Fort Walton Beach is located in Okaloosa County east of Pensacola between Pensacola and Destin along US Hwy 98 near Chocktahatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Walton Beach is part of the Fort Walton Beach, Florida metro area.
The City of Fort Walton Beach was first created and chartered as a municipality in 1937. Tourists, resort hotels, and the waterfront have been a part of Fort Walton Beach since its earliest days. Tourists came from the North, Midwest, and Southeast to spend months at a time at several of these full-service, American plan hotels on the shores of the Santa Rosa Sound.
In the last two decades, growth in Fort Walton Beach has slowed, and today the City looks towards creative and exciting ways to bring the spirit of yesterday into the plans of today and tomorrow. Activities continue on the banks of the Santa Rosa Sound, and every June, the notorious Billy Bowlegs returns for a fortnight of merriment and fun. The City sponsors quarterly Sunday in the Park events.
