OKALOOSA COUNTY
County Offices
1250 N Eglin Parkway
Shalimar 850-651-7515
www.co.okaloosa.fl.us
Chamber of Commerce
34 Miracle Strip Parkway SE
Fort Walton Beach 850-244-8191
www.fwbchamber.org
Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line, Okaloosa County is well known for its sugar-white sands and emerald green waters. However, this area is a powerhouse of research and testing facilities including Boeing, BAE Systems, and Lockheed Martin—thanks to the presence of Eglin Air Force Base. Transportation efficiencies include Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport and a strong network of highway connections anchored by US 90, State Road 85, and Interstate 10.
Services
Progressive healthcare resources and services are available throughout Okaloosa County, including Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and White-Wilson Medical Center. The latter provides the largest multi-unit specialty group in the region, with more than 75 skilled providers in 20 specialties from neurosurgery to pediatrics at locations in Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Niceville, and Navarre. The award-winning Fort Walton Beach Medical Center offers a 257-bed acute care hospital that serves the region with state-of-the-art healthcare services, from emergency and intensive care to a 33-private-room Progressive Care Unit. North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview maintains a 110-bed full-service facility including an ambulatory surgery center, emergency care, intensive care, advanced imaging, labor and delivery, and community wellness programs. Just east of Destin, Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast is a fast-growing 58-bed facility for a wide range of medical and surgical services, which now includes the Olson Women’s Diagnostic Center and Family Birth Center. Niceville is home to Twin Cities Hospital, a 65-bed acute care facility with all private rooms and the area’s first Certified Joint Replacement Program. Twin Cities also adds the area’s only hospital-based Wellness Center for a wide range of programs and educational opportunities.
Home to an array of private schools and a larger share of ‘A’ schools than any other Florida county, Okaloosa County provides outstanding educational opportunities. The public school system features two facilities for cognitively disabled students, a performing arts academy, a dual enrollment collegiate school in collaboration with Northwest Florida State College, and a STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Medical Science) Middle School Academy. The higher education system is equally impressive, beginning with Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) where students can earn bachelor’s and associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas at six convenient locations. NWFSC has a rich history of working effectively with area businesses to deliver customized training programs. Fort Walton Beach is home to a campus for the University of West Florida that specializes in serving a non-traditional population of military personnel and working students. The University’s Research Engineering & Education Facility adjacent to Eglin AFB in Shalimar offers programs in mechanical, aerospace, electrical, computer, industrial, and systems engineering. The world-leading Embry Riddle Aeronautical University also maintains several satellite campuses in Okaloosa County. Alabama’s Troy University, consistently recognized by The Princeton Review and US News & World Report, operates a center in Fort Walton Beach.
Lifestyle
Natural beauty, bountiful seafood, outdoor dining, unlimited watersport adventures, and lovely settings for residential development are just a few of the reasons that draw new residents to Okaloosa County. A vast parks system invites outdoor enjoyment in coastal or woodland environments, with opportunities for river rafting, canoeing, kayaking, and picnicking. Camping, cycling, birding, and hiking are popular activities in the Eglin Reservation and Blackwater River State Park, where Rocky Bayou is especially popular for Choctawhatchee Bay boating and fishing. Destin is home to more than 100 charter and party boats including those for deep-sea bottom fishing. Premier facilities for tennis and golf feature courses designed by master architects, challenging tournaments, and options for public play or private club membership. The adventurous will find abundant opportunities to scuba dive, parasail, windsurf, jet ski, zipline, and bungee jump. Northwest Florida’s only extreme sports facility, Emerald Coast Dirt & Vert, offers a skatepark, a BMX racing track and Burly BMX/freestyle dirt jumps.
