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Get to know Inlet Beach

Inlet Beach lies at the eastern reaches of Walton Beach, where Scenic Highway 30A delivers guests to a quaint Old Florida town on 13 acres of pristine, protected dunes and the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico. But the beach is only half the attraction. Farther east is Camp Helen State Park and the vast reaches of Powell Lake, which combine to make this area an absolute wilderness wonderland, teeming with fish, birds, and other wildlife. The community is named after Powell Lake’s inlet from the Gulf, and many of the homes here date from the 1950s, as if the modern age hasn’t quite reached this far. Fortunately, a whole host of modern amenities have, and there are some fabulous restaurants on the north side of town along U.S. 98, which dips (just briefly) toward the beach. Inlet Beach is the perfect place to get away from it all but still have it all pretty close by.

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Living on the Emerald Coast

If the Northwest Coast of Florida has been overlooked, it’s because it’s just perfectly out of the way. Compared to other parts of the state, the scale of things is smaller and development came later, so the white-sand communities here seem thoughtfully planned rather than hodgepodge legacies of land rushes. Though the feel (and the traffic) is less metropolitan, today’s Northwest has plenty of top-notch culture, exceptional restaurants, and incredible retail experiences. This is a natural wonderland in its own distinct way, with wide rivers flowing through thick forests, vast stretches of preserved parkland, and a variety of beaches — from wild and rugged to picture-perfect strips of white. There’s plenty of golf and tennis, but the focus is on the pristine water and a boating culture that runs from yachts to fishing boats to kayaks, and from deep water to grassy flats to sparkling bays — and to the requisite bayous, teeming with waterfowl and fish. The sand is softer, the summer’s a little cooler, and the reservations are a little easier to come by — but it’s still 100 percent Florida.