There’s truly no wrong time of year to pack up and suitcase and enjoy time away in scenic Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This sunny, welcoming, and endlessly fun vacation destination on the Emerald Coast is a captivating place to relax, unwind, and leave all the stresses of life behind with ease for a while. Here, visitors come to make the most of adventure and rest in tandem, all while soaking up spectacular views defined by beautiful beaches, blue waves, and plenty of sunshine to go around. When Fort Walton Beach is your vacation destination of choice, you’ll find filling your itinerary with customized options for fun is a breeze. Here, you can spend your time swimming, sailing, snorkeling, or spotting dolphins from a place on a chartered cruise. The beaches are ideal for digging your toes in the sand and soaking up the sun or spending an afternoon shelling and building sandcastles with the kids.
If you’re looking to make it a stay that’s as educational as it is memorable, you’ll be delighted to find that Fort Walton Beach is brimming over with historical stops to check out and intriguing museums to discover along the way. Diving and fishing are more on-the-water options for entertainment that make a trip to Fort Walton Beach amazing, and if you’re someone who loves to shop and dine their way through a stay, this is the vacation destination for you too! No matter what your interests entail or how long you stay, Fort Walton Beach makes it easy to want to return here time and again. Read our Winter Fort Walton Beach visitors guide below!
Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Travel This Way
While every season is the right time to visit Fort Walton Beach, Florida in the name of vacation fun, there’s something exceptionally exciting about leaving any thoughts of snow and cold far behind and focusing on shoreline fun instead. Winter in Fort Walton Beach is an inviting time of year to enjoy a quaint and cozy stay or fill your to-do list with outdoor adventures thanks to mild and welcoming seasonal temperatures. The Gulf views are gorgeous this time of year and with summer crowds long-since gone, you’ll find the beaches, local attractions, and activities to book are easy to navigate as well. If you head to Fort Walton Beach in December, you can expect to enjoy average daily highs in the mid-60s with evening lows dipping down into the mid-40s. By January and February, the daily highs linger in the lower 60s with evening temperatures still remaining in the 40s. You’ll want to pack layers when your plans include heading out and about day and night, but when the sun is shining high in the sky, you’ll be free to take advantage of exploring and enjoying your scenic surroundings all you’d like to in the wintertime.
Winter Beach Activities to Add to Your List
A top winter activity to take advantage of when you’re spending quality time in Fort Walton Beach during the winter season is getting out on the sand. The beaches here are truly beautiful and wonderful places to spend time with family and friends or make the most of an afternoon of bird watching while enjoying the waves rolling in. The sands that make up the shorelines of Fort Walton Beach were crafted by Appalachian quartz that came in from rivers and tides over the course of thousands of years. Today, they’ve accumulated in soft stretches of beach that are the perfect pairing to the warm Gulf waters. One of the top places to add to your itinerary when you want to make sure beach time is a part of your winter adventure this way is The Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island. Here, you can settle into the sand for a while before heading out to explore local eateries, storefronts, and entertainment venues that fit your travel style! Just west of the boardwalk, you’ll find John Beasley Park is another great beach park in town to enjoy a day on the sand paired with hiking nature trails and wildlife watching too. If you’re planning to spend some time in nearby Destin, don’t overlook beautiful and inviting beach stops at Henderson Beach State Park, Norriego Point, and James Lee Park on the east end of Destin too.
Make Time for a Winter Sunset
Winter in Fort Walton Beach is a mesmerizing time of year for those who can’t get enough of beautiful sunsets. When you have plans to linger on the sand and wait for the colors to begin streaking across the sky, you’ll want to plan ahead. Sunset in December happens around 4:45 pm and in January it moves to 5:00 pm. If you travel here in February to enjoy the view skyward from the shore, plan on seeing those colorful moments arrive around 5:20 pm. Sunset can be just as captivating this time of year with December sunrise set for 6:30 am, January seeing the sunrise around 6:0 am and February travelers being treated to a new day of sun-filled fun starting at 6:30 am in Fort Walton Beach.
Hit the Links in Style This Winter
The beauty of not having to worry about snow when you travel to Fort Walton Beach in the wintertime is that you’ll have every opportunity to get out on the golf courses here in style whenever you’d like! Here, you’ll find courses that are set up to appeal to every skill level out there whether you consider yourself a pro on the hunt for the next challenge or you can’t wait to try golf for the first time during your winter getaway. One of the top local stops to add to your tee-time list during your trip is the Fort Walton Golf Club. Here, you’ll enjoy access to two courses including the Oaks Course and the Pines course. If you start with the Pines course, you’ll golf on a casual layout dotted with pines. The Oaks course is made for more of a challenge with water hazards included throughout. If you’re looking for an 18-hole Dye-Finger designed and placed bunkers, you’ll find it waiting for you at Shalimar Pointe Country Club in Fort Walton Beach. You’ll also want to check out the Eglin Golf Course and Gator Lakes at Hurlburt Field which is loved by those with a passion for long drive games. In nearby Destin, golfing at places like the Kelly Plantation Golf Course or the Regatta Bay Golf & Yacht Club enhance the fun of your golf-focused winter adventures even further.