The region’s reputation as a premier vacation and seasonal destination has resulted in exceptional shopping, dining, entertainment, family, and cultural attractions. Newcomers will find modern shopping centers and quaint Main Street districts, international cuisine, a lively nightlife, and colorful festivals brimming over with great food, live music, and seasonal spirit. Families can enjoy arcade centers, miniature golf, the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, Big Kahuna’s Water & Adventure Park, the Emerald Coast Science Center, children’s theater, and dolphin watches. History and culture are both well preserved in galleries and museums throughout the county, including the City of Fort Walton Beach Heritage Park & Cultural Center, Carver-Hill Museum, Destin History & Fishing Museum, and the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida. The Air Force Armament Museum is centrally located just outside of Eglin Air Force Base in Shalimar. Home to the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the $25 million Mattie Kelly Arts Center on the Northwest Florida State College campus is a showcase for Broadway shows, national entertainers, and traveling art exhibitions. With its white-sand beaches, clear waters, welcoming communities, and thriving economy, little wonder that Okaloosa County continually earns accolades for quality of life.
COMMUNITIES
Fort Walton Beach
City Offices
850-833-9500
http://fwb.org
Chamber of Commerce
850-244-8191
www.fwbchamber.org
The charming community of Fort Walton Beach offers urban advantages in a small-town atmosphere with a quaint seaside downtown district filled with unique shops and fascinating museums. The area’s rich history from 14,000 BCE through the 1950s is displayed at the Heritage Park & Cultural Center, a vast complex that includes the Indian Temple Mound Museum, Camp Walton Schoolhouse Museum, Garnier Post Office Museum and other sites. Fort Walton Beach is widely known for pristine beaches, world-class fishing, and water sports but also for regional attractions like Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival and the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park. The city features nearly a dozen distinctive neighborhoods including seven that hug the shoreline, each one offering a variety of attractive housing options. Parents will be pleased to find top-ranked schools that are well-integrated into the neighborhoods and linked by fitness trails, pathways, and public parks. Fort Walton Beach also serves as a regional healthcare hub, anchored by the 257-bed Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.
Cinco Bayou
Town Offices
850-833-3405
www.cincobayou.com
Chamber of Commerce
850-244-8191
www.fwbchamber.org
Ideally situated near Fort Walton Beach for easy access to urban amenities, the small town of Cinco Bayou grew in response to suburban sprawl and a need for housing for Eglin Air Force Base military families. Over the decades, residents have watched community roads improve and widen, new businesses open, and the development of recreational sites including boat ramps and piers. The neo-Georgian style Town Hall surrounded by beautiful Winn-Davis Park remains the focal point of the community, which takes for its slogan, “Town of many parks.” Four lovely parks grace the Cinco Bayou cityscape with green space and natural beauty—an impressive fact for a town with a half-square mile total area. Newcomers who appreciate a business community that greets customers by name and neighbors stop to chat may find the ideal hometown in Cinco Bayou.
Crestview
City Offices
850-682-1560
www.cityofcrestview.org
Chamber of Commerce
850-682-3212
www.crestviewchamber.com
An attractive bedroom community and a popular choice for military personnel working in nearby installations, Crestview offers a pleasing mix of older homes in established neighborhoods and vibrant new construction. The constant expansion of residential areas has driven commercial development, attracting new services, healthcare resources, retail centers and markets. Residents tend to describe their hometown as caring and friendly, taking pride in a school system that has been recognized as one of the finest in Florida. Friends, family, and neighbors gather frequently for lively events around the four seasons, including the Downtown Fall Festival, the Fourth of July Celebration, the Main Street Christmas Parade, Carver-Hill May Day Festival and Museum Day, the Triple “B” Cook-Off, Spring Carnival, and Easter in the Park. An active Parks and Recreation Department sponsors a wide array of social, cultural, and recreational events and opportunities. Just north of Crestview, the 190,000-acre Blackwater River State Forest offers an idyllic setting for outdoor adventure.
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin AFB Information
850-882-1113
www.eglin.af.mil
Eglin AFB Guide
www.eglinguideonline.com
The vast expanse of Eglin Air Force Base spans three counties in Northwest Florida, a joint-service installation supporting Air Force, Army and Navy units. Eglin AFB hosts more than 62 major organizations including the 7th Special Forced Group, 6th Ranger Training Battalion, the Navy Explosive Ordnance School, the 20th Space Control Squadron, and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Initial Training Center. Well known for its environmental stewardship, Eglin AFB has transformed the surrounding area into a leading center for research and testing, positively influencing the stature of educational institutions on every academic level. Eglin is distinguished among the few military bases in the nation with scheduled passenger airline service at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. While approximately 8,000 military personnel reside on base, many military families also find welcoming homes in outlying communities in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.
