Before Kellogg Park's Nature Center Opens, the Bay Trail It Was Built For Is Already Worth the Walk
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
At the bay end of E. Nursery Road in Santa Rosa Beach, a short trail runs through pine flatwoods and connects to Choctawhatchee Bay. Kellogg Bayside Park already has benches, picnic tables and a kayak launch. On the same property, Walton County is building a new nature center that its tourism department expects to complete "late this fall."
The building is the newest part of the property. The trail is not. The land was given to the county more than twenty years ago for one main purpose, and that purpose is in season right now, whether or not the doors are open.
Local reporting says Pat Kellogg donated the Nursery Road property to Walton County in 2003. Her condition was that it be used as a wildlife preserve and educational center, particularly for bird-watching. The same terms gave the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society perpetual access to the site. Her husband, Louis Kellogg, died in 1999, and Pat died in 2006. In April 2010 the county dedicated a plaque honoring them both.
That order of events matters for anyone who has been waiting on the building. The preserve and the bird-watching came first. The nature center is what the county calls the "final phase" of the project, a place for the education half of Pat Kellogg's condition. When the county held a dedication for the new center in June 2025, its account named the Kelloggs' daughter, Pan Godchaux. It recorded her appreciation that the county had carried out her mother's vision of children experiencing the bay.
At the June 2025 dedication, the forecast was an opening in summer 2026 and a 1,500-square-foot building. The plan has since grown and the date has moved. The county commission's February 26, 2026 agenda included a request to authorize a Notice of Commencement for the project. The current Walton County Tourism projects page shows a construction photo of the building's front, with a file name dated September 16, 2026, and lists the project as under construction.
The current plan at 855 E. Nursery Road includes:
According to the county, Beach Operations crews will build the pavilions, sidewalks and trail amenities themselves.
Some things are still unknown. As of today, the county has published no opening day, no ribbon-cutting date, no hours and no named organization to run programs in the building. In 2025, Beach Operations director Brian Kellenberger said the school system and other nature-based organizations would be invited to use the site, but he didn't name a partner.
None of the planned additions are needed to use the trail. Visit South Walton describes it as an easy 0.3-mile walk through pine flatwoods to Choctawhatchee Bay, with bird-watching, hiking and biking listed as uses. WJHG reported bayside benches, a kayak launch and picnic tables already on site.
The addresses are a little confusing. Visit South Walton lists the existing trail at 776 E. Nursery Road, and the county's project page uses 855 E. Nursery Road for the new center. The county's plan joins the two by running the new sidewalk to the existing trailhead, so the short walk you can take today becomes the spine of the finished park.
Two practical points while construction continues. We found no Kellogg-specific hours or dog rule. Visit South Walton's general trail guidance is to keep dogs on a short leash and pick up after them. Check the signs at the trailhead before you go.
The Kellogg land was set aside for birds, and fall is when many more of them pass through this part of the coast. The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail's listing for nearby Grayton Beach State Park says songbirds move through in both spring and fall. It also says 15 species of wood-warbler have been recorded there, including Blackpoll and Hooded Warblers. In a Visit South Walton interview, Choctawhatchee Audubon member Walt Spence named the Prothonotary Warbler as a bird found locally during fall and spring migration.
As fall turns to winter, the cast changes. The same Grayton listing names Bonaparte's Gulls and Northern Gannets offshore, Savannah Sparrows and Orange-crowned Warblers on land, and Common Loons on Western Lake. These are seasonal possibilities from the Birding Trail, not a sightings forecast for Kellogg. Still, they show that the Gulf side and the bay side of Santa Rosa Beach both get their busiest bird traffic in the months the county expects to finish the new building.
The connection to the Audubon society is worth knowing too. Choctawhatchee Audubon has held perpetual access to the Kellogg property since the 2003 donation. None of its posted fall 2026 outings are at Kellogg, Eden Gardens, Point Washington or Western Lake, though. Its schedule covers a wider region, and its free evening programs are generally held at the Chandler Center in Niceville.
For guided walks while the nature center is still being built, these are the dated events on public calendars right now:
The Audubon page notes some date changes, so check the society's live schedule before heading out. For more on the Gulf side of the same community, our August guide to Santa Rosa Beach covers the Western Lake side of the week, and the Santa Rosa Beach neighborhood page maps how the bay and the Gulf sit relative to each other.
Until the county announces an opening date, the Kellogg trail off E. Nursery Road is open for the 0.3-mile walk to the bay, and fall migration is passing through now.
At Bellville Team, we follow projects like the Kellogg Park Nature Center because the bay side of Santa Rosa Beach is part of what owners here live with every day. If you'd like to talk about how the Nursery Road area fits your plans for a home or a rental, we'd be glad to show you around. Start Your Coastal Journey with us.
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