Visit The Panhandle For A Quiet White Sand Beach That Has The Vibe Of 'Old Florida'

Florida's panhandle has a reputation for having crowded, touristy beach towns, but the area still has plenty of underrated beach getaways if you know where to look. While Destin and Panama City aren't the usual places to look for quiet and secluded escapes, there are dozens of small, lesser-known communities dotted along the Emerald Coast that can provide a lovely respite. One such hidden gem is the tiny town of Inlet Beach, located about half an hour's drive west of Panama City Beach.

Inlet Beach retains its Old Florida charm better than many other Gulf Coast getaways. The tiny town is mostly residential — no nightclubs, sprawling resorts, or chain hotels here. It's the kind of place where you can roam quiet streets freely, and each small lane leads to the wide, beautiful beach. Inlet Beach is the easternmost of the group of towns known as 30A, named for the scenic highway that connects the area. Other towns in the group include the picturesque Florida town of Seaside and neighboring Rosemary Beach.

The centerpiece of Inlet Beach is Camp Helen State Park, which borders Powell Lake. The lake is one of the world's only dune lakes, separated from the sea by only a tiny, shallow inlet or outfall. Depending on the tide and water levels in the lake, salt and freshwater intermix in the lake. According to the park website, it's not uncommon to see saltwater fish swimming alongside freshwater species here.

One reason Inlet Beach has retained its charm is that much of the land here was given to veterans after World War II, earning the town the nickname Soldiers Beach. Today, the town is still made up of single-family homes, while neighboring Rosemary Beach to the west and Carillon Beach to the east are more built up with resorts and commercial development.

A unique feature of some Florida panhandle beach towns is that Inlet Beach is surrounded by water on three sides. It's situated at the end of a barrier island, with Phillips Inlet forming the southern end of town. A gorgeous, undeveloped beach wraps around the inlet, all part of the beautiful 180-acre Camp Helen State Park. The park entrance is right before the bridge on Highway 98, and the entrance fee is $4 per car. The quiet park is the perfect place for a hike on a nature trail, beachcombing along the shifting sands around the inlet, or canoeing and kayaking on the quiet lake. Fishing is popular in the surf and the lake, and the park is also a hotspot for birding.

Outside of the park, beach access is fairly straightforward in town. Most streets end in a public ramp, with major access points at the ends of Wall Street, Orange Street, and Walton Magnolia Lane. The primary access point with the most parking is at South Orange Street along Park Place Avenue. The South Walton Artificial Reef Association has installed structures at 16 locations along the coast, each attracting numerous fish species to the area. If you've got snorkeling gear or a kayak, you can reach Grouper Reef, 970 feet off the Orange Street beach access point.

The things that make Inlet Beach attractive also mean there aren't too many rooms to rent here. There are no chain hotels or even bed and breakfasts in town. Neighboring towns, only a few minutes' drive away, do have a few small hotels. The Pearl Hotel in Rosemary Beach offers an upscale boutique hotel experience and is considered one of the best resorts in the Florida panhandle. The Village of South Walton Beach is a luxury condo community offering vacation rentals, as is the Inn at Seacrest Beach.

But while Rosemary is near Inlet Beach, the extra vacation rentals make it feel more crowded and commercialized. If you want a quieter getaway, you might choose a vacation home rental. You can find them through local real estate companies, VRBO, or Airbnb. 

The area is a popular drive-to destination for many families from the South, so expect road conditions to be most crowded on holiday weekends and throughout the summer. Spring break is one of the busiest times of the year on the Emerald Coast, but fall is usually much quieter. Weather-wise, the best times to visit 30A are during spring and early summer. Try to get there before the hot, muggy days of June through September set in. Winters are pleasantly mild, too, with the average low temperatures never dipping below 45 degrees. Also, be aware that this part of Florida sees hurricanes throughout the season, which officially runs from June 1 through November 31, with most storms hitting between August and October.