Day trips from Nashville · Beach
Grayton Beach
452 miles from downtown Nashville · about 8 hours
Walton County, FL, on 30A south of CR-283
Grayton Beach is the oldest town on 30A by a century, settled in the mid 1880s by an Army major named Charles Gray, and it has no master plan and no architectural code. Sand streets, no sidewalks, weathered cottages of wildly mixed vintage under live oaks. It is the visual opposite of everything built east of it.
- Distance
- About 452 miles, south off 30A on CR-283
- Time zone
- Central, same as Nashville
- In-town parking
- Four spaces. That is not a typo
- The move
- Park at the Park and Ride and take the free tram
Permits, fees and access
The in-town Grayton Dunes access at 288 Garfield Street has four parking spaces. The practical way in is the Grayton Beach Park and Ride at 1505 County Highway 283 South, which became a paid lot on April 3, 2026 at $15 a day March through October and $5 a day November through February. From there the free Grayton Express tram runs to the beach every ten minutes, 6am to 9:45pm, with a state park express and a Blue Mountain local every thirty minutes. Grayton Beach State Park is $5 a vehicle and has its own lot, but it closes to day visitors when it fills, which happens routinely in summer. Beach driving here is real but it is permit holders only, restricted to county landowners and residents, so a visitor cannot get one.
Things to do in Grayton Beach
Addresses, hours and prices as published by each operator in August 18, 2026. Hours and prices move, so check before you go.
Grayton Beach State Park
357 Main Park Road. $5 per vehicle, 8am to sunset, 365 days. Nearly 2,000 acres with a full mile of beachfront, four miles of trails, cabins and camping, wrapped around Western Lake, a 100 acre coastal dune lake with a boat ramp.
The Red Bar
70 Hotz Avenue. Operating since 1995, burned in a 2019 fire and rebuilt. Gulf Coast cooking with live music, and the single most recognizable name in town.
AJ’s Grayton Beach
63 DeFuniak Street. Seafood, sushi, oysters and oak-grilled steaks across two stages, an outdoor patio and a fire pit.
Chiringo
63 Hotz Avenue. Seafood with a rooftop, right at the beach end of the street.
Black Bear Bread Co.
26 Logan Lane. Bakery and cafe, with a separate bar room. There is a second location in Seaside.
Hurricane Oyster Bar and Grill
37 Logan Lane, Suite 4. Oysters, seafood, burgers and wings with outdoor seating.
Chanticleer Eatery
55 Clayton Lane. Sandwiches and soup by day, ribeye and jambalaya at night.
Paddling Western Lake
Kayak and paddleboard on the dune lake inside the state park. Coastal dune lakes are the reason to bother with this stretch of coast rather than any other.
One thing to know first
This is the hardest town on 30A to park in without a plan. Four public spaces in town, a paid Park and Ride, and a state park that closes when full. Go early or ride the tram. Grayton has two parcels covered by the October 2024 customary use ruling, so most of the private dry sand here is still private. See Miramar Beach for the full Walton County rules on the transitory zone, flags and fines.
Access rules, fees and closures verified August 18, 2026 against the agency that manages this place. They change, sometimes without notice. Check before you drive.
The neighborhoods closest to it
If this is the kind of Saturday you want a short drive from your front door, these are the parts of Middle Tennessee that put you nearest to it.
I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date. If you are weighing a move to Middle Tennessee and want to know which part of it puts you closest to the things you actually like, ask me. No pitch.