Lots of summer activities available for kids



Local area clubs, camps and recreation facilities are offering summer programs for children. Below is a list of organizations and programs available this summer in the Walton County area. Several activities in Destin are listed below as well.
In addition, the United Way’s 2009 Children’s Summer Fun Guidebook offers a complete listing from Okaloosa to Walton for children ages 4 – 18. For more information, or to download the complete area guide go to: www.united-way.org and look on the front page under 2009 Summer Fun Guidebook.
Walton County area

Walton County Extension Office – Summer Fun 4 Kids Program
Kids in the Kitchen
Time: 9:00 a.m. -2:30 p.m.
Children will learn basic nutrition, meal planning, kitchen and food safety, etiquette and basic cooking skills. During a field trip to a local grocery store, children will learn about smart food shopping. Children will prepare a meal on the final day for special adult guests. Bring a sack lunch.
Limit: 10 children. Ages 12 and up ONLY
June 10-12 Extension Office, DeFuniak Springs
(June 10th starts at 12:30 p.m.)
June 16-18 Flowersview Community Center
June 23-25 Emerald Coast Middle School
Outdoor Adventures Time
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A cool way to spend a few hours on the water

Boiling Creek is a beautiful, pristine paddle, full of cypress trees, water lilies and a variety of pitcher plants along its banks. The water is crystal clear, and you will see colorful underwater grasses rippling below, as you meander through the slow moving twists and turns. The creek is approximately 25 feet wide for most of the journey. Common sights are turtles, ospreys, hawks and other birds, such as woodpeckers and indigo buntings.
To learn more, go to:
http://www.waltonoutdoors.com/take-a...-yellow-river/

State Park offers a perfect place for a picnic and a cool swim

Just outside the Walton County line is one of the coolest places to take a dip in a spring, Ponce de Leon Springs State Park. As the water stays a constant 68 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, both locals and visitors enjoy this nature-made swimming pool, which is a convergence of two underground water flows, producing 14 million gallons of water daily.
To learn more, go to:
http://www.waltonoutdoors.com/cool-o...gs-state-park/

Scrub oaks and dunes at Grayton Beach State Park.

Mother Nature shows off her best features at this gem of a park

Those that live in the Florida Panhandle are blessed with the diversity and natural beauty of our local State parks, and one of those beauties is Grayton Beach State Park.
Nestled on both the south and north of Scenic 30A, I had forgotten how lovely the park was, until I re-examined it again recently with my own personal tour guide, Patrick Hartsfield, Park Service Specialist.
Patrick has an enormous amount of enthusiasm for this 2,200-acre park, and its unspoiled natural magnificence. It is easy to concur, as the majority of the park is left untouched and full of diversity with sand dunes, scrub oaks, Western Lake’s salt marsh, multiple ecosystems, pine flatwoods and remarkable trails. This area is the perfect habitat for wildlife.
Egrets.



Grayton Beach State Park offers a wide variety of activities for the visitor. Along with the beautiful beaches, there are two unique trails to enjoy, along with camping and cabin rentals.
Take a walk along the trail nicknamed the “Hobbit Hole,” through the dunes where you find yourself enveloped in the scrub oaks and finding yourself becoming one with nature. Flowering spiderworts and blue...

A trail to the beach at Camp Helen.
Lori Ceier/WaltonOutdoors.com

Deer Lake, Camp Helen and Ponce de Leon Springs park hours would be affected

Last week the Department of Environmental Protection was asked to submit a 20 percent budget reduction to the Legislature. This budget reduction proposal does not call for the closure of any state parks, but does propose a reduction in the days and hours of operation at 58 state parks. Nineteen of those 58 are the 19 that last fall were considered for temporary closure.
The proposed cuts would also result in the loss of a total of 85 full time employees from field staff and 20 full time employees from the main and district offices.
The reduced days and hours of operation would result in an estimated savings of more than $2.2 million.


Path at Deer Lake State Park. Lori Ceier/WaltonOutdoors.com



Local State Parks slated for reduction in hours:


Deer Lake State Park - Walton
Camp Helen State Park - Bay
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park - Holmes/Walton


The Department is also considering adjustments to park fees, however no steps have been taken to implement any fee changes. In the event that any fee adjustments are made,...