Walton County is finishing a new public building in Santa Rosa Beach, and it has no Gulf view. It sits on 9.75 wooded acres at 855 E. Nursery Road, a short drive north of US 98. The county's project page still lists the Kellogg Park Nature Center as under construction, with completion expected "late this fall."
The Nature Center is part of a larger change on the bay side. The past year's public projects north of 98 fit together. A finished multi-use path runs along Mack Bayou Road. New courts are approved for the park at the end of that road. A trail network now connects a donated nature preserve to a bayfront kayak launch. Together they make the Choctawhatchee Bay shoreline of Santa Rosa Beach feel more like a neighborhood with its own public life, and less like the back side of a beach town.
A Nature Center the Beach Helps Pay For
The land came from Pat and Lewis Kellogg. WMBB reported in June 2025 that they made the roughly 10-acre gift more than 20 years earlier, intending it as a nature preserve for children. At the county's dedication, their daughter Pan Kellogg spoke about her mother's wish for local children to grow up appreciating the bay. The county also notes Pat's love of bird watching and nature trails.
The county is building and maintaining the center with Tourist Development Tax revenue. Visitors pay that tax on their stays, and much of it goes to beach operations along the Gulf. Here, part of it is funding a classroom in the woods by the bay, designed around a family's wish for local kids.
Here is what the current plans call for:
- An 1,800-square-foot assembly building for nature observation, educational programs and community gatherings
- Paved parking with dedicated ADA and bicycle spaces
- ADA-accessible sidewalks from the building to a new 16-by-16-foot picnic pavilion at the existing trailhead
- Three 8-by-12-foot pavilions along the trails
- New benches and educational signage throughout
When the county dedicated the project in June 2025, it described galleries for local art, exhibits on native birds, plants and wildlife, an observation deck, and flexible gathering space. That release gave the building as 1,500 square feet. The current project page lists 1,800. The county has not announced an opening date or ribbon-cutting yet, so "late this fall" is the most precise timing available.
The Trail Runs Down to the Water
The Nature Center grows out of a park that has been there for years. Kellogg Bayside Park sits at 1112 Nellie Drive, and the county's access map lists hiking trails there, with extra parking on E. Nursery Road. The county lists boat and canoe access, fishing, picnic tables, parking and water.
The bayfront end was rebuilt in 2019, when crews replaced 222 feet of seawall and installed a canoe and kayak launch. An older SoWal profile said the ramp could not take boat trailers. That makes Kellogg a hand-launch site for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards.
The new trail work connects the two halves. WMBB reported plans for 500 linear feet of connecting trail. County Beach Operations crews have since cleared more connecting trail through the property. Once the building opens, you will be able to park on Nursery Road, walk past the pavilions to the bay, and put a kayak in at the end of the trail.
Mack Bayou Already Got Its Path
A few miles west, a similar change is already complete. The county declared Phase 1 of the Mack Bayou Road pedestrian improvements complete on December 18, 2025. The project resurfaced the road and added a multi-use path from near Monarch Drive to Harborview Road.
The road ends at Driftwood Estates Park, which already has a walking track, fields, basketball, pickleball and tennis courts, a playground, pavilions and restrooms. More is on the way. At their September 22 meeting, county commissioners approved up to $15,000 for two bocce courts and a sand volleyball court there.
The amount is small. What stands out is the pattern. Within about nine months, Mack Bayou Road gained a safer way to walk or bike in, and the park at the end is getting two new kinds of courts. Driftwood serves the people who live nearby. It has no bay launch, and nothing about it is built for visitors.
Where the Bay Opens Up
The Nature Center will add one more stop to a string of public bay access points along the north side of Santa Rosa Beach and Point Washington. The county and Visit South Walton list these:
- Kellogg Bayside Park, 1112 Nellie Drive. Canoe and kayak launch, fishing, picnic tables, hiking trails.
- Cessna Landing, on N. County Highway 393. Boat launch, fishing, pavilions, grills, a playground, a basketball court and restrooms. Public listings give more than one street number for it, so check your map app before you go.
- Bayside Ranchettes Park, 329 E. Mitchell Avenue in Point Washington. Kayak launch, dock, picnic area and water fountain.
- Point Washington access 53, 1462 N. County Highway 395. Boat launch, pier and parking.
- Thomas Pilcher Park, 21987 US 331 South, under the Clyde B. Wells Bridge. A 380-foot fishing pier, four boat ramps, six docks, three fishing platforms, fish-cleaning stations, shelters and restrooms.
Cessna Landing has had an upgrade underway. County records describe replacement pavilions, new fishing piers or docks, and reconfigured parking, along with a 92-day contract extension for long-lead materials. We have not seen a county notice that the work is finished, so it's worth seeing for yourself what is in place now.
The Bridge End Has a Calendar
The east end of this shoreline, at the south foot of the US 331 bridge, already has a weekly routine. The Bay serves Gulf Coast and Southern dishes, seafood and sushi, with indoor and outdoor seating over Choctawhatchee Bay. It opens daily at 11 a.m. Its calendar lists Sunday Pickin' with Mike Whitty & Friends from 4 to 8 p.m. and a Wednesday Night Bonfire & Live Music from 5 to 8 p.m., and both run every week.
North Beach Social, at 24200 Highway 331 South, has open-air bayfront dining daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It lists live music from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, plus a 1 to 4 p.m. set on Saturdays and Sundays. Next door to The Bay, Bay Baits opens at 6 a.m. every day with live and frozen bait, tackle, rods, reels and ice. It also runs Hobie kayak rentals and a two-hour bay eco tour. Its booking page only lists a June 1 start date, so call ahead about fall availability.
Inland at Point Washington, Eden Gardens State Park fills in the rest of the season. Here is the bay-side calendar from now until the Kellogg opening window:
- October 1, Trivia Night at North Beach Social.
- October 2 to 4, North Beach Social lists Salt Rock Revival on October 2. On October 3, Black Creek String Band plays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Oni & Noelie from 6 to 9 p.m. Low Tide Junction follows on October 4.
- October 4, Sunday Pickin' at The Bay.
- October 6, a ranger-led nature hike at Eden Gardens from 10 to 11 a.m., through xeric hammock and floodplain swamp.
- October 7, the Wednesday bonfire at The Bay.
- October 8, 15 and 22, the Friends of Eden Gardens Fall Film Series at 6:30 p.m., showing The Paper Bear, The Princess Bride and Frogs. Park admission is required.
- Late fall, the expected completion window for Kellogg Park Nature Center.
- December 5, Christmas Luminaries at Eden Gardens from 5 to 8 p.m., with lit pathways, the Wesley House decorated for Christmas, live music, cookies and hot drinks.
The Friends of Eden events page still showed two of the film titles as to be announced after SoWal published them in September. Check with the park before you pack the blanket.
Put together, the bay side now offers a fall season that runs from a bayfront bonfire at the 331 bridge, past a kayak launch on Nellie Drive, to an evening of luminaries at the Wesley House. A new nature center on Nursery Road is due to open in the middle of it.
Our team at Live Love 30A has spent decades on both sides of US 98. If you'd like to know which bay launch suits your boat, or when Kellogg Park finally opens its doors, we're happy to share what we know. Work With Us.
