Dog-Friendly Beaches

**kurt** · 04-04-2011, 08:33 AM

I came across this just now:

The 400 foot section of beach is located on city property, West of the Dan Russell Pier (City Pier), at the southern beach end of Pier Park in Panama City Beach.

More information can be found at: Welcome to Bay Families with Dogs OR call (850) 233-5045

Bay Families with Dogs is a non-profit advocacy group formed to improve the community environment for people who enjoy outdoor recreation with their dogs. Goals include better education and awareness for both dog owners and the non-dog owning community, and to obtain and maintain recreation zones on area beaches for Bay County families to enjoy responsibly with their dogs. ... more

In case you're wondering, only local dogs are allowed on SoWal Beaches, must be permitted and tagged, and only during certain hours. More info at Walton County, FL - Home Page - Pets on Beach

The beach dog tag allows you to walk your dog on a leash, on Walton County Beaches between the hours of 3:00 p.m.-9:00 a.m.(standard time) and 4:00 p.m.-8:00 a.m. (Daylight Savings Time).

I thought folks might want to post other dog-friendly beaches they know about in other places.

**MrMentalFitness** · 04-04-2011, 11:14 PM

When I was doing lots of volunteer time at the Tourist Development Council greeting visitors and handing out brochures and such on Okaloosa Island, that was a constant question, "Where can I take my dog on the beach?" People would get pretty upset when I explained the limitations.

I love the idea of dogs running down the beach - they love it, but I also remember the number of times on California beaches where I'd be in the midst of a philosophically contemplative stroll along the surf only to end up leaping around like an idiot on one leg after having totally squished a steaming pile of dog leavings between my toes. And the Cali beaches cannot compare to SoWals's, so no wonder these white sands are so protected.

Thus, if there are dog-friendly areas, it needs to be shouted to the hills so dog owners can know where to go - cuz it's rare around here.