Through the Underpass: How Inlet Beach's Fall Is Running After Isaias, on Both Sides of 98

Walton County's update on its regional beach accesses, current as of 9:15 a.m. on October 20, gave Inlet Beach a short entry. Restrooms were open. All three dune walkovers were open: central, east and west. The central ADA-accessible walkover was open too. Power and water were on, the beach flagpole was working, debris was minimal, and people were already on the sand.

The other entries on that list were longer, and the extra length was mostly about what wasn't working yet. Inlet Beach came out of Hurricane Isaias with its main beach access whole. North of US-98, the restaurants at 30Avenue were serving again within days of the storm. So the two halves of the neighborhood are open on opposite sides of the highway, and the pedestrian underpass between them has become the most useful hundred yards in Inlet Beach this fall.

The Access That Came Back Complete

Here's how the closest regional accesses to the west stood in that same October 20 update, which you'll find under the beach access section of Walton County Tourism's Hurricane Isaias recovery page:

• Inlet Beach: all three walkovers open, including the central ADA route, with the flagpole working
• Seagrove: walkover steps open, ADA ramp closed, flagpole not working
• Santa Clara: stairs open, ADA walkover closed
• Gulfview Heights: walkover open, flagpole in need of repair
• Ed Walline: ADA walkover open, but the beach accessibility mat not yet reinstalled, which could affect getting onto the sand

With Gulfview Heights' pole down, the county warned that a missing flag does not mean the water is safe. At Inlet Beach, the flag system was running again by October 20.

The update also said crews were still cleaning up, making repairs and putting in temporary closures across the county's accesses. Conditions change week to week. Check the county page before you load the wagon. That's especially true for parking, since the Inlet Beach entry didn't mention the lot.

East of Orange Street, the Park Lost Its Beach Trail

The other beach option at this end of 30A is shut for now. Camp Helen State Park lists its beach trail as closed effective October 14, 2026. The rest of the park is still open from 8 a.m. to sunset, every day of the year. Entry is $4 per vehicle or $2 per pedestrian or bicyclist, paid at the honor box. Kayak rentals have been off the menu there since May 13, so if you want to paddle, bring your own.

With the trail closed, a Camp Helen visit this season is about what's on land. Two events stand out:

1. Friends of Camp Helen State Park Pumpkin Patch, open daily through Saturday, October 31, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Proceeds go to the park. Saturday is the last day.
2. Ranger-guided nature hike, Thursday, November 5, from 10 to 11 a.m. It repeats on the first Thursday of each month, according to the SoWal event listing.

Between the closed trail at Camp Helen and the fully open walkovers on Orange Street, the Inlet Beach regional access is the most dependable way onto the sand at the east end right now.

North of 98 Reopened Within Days

Restaurants at 30Avenue were among the first along 30A to reopen. A 30A recovery tracker, last updated October 14, listed Amici 30A Italian Kitchen and Amigos 30A Mexican Kitchen at 30Avenue as reopened on Sunday, October 11. Friends 30A Burger Bar reopened that same day with 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours, and so did Shades Bar & Grill in Inlet Beach. The tracker added that some places might run shorter hours while staff and deliveries caught up.

The next evening, The St. Joe Company, which develops Watersound Town Center, put out a preliminary update. It said its hospitality and commercial properties were open, and all its restaurants were open too. Golf courses were the exception and were expected to reopen in stages. The release covered the company's properties as a whole and didn't name individual Town Center tenants.

That leaves a working beach south of the highway, working dining rooms north of it, and the underpass in between.

The Tunnel the County Had to Advertise

The US-98 underpass at County Road 30A opened in 2024. By January of this year, it still wasn't drawing the foot traffic that county engineers and businesses had hoped for. WJHG reported that Leigh Moore, executive director of Scenic Walton, put it down mostly to visitors not knowing the underpass was there. The station reported that in November, county commissioners approved funding for more signs and for path changes that would steer pedestrians and cyclists into it. Engineers were aiming to finish before spring break. County Engineer Chance Powell told the station that the delivery date for a rectangular rapid flashing beacon was unknown at the time.

By August, habits had shifted. Scenic America's profile of the crossing said families were biking to the beach instead of driving, and that visitors staying along 30A were finding the restaurants and shops north of the highway without starting their cars. Bryan Corr, developer of 30Avenue, gave the organization a measurable sign of the change:

"Tenants have requested more bike parking areas to reduce the number of bikes parked by their front door."

In the same piece, Corr said 30Avenue was seeing more pedestrian and bike traffic since the underpass opened. Scenic America summed up the old problem this way: people could always reach the far side of 98, but many didn't feel safe doing it outside a vehicle. After the storm, the beach access and the reopened restaurants sit at opposite ends of that crossing.

What's on the Calendar North of the Highway

The 30Avenue event calendar and Watersound Town Center's concert page fill out the rest of the year. Some of 30Avenue's listings show a placeholder midnight start time, so check with the venue for the actual hour.

30Avenue's calendar lists a lineup for Thanksgiving week. It starts with Mat Hall and Tim Dutrow on November 21. The Sand Ole Opry, a South Walton rock band, plays November 22, followed by Mark Payne on the 23rd, Hunter Dawson on the 24th and Cadillac Willy on the 25th. On Thanksgiving Day, The Salty Strays bring guitar, violin and bass to the Green. The Otha Allen Band plays at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 27, and Tyler James closes out the run on the 29th. Several of the music listings ask guests to bring low-back chairs or blankets.

The First Friday Concert Series is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County and The St. Joe Community Foundation, and it's billed as free and family-friendly. The Pavilion is at 85 Origins Main Street. Watersound's Winter Wonder event is marked rescheduled on the Town Center's event page, and no new date has been posted yet.

The Dunes Are on a Longer Clock

The beach itself is on a slower timeline than the restaurants. On October 17, WJHG reported that storm surge from Isaias hit Walton County's coastline hard. Josh Ervin, the county's Director of Beach Operations, said the design for a federally funded beach renourishment project will likely be finished in "October of next year." Until then, the county has met with FEMA about possible emergency dune repairs. Ervin said those repairs were headed to the board of county commissioners through the county's coastal engineer, Taylor Engineering. The walkovers on Orange Street are open now, but the dunes they cross are still damaged, and the county's beach access updates are the place to watch for changes.

If the storm has you rethinking how your place in Inlet Beach connects to the beach, the Green and Watersound Town Center, or you're weighing which side of 98 suits the way you spend a week here, The Holahan Group is glad to talk it through with you, with no pressure. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll share what we know about how each part of the neighborhood is coming back.