Dive into History and Learning at Its Best
A Winter trip to Fort Walton Beach with the entire family in tow is a chance to create a seasonal itinerary that’s as exciting and inviting for all ages as it is educational too. You can achieve that by adding a stop at the Fort Walton Beach Cultural Park & Heritage Center to your must-visit list while you’re in town. This heritage center is located at 107 Miracle Strip Parkway SW and hosts the Temple Mound which is a national historic landmark. You’ll also have options to tour a 1912 Camp Walton School and the Garnier Post Office Museum dating back to 1918. When you’re looking to expand on your local area learning further, consider making your way to the nearby Destin History & Fishing Museum to get up close to over 75 species of wall-mounted fish and learn more about how the art of fishing has long sustained communities calling this area home. Over at the Emerald Coast Science Center in town, you can spend an afternoon with the kids exploring all things art, math, science, and technology by browsing and enjoying a robust collection of hands-on interactive displays and exhibits. The Ari Force Armament Museum is another great option to explore when you have kids in your group that are interested in aviation or military history. It’s free to the public and open year-round.
Winter is a Time for On-the-Water Fun
With warm weather on your side this time of year, winter in Fort Walton Beach is an ideal moment to get out on the waves and enjoy time on the water in good company. There’s no reason to leave activities like paddleboarding, diving, snorkeling, waterskiing, sailing, parasailing or jet skiing off your list when you head this way. There are many local vendors happy to help you get set up with gear rental so you don’t have to worry about overpacking for your adventure. If you’re someone who loves to fish, consider partnering up with a professional this year at 850 Charters and make it a half or full day of angling fun. This company includes everything you need to be safe and successful on the water in the cost of the charter and you can easily customize your excursion to match your skill level or type of fish you’re hoping to reel in.
Seasonal Events to Add to Your Itinerary
The annual lineup of local events for visitors to enjoy across Fort Walton Beach is vast and exciting and winter is no exception to the rule. Travelers heading here this time of year will find themselves right on time to enjoy watching the annual Destin Harbor Boat Parade when they arrive in December. This parade is an illuminating experience and land-based fun to go along with the parade includes a visit from Santa, live music, and plenty of seasonal arts and crafts to enjoy too. If your winter travel plans bring you to Fort Walton Beach in mid-January, you can attend Winter Guest Fest at the Emerald Coast Convention Center which is a fun beginning of the year trade show complete with gifts, giveaways, and coupons for local hot spots.
Delicious Winter Dining Options
No matter what you add to your winter getaway itinerary when you visit Fort Walton Beach, the one thing you can always count on is that at some point along the way, cravings are going to come calling. If you’re a seafood enthusiast, you’ll find the restaurants here always have the best on the menu when it comes to local, fresh-caught fare! Wintertime is the season to reel in everything from white snapper and redfish to black snapper, triggerfish, tuna, Almaco jack, mingo snapper, banded rudderfish, and beyond. When you want to make sure you have access to the best of it all at dinnertime, places like The Shack at 104 Miracle Strip Parkway SW, Crab Trap at 1450 Mirale Strip Parkway SE, and Stewby’s Seafood Shanty at 235 Santa Rosa Boulevard are sure to inspire!
Book Your Winter Stay and Follow our Fort Walton Beach Travel Guide
At The Breakers of Fort Walton Beach, we’re a team of property professionals who are passionate about the work we do, and the people and places we serve. We know that when our guests travel this way in the wintertime to make the most of vacation fun, their trip deserves to be one-of-a-kind from start to finish. The accommodations we offer are not only vast and varied to accommodate a multitude of preferences, but always keep our guests close to the places and experiences they can’t wait to explore for themselves. We have 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom rentals in Fort Walton Beach available for guests making our rental options ideal for solo travelers, couples on romantic retreats, and groups of family and friends alike. Whether you’re in town this winter for a few days, or you’re looking forward to an extended stay where you can really focus on relaxation at its best, our properties are designed to provide you with a home away from home experience that’s always one-of-a-kind. You book your stay through us, you can maximize your time on the sand because our property options are just steps from the beach. We provide our guests with an array of on-site amenities to enjoy as well including pools and sports courts alongside a fitness center, event room, cornhole setup, community grilling area, and more.
When you’re ready to turn your travel plans into a reality, The Breakers of Fort Walton Beach can help you top off your stay in exceptional comfort, convenience, and style. Reach out today to learn more about our exciting lineup of property options available this winter and how we can help you make it an amazing stay to remember.