Vacations: Beaches

Opal Beach Park partially reopens

Dusty Ricketts, Florida Freedom Newspapers

NAVARRE BEACH, FL - Construction on the roughly $3.5 million repair of Opal Beach Park is nearing completion, and portions of the park were reopened for the first time in nearly five years this past weekend. Opal Beach Park had been closed since mos... Full story

Going green with warning flags

NAVARRE BEACH, FL - The beach warning flags on Navarre Beach soon could go green.     Since 1997, Santa Rosa County has had a policy of never flying a green beach flag, even when conditions in the gulf were optimum for swimming. The re... Full story

Work moving along on pier

Dusty Ricketts, Florida Freedom Newspapers

NAVARRE BEACH, FL - Santa Rosa County officials want the public to check out the progress of construction of the new fishing pier.     Ed Waters and Son Contracting Co. of St. Augustine started work last month on the pier on Navarre Be... Full story

Lifeguards patrol the beach trying to prevent disaster

Mona Moore, Florida Freedom Newspapers

WALTON COUNTY, FL - A weekend of clouds, rain and very little sunshine could not keep people off the beach.     "Every time the sun has come out, so have the people," Gary Wise, director of Walton County Beach Safety, said.   ... Full story

There is a lot to a beautiful sand dune

Erica Johnson, Florida Freedom Newspapers

MILTON, FL - At first glance, sand dunes seem to be nothing but beautiful accessories to white, sandy beaches, but when hurricanes roll in, they take on an entirely different roll. Riley Hoggard, the natural resource specialist at Gulf Islands Natio... Full story

Volunteers needed to watch turtles

PORT ST. JOE - Volunteers are needed to assist in the continued monitoring of sea turtle nesting activity and hatchling disorientation events on the Cape.     Volunteers must be reliable and be able to walk at least two miles on the be... Full story

Work begins on Navarre pier

Dusty Ricketts, Florida Freedom Newspapers

NAVARRE BEACH, FL - In a move many local anglers have been waiting years for, work has begun on a new fishing pier.     Santa Rosa County fishermen have been without a useable pier of their own since September 2004, when Hurricane Ivan... Full story

Double drownings put spotlight on riptides, flags

Jennifer Rich and Wendy Victora, Florida Freedom Newspapers

DESTIN, FL - Rip currents claimed two more lives on Destin beaches over the weekend, once again drawing much needed attention to this fatal force of nature. "I've been here for five years now and we've rescued over 500 people on the beach in Destin,... Full story

Wanted: Hollywood set on the Emerald Coast

Fraser Sherman, Florida Freedom Newspapers

OKALOOSA COUNTY, FL - Could writer-director-actor Tyler Perry succumb to the same charms that brought Jim Carrey, Gregory Peck and Roy Scheider to the Emerald Coast?     According to Emerald Coast Film Commissioner Linda Sargeant, Perr... Full story

Santa Rosa Beach business creates local craze

Jennifer Rich, Florida Freedom Newspapers

SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL - You Only Live Once. Meet two guys who believe that philosophy so much that they named their business after the acronym made by the statement - Yolo Board. Five years ago, Jeff Archer and Tom Losee were neighboring business own... Full story

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