Ramsgate beach access

I can no longer remain silent!!! (HA!) NJ...do not let the misguided postings of some stop you from asking simple questions! You will always find thoughtful and helpful people on this board.

As to "private" boardwalks and "private" beaches...I need some info. I have only stayed at Seaside before buying here in WC, so have no experience. I will probably understand better after I visit gttbm. Are some of these boardwalks easily accessible to the public? Are they marked with signs? Do any of them remained locked, to be opened only by owners? My opinion is that when so many have been displaced from their points of entry after storms and have to wait for the county to rebuild...Open your hearts and your boardwalks to any and all that are just trying to enjoy what we all love...the beach! Do gulf front property owners really go bananas when us peons walk across their "beach"? I still have a lot to learn!!!

Thanks for your kind words. I obviously don't know what is private unless it is marked as such. The one access that I know is private has a chain across the steps with a "private" sign hanging on it. I guess if I wanted to break someone's law I would duck under it and use it anyway. I don't. There is/has been an issue with gulf front property owners asking people not to sit on "their" beach. Chip "the beach chair guy" has been getting the brunt of that at the beach in front of Summer's Edge (a deeded access). He could only set up chairs/umbrellas where he hadn't had complaints from gulf front property owners, or directly in front of the access, being careful not to encroach on someone's private beach. This really needs to be resolved because I don't want guests, or friends, or my family having confrontations every time they try to visit the beach. I've heard that the lawyers have this issue now, though I don't know if this is just rumor.

Thanks for your kind words. I obviously don't know what is private unless it is marked as such. The one access that I know is private has a chain across the steps with a "private" sign hanging on it. I guess if I wanted to break someone's law I would duck under it and use it anyway. I don't. There is/has been an issue with gulf front property owners asking people not to sit on "their" beach. Chip "the beach chair guy" has been getting the brunt of that at the beach in front of Summer's Edge (a deeded access). He could only set up chairs/umbrellas where he hadn't had complaints from gulf front property owners, or directly in front of the access, being careful not to encroach on someone's private beach. This really needs to be resolved because I don't want guests, or friends, or my family having confrontations every time they try to visit the beach. I've heard that the lawyers have this issue now, though I don't know if this is just rumor.

NancyJean, I've learned something new today. I had no idea that ANY part of the beach could be considered private! Does this mean that if you own gulf-front that your property extends in front of your house all the way to the water line? Is that the way it works? Is this true?

NancyJean, I've learned something new today. I had no idea that ANY part of the beach could be considered private! Does this mean that if you own gulf-front that your property extends in front of your house all the way to the water line? Is that the way it works? Is this true?

I don't know if this is true. I just know that some of the gulf-front owners have tried to force the issue. Some do think that they own to the water line. I think that's why this has to be decided in court. I also don't know if their issue is with Chip trying to conduct his business in front of the homes, but I know he has really tried to honor their requests. I, for one, really like to be able to occasionally rent chairs/umbrellas rather than carry them to the beach, but it's difficult to do under the circumstances. I just hope this gets resolved soon. It just leads to hard feelings. :(

I hope the issue gets sorted out, too. Chip's a really nice guy. When we came down to the beach a week after July's hurricane and everything was still a mess, he got our beach chairs and umbrella set up for us, no problem. NOW that's good service. :clap_1:

BTW, before we moved to Indy, we lived in Marietta, in East Cobb. :razz:

The only walkovers that are public are those listed at http://www.beachesofsouthwalton.com/beach_access.asp (link found by searching the official Walton County website). Any other walkover is private (even if not labeled as such!). These walkovers were paid for by private individuals out of their own pockets, as opposed to tax dollars.

Just because there's no sign saying that a walkover is private doesn't mean that it's public. If you extend that logic, my pool is public because it doesn't have a private sign posted on it. My driveway is public because I have no private sign on it. Obviously they're not public.

That being said, we have been happy to extend privileges to our beach walkover to our neighbors who have requested it. We just don't want a kajillion people coming and using our walkover, blocking our driveways, crowding the beach in front of our houses. No, we don't own the beach, but the reason we paid a boatload of money for a house in a low-density, beachfront area was to have a beach with some privacy. If that had not been important to us, we could have saved a boatload of money and bought a condo, not to mention the stress of maintaining a residence out of state.

As far as who owns the beach, I don't know. If my memory serves me correctly (which often it doesn't), it seems like on another thread this was discussed.

BTW to my knowledge no one in our neighborhood has ever been rude to anyone using our beach walkover by mistake. We just wouldn't do that - we're nice people with good manners and would never be intentionally rude to someone who doesn't know the rules.

The latest from Brad Pickel is that RAMSGATE access is planned for completion by Thanksgiving.
Also, if someone could please post the actual rule (or law or whatever it is) regarding the so-called "private beach" behind a beachfront property....it would be greatly appreciated! Seems like I've read about this sort of thing down in Destin but the fact that this is occurring on the beach used by our neighborhood is news (disturbing) to me! Thanks.

The beach is public up to the high water mark. In our case, that would be to the dunes, wouldn't it.


:clap_1:

I hope the issue gets sorted out, too. Chip's a really nice guy. When we came down to the beach a week after July's hurricane and everything was still a mess, he got our beach chairs and umbrella set up for us, no problem. NOW that's good service. :clap_1:

BTW, before we moved to Indy, we lived in Marietta, in East Cobb. :razz:

Really :shock: Me too....East Cobb

the attitude that people own the beach is what prompted the twits to sue to stop refurbishment as it would allow people to use their owned beach - no wonder their lawsuit didn't stand up in court - but the lawsuits did delay renourishment until the storms came and it didn't matter any more because the beach was gone away.

'the beach owns itself and will reward those who love and respect it and punish those who try in vain to own or control it' - me

time for my meds I suppose - then off again to work in a never ending grind of water and fish - hey, wait a minute - I :wub: this stuff! YEA! Time to go play some more. Actually, we're to the boring point where nature must take its course and we only have to monitor water quality, etc, while the little fishies grow up to be big fishies. Guess I'm a little bored but can't leave the farm to go to the beach and not try to own or control it.

wait another minute - if some homeowner does something to gain back more beach (like dumping truckloads of sand on top of their brand-new retaining wall), and that affects the current high water mark and thus lengthens 'their' portion of the beach, and then I walk across it when innocently walking down the beach, then that is tresspassing and if signs were posted I could be arrested? bah-humbug, it would be ice tea beach truck time! sea ya!

I was down there today. It's finished.

I was down there today. It's finished.

Woo-hoo!

FANTASTIC!!! Thanks for the update TF!!!