Surf: General: Between Pensacola and Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach is one of the Panhandle’s go-to zones for pumping surf, particularly the scattered, wedgey peaks of Okaloosa Island Pier, which activates with relative consistency on solid southerly swells. Action is primarily confined to the east side of the pier, where the sandbars are perpetually good and hard-packed. Tides: Get the incoming or the outgoing, then milk the whole cycle. Size: Knee-high to a few feet overhead. Wind: N Swell: SE, S, SW Bottom: Sand, and maybe a woody remnant from the old pier here and there. Paddling: A shallow, inside beachbreak with a pier — almost too easy. Spot Rating: The pier helps provide form and function to otherwise soft, ephemeral waves. Access: Free public parking in pier lot. Crowds: Crowd Factor: When the Panhandle’s pumping, scores of tube-hungry Floridians flock here. A few of them end up at the pier. Local Vibe: None to speak of. If anyone’s throwing attitude, it’s probably some random outsider who chased the swell all the way to the wrong spot. Environment: Surprisingly clean, despite the history of oil spills and shoreline development, thanks in part to the Beach Bill. Historically passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time. Hazards: Sharks, jellyfish, old pier pilings, lightning, heat stroke. Season: September-March