The Bayside Trail Off Nursery Road Is Getting a Nature Center. What Happens Inside Hasn't Been Decided.

"In a lot of ways this is their memorial for us," Pan Godchaux told WJHG in June 2025. She was standing on the land her parents, Pat and Lewis Kellogg, left to Walton County, at the dedication for the Kellogg Park Nature Center. More than a year later, the building on Nursery Road is close to done. The county's latest estimate puts completion "late this fall."

The county knows what the building will look like. It hasn't decided what will go on inside. Walton County designed the center as an assembly room. Its own staff have described it as a space that schools and nature groups are invited to use, and no named group has been announced to run it. That makes this park unusual among South Walton's new public buildings. What it turns into depends on who in Santa Rosa Beach shows up to use the room.

How it took over twenty years to get a building

Visit South Walton's listing for the site says Pat Kellogg donated the parcel in 2003 for a wildlife preserve and nature center. WMBB reported that the couple meant it as a nature preserve for children. The building took a long time to arrive. The county's own paperwork shows how long:

1. 2003. The land is donated for a preserve and nature center.
2. 2021. The Board of County Commissioners approves a $147,240 design and permitting task order with Kimley-Horn.
3. 2022 and 2023. The design budget grows by $22,380, then by $11,320 for a lift station.
4. April 23, 2024. The project gets final permitting approval. August 27, 2024. Commissioners authorize the construction bid.
5. May 13, 2025. The board awards the construction contract to H&T Contractors LLC for $995,833.98, with 300 calendar days to substantial completion once work is cleared to start.
6. June 11, 2025. Groundbreaking and dedication. At the time, the doors were expected to open in summer 2026.
7. October 6, 2026. A Tourist Development Council slide reports the project at 70% complete, on a $1 million figure, with completion expected in fall 2026.

The summer 2026 opening date has passed. The county now says fall. Construction photos posted to the Walton County Tourism projects page carry a September 2026 date, and no ribbon-cutting date had been posted.

The gap between donation and construction tells you something about the building. It wasn't rushed out to meet a tourism season. It went through more than three years of design and permitting votes before anyone broke ground, and every step in the list above was a public vote.

What's being built, and what you can already use

Most of what makes the property worth a visit is already open. The new construction adds shelter, parking and a room to the existing trail and bay launch.

The building's size depends on which county document you read. The October TDC slide says 1,600 square feet, and that matches a design change recorded in the 2025 commission history. The tourism projects page still says 1,800. Either way, it's a small building. Walton County Tourism describes it as built for "nature observation, educational programming and community gatherings."

The bay launch sits on the park side of the property. Walton County's facility listing for Kellogg Bayside Park includes boat and canoe access, fishing, picnic areas and water. The launch is for small boats like kayaks, canoes and paddleboards, and there's no trailer access. The vehicle gate to the launch may be padlocked, so if you need to drive in to unload a boat, call Walton County Parks ahead of time. The park sits at the north end of Nellie Drive, off Nursery Road. The county gives the Nature Center's address as 855 E. Nursery Road. Visit South Walton's listing uses 776 East Nursery Road. Nursery Road and Nellie Drive will get you there.

The county built the room and is inviting others to fill it

At the June 2025 dedication, Walton County Beach Operations Director Brian Kellenberger described what would go inside. "It's an assembly-type building, the inside will have pictures, interpretive kiosks," he told WJHG. "Anything that will help us explain the story of the [Choctawhatchee] Bay throughout time."

He then told WJHG who would use it. "We're going to invite the school system to come use it, and any other nature-based organization that would like to do interpretive sessions, classes, whatever, will be welcome to use it."

The construction contract names Kellenberger as project manager. As construction nears its end, the county still hasn't announced a permanent operator, a resident education partner or regular hours for the building. The county's displays and signs will explain the bay. Classes, guided walks and gatherings will depend on the schools and nature groups that take the county up on its offer.

So the bay side of Santa Rosa Beach is getting a classroom with no set curriculum. Many county-built amenities in South Walton come with a fixed purpose. A beach access is a beach access. This building's purpose will be set by its first users.

The county's other recent building tells local history too

Walton County's Beach Operations team has used recent projects to tell local history. The Bets "Beachmama" Haynes Regional Beach Access at 44 Hotz Avenue opened June 9, 2026. Along with restrooms, a 360-degree observation deck, rinse showers, a boardwalk and a Beach Tram stop, it includes an information station about how the Grayton Beach community was founded.

The Kellogg center does the same thing for the bay that Haynes does for the Gulf. Pictures and kiosks will explain the history of Choctawhatchee Bay, on land a family gave the county as a children's preserve. Godchaux told WJHG that hearing from the people who already use the park "just warms my heart because it's the kind of stuff my mom wanted to know."

Between now and the ribbon cutting

The trail and launch at Kellogg Bayside Park are open while the building is finished. The county's projects page will post the opening, and anyone who wants notices about future county beach and park projects can email [email protected]. Construction updates have also been appearing on Tourist Development Council agendas, so the October 6, 2026 TDC packet is where the most recent progress figure was published. If you lead a scout troop, homeschool group, birding club or paddling group, Kellenberger's invitation is already on the record.

At Abbott Martin Group, we follow these bayside projects as closely as anything on the Gulf. If you want to know what's being built off Nursery Road or anywhere else in Santa Rosa Beach, give us a call. Discover Your Emerald Coast Home.