Although mainly a spring, summer and fall vacation spot, many critics -- including National Geographic Traveler writer Christopher Elliott -- recommend Blue Mountain as a quiet winter getaway from colder winter locales.
Turtles: Sea turtles nest on these beaches, so you may be lucky enough to see a beautiful mother turtle and her hatchlings.
Getting there: The closest airports are Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, Northwest Florida Regional Airport and Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport. If you are driving, Blue Mountain is accessed via Highway 30A off U.S. Highway 98E.
