community
Carillon Beach
Carillon Beach is a gated village on the Gulf at the far west end of Bay County, built around a bell tower, a 13-acre lake and eight dune walkovers.
A gated west-end village with Lake Carillon, Market Street, and private walkovers.
Carillon Beach sits on the Gulf side of US 98, just east of Camp Helen State Park and a few minutes from the Walton County line. It's in unincorporated Bay County, in the Census Bureau's Laguna Beach area, though mailing addresses read Panama City Beach.
What it's like
The village covers 104 acres with almost a mile of beach. Work on its roads, sidewalks and amenities began in 1991, on a town plan by New Orleans architect Lloyd Vogt, who also wrote the design code behind the "Carillon style": shaded porches that catch the Gulf breeze, and high ceilings. Every road leads to Bell Tower Circle, where a 35-bell carillon, almost 50 feet tall, counts out each hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and follows it with a tune. Its first concert was played in November 1993. Market Street, with shops, dining and condominiums, came in an expansion that began in 1998. The Carillon Inn and the Sunrise and Sunset condominiums followed in 2007.
The lake, the pools and the beach
Lake Carillon, 13 acres of fresh water inside the village, has bass, turtles and herons, a pier, and room for kayaks and paddleboards. There are three pools: the Gulf-view Beach Club Pool, the Lake Carillon Pool, and the largest, at Bellview Park, beside tennis and pickleball courts, a basketball court and a playground. Eight walkovers cross the dunes to the beach. The Meeting House holds an interdenominational service at 10 a.m. Sundays and the village calendar, from the holiday tree lighting to the Fourth of July golf-cart parade.
Getting around
Camp Helen State Park, with the Gulf on one side and Lake Powell on the other, is about 5 minutes away, and so is Rosemary Beach. Pier Park is about 15 minutes east on US 98 and Seaside about 25 minutes west. The airport is about 30 minutes, and downtown Panama City about 35.
Before you buy
Quiet hours, golf-cart rules and guest privileges are set by the association, and new homes go through the design code. Permits and zoning go through Bay County. Zoned schools depend on the street address. Check it with the Bay District Schools zone lookup.
Explore nearby
- Laguna Beach — Dune lakes and low-rise streets on the west end, a census place of its own.
- Wild Heron — A gated preserve on Lake Powell, in Bay County west of the beach.
- Breakfast Point — Sidewalks, trails, and a Publix at the gate, inland from the strip.
- Pier Park West — A separate retail strip just west of Pier Park, on the south side of US 98.
Gated village, unincorporated Bay County