What to Do in Fort Walton Beach When Your Team Isn't Playing
If you're bringing a team to the National Prep Tournament next March, or you're just curious what the Panhandle is actually like, this is the local's version. Not the tourism-brochure version.
Fort Walton Beach is on the Emerald Coast — the strip of Florida Panhandle running from Pensacola east through Destin and 30A. In March, temperatures are in the 70s during the day and 55s at night. The water is cool but the beaches are quiet, the sky is clear, and the whole place has the feel of a beach town that's still six weeks away from spring break traffic.
The beach
You have to go to the beach. Even if you're only in town for 72 hours and half of that is games.
The public beach access closest to FCP Sports and the La Quinta partnership hotel is Beasley Park (also called The Boardwalk). Free parking, restrooms, showers, and a boardwalk that stretches down to the water. This is the family-friendly option — play in the sand, walk the shoreline, do not attempt to swim in March unless you enjoy suffering.
If you want a quieter beach with fewer people, Henderson Beach State Park in Destin is 15-20 minutes east. There's a small entrance fee, but the beach is significantly less crowded and the sand is the same postcard-white as everywhere else on the Emerald Coast.
Time it right and you can catch sunset. The sunset over the Gulf on a clear March evening is one of the best free things in Florida.
Food
Here's what a coach with 15 hungry travelers actually needs to know:
Team dinner (large groups, quick service)
Boshamps Seafood & Oyster House (Destin) — About 15 minutes east. Casual, waterfront, can handle a party of 15+ with a call ahead. Grouper sandwich is legit. Kids' menu is solid. Pricing is mid-range ($15-25 entrees).
The Back Porch (Destin) — The original beachfront restaurant on the Emerald Coast. Been around since 1974. Not fancy but it's an institution. Amberjack sandwich is the move.
Buster's Old-Time Photos — kidding, that's not a restaurant, but if your kids have never done a Wild West photo shoot, someone should suggest it.
Landry's Seafood House (Destin Commons area) — Chain but reliable. Handles big groups easily. Good if half your team wants seafood and half wants steaks.
Quick pre-game food
Panera Bread (Fort Walton Beach) — Steady standby for pre-game meals. Sandwiches, salads, quiet enough to have team pre-game conversations.
Chipotle (Beal Parkway, Fort Walton Beach) — If your players insist on it, they insist on it. Order ahead on the app for the whole team.
Which Wich (Fort Walton Beach) — underrated for a team stop. Everyone customizes their own sandwich, they wrap them individually, easy to eat on the go.
Local spots worth trying if you have time
AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar — Local staple. Waterfront in Destin. Live music. Order the peel-and-eat shrimp for the table.
The Donut Hole (Destin) — Not a hidden gem — there's usually a line — but the pancakes are legendary. Worth the 20-minute wait if your team has a late game day.
Callahan's (Fort Walton Beach) — Local diner. Nothing fancy. Locals eat here. Big portions, low prices. If you're on a tight team-food budget and staff needs breakfast between games, this is the move.
Things to do between games
Depending on how much time you have and whether it's raining:
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
Small marine park on Okaloosa Island. Dolphins, sea lions, sting rays. About 90 minutes to see everything. Good for families who traveled with the team and have younger kids in tow.
Air Force Armament Museum
Free. Sits next to Eglin Air Force Base. Has aircraft from every era of the Air Force, including a B-52 you can walk under. Underrated stop for players who care about history or aviation. About an hour.
Destin Commons
Open-air shopping and dining complex in Destin. Movie theater, dozens of restaurants, retail if parents want to shop. Easy way to kill 3 hours during a big gap between games.
Boat tours / dolphin cruises
Multiple options run out of Destin Harbor. A 90-minute dolphin cruise in March is a real memory-maker for the traveling families. Reservations required, but midweek dates are usually easy.
Just drive down 30A
If your team has a long block between games, drive east on Highway 30A. It's a scenic road through the beach communities — Seaside (yes, the town from The Truman Show), Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach. Stop and walk around. It's Instagram-y in a way that's actually pleasant. About 40 minutes each way from Fort Walton Beach.
Where NOT to spend your time
A few honest notes:
- Skip the boardwalk arcades. Fort Walton Beach has a strip of arcades on Miracle Strip Parkway. They're overpriced and dated. Save the money.
- Skip the pirate mini golf places. Fun for 8-year-olds, boring for teenagers. Your basketball players will not thank you.
- Don't try to make it to Panama City Beach. It's 90 minutes east and won't add anything you can't get closer to home.
- Don't try to swim. Water temp is 65°F in March. Wading is fine. Actual swimming is a bad time.
Getting around
There's no public transit worth using. Everyone needs a car, a rental, or Uber. Uber and Lyft both work in Fort Walton Beach but wait times can be 10-15 minutes.
If you're driving in, gas is generally cheaper than the national average here. If you're flying in, VPS airport has all the major rental car brands.
The bigger picture
Fort Walton Beach is not a resort town in the same way Destin is, and it's definitely not a beach vacation destination in the same way Panama City or 30A are. What it IS — especially in March — is a quiet, affordable, family-friendly beach town with easy airport access and enough to do between games that families won't be bored.
The tradeoff versus taking a team to a tournament in Miami or Tampa: you sacrifice the "big city" appeal for a slower, cheaper, more relaxed weekend. For a lot of programs, that's actually the win.
Come play here in March
The National Prep Tournament is March 5-7, 2027 at FCP Sports in Fort Walton Beach. Early bird applications through October 31, 2026 — $400 per team.
Apply for Early Bird PricingOne last local tip
If you have a Sunday evening flight and a couple hours to kill, drive over to The Boardwalk at Okaloosa Island around 5pm. Grab dinner outside on the water, watch the sunset, then head to the airport. It's the best possible way to end a tournament weekend, and it's the memory the traveling families will actually remember.
— Coach Lee
About Coach Lee DeForest
Coach Lee is in his seventh year as Director and Director of Operations at Florida Coastal Prep Sports Academy. With 25+ years of coaching at the D1, D2, NAIA, and JUCO levels, he has developed players who have gone on to programs including Missouri (Sean East, currently in the NBA G-League), DePaul, Houston Baptist, and SIU Edwardsville. He won a state championship in 2011 and is an Amazon best-selling author of 5 basketball coaching books, including the Princeton Offense Mastery Blueprint. Lee is a U.S. Army Reserve veteran. Kenny Anderson, NBA veteran and 1994 NBA All-Star, is on the FCP coaching staff.