Shalimar, Lake Lorraine
Town Offices
850-651-5723
www.shalimarflorida.org
Chamber of Commerce
850-244-8191
www.fwbchamber.org
The small town of Shalimar and neighboring Lake Lorraine neighborhoods offer idyllic suburban living in close proximity to Fort Walton Beach urban amenities. The name Shalimar translates as “by the beautiful water,” an appropriate description for this truly unique environment. Homes in a wide variety of price ranges and styles are available in settings that include waterfront views and boat access to the shimmering waters of Choctawhatchee Bay. The recreational jewel of Shalimar Pointe Golf Club features a scenic bay-front location and an 18-hole course of Dye-Finger design that takes full advantage of the area’s unspoiled natural surroundings. This lovely community attracts many military retirees and other newcomers who appreciate the tranquil setting and relative seclusion from urban bustle. Eglin Parkway is the only commercial corridor, with most businesses located near State Road 85.
Destin
City Offices
850-837-4242
www.cityofdestin.com
Chamber of Commerce
850-837-6241
www.destinchamber.com
Proud of its designation as “the world’s luckiest fishing village,” picturesque Destin claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in Florida. Situated on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay, the city welcomes millions of visitors each year to sugar-white beaches and crystalline waters. With tourism driving much of the local economy, the area is known for first-rate shopping, dining, recreation, and entertainment attractions. Created by a collaboration of property owners along Destin Harbor, the Destin Boardwalk has become a major Emerald Coast attraction, offering access to more than 150 fishing charter and recreational boats, great restaurants, shopping, and water-related sports. Open-air markets, fresh seafood, family fun centers, and wonderful museums combine with opportunities for scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, boating, fishing, golfing, tennis, and cycling. Great schools, beautiful parks, lovely neighborhoods, first-rate healthcare, and a local college with a spectacular performing arts center are just a few reasons for Destin’s popularity.
Niceville, Valparaiso
Niceville City Offices
850-279-6436
http://cityofniceville.org
Valparaiso City Offices
850-729-5402
www.valp.org
Chamber of Commerce
850-678-2323
www.nicevillechamber.com
Just minutes from the beaches of Destin and South Walton County, the “twin cities” of Niceville and Valparaiso offer small-town charm and a strong community spirit. Attractive housing, welcoming neighborhoods, good schools, and a local college attract growing families as well as retirees. Northwest Florida State College maintains its 264-acre flagship campus in Niceville, where the $25 million Mattie Kelly Arts Center hosts everything from a symphony series to Broadway shows. One of the annual highlights in this area is the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival each October, a three-day extravaganza of delicious food, arts and crafts, amusement rides, family fun and live music. Natural and developed recreational sites ensure an active lifestyle and support every imaginable outdoor adventure. Located adjacent to the Eglin Air Force Base East Gate, Valparaiso is an exceptionally convenient residential choice for military personnel and their families.
Mary Esther
City Offices
850 243-3566
www.cityofmaryesther.com
Chamber of Commerce
850-244-8191
www.fwbchamber.org
The small, friendly community of Mary Esther located at the edge of Fort Walton Beach provides an intimate hometown atmosphere for newcomers including many active duty and retired military families. Neighborhoods with parks and playgrounds, waterfront views, great schools, and local shopping and dining opportunities ensure a convenient lifestyle just minutes from the entertainment and cultural attractions in Fort Walton Beach. The centerpiece of Mary Esther is Oak Tree Nature Park with a walking trail, playground, and boat launch. Probably the best example of the community spirit that endears newcomers to Mary Esther is the community garden, a place where residents gather to socialize, grow their own food, and work to contribute to local food banks. The sugar-white beaches of Navarre are close to home for first-rate watersport activities.
