While there have been changes for customary use of private beachfront property, much is still evolving at this time. If guests have concerns, we hope the below information will be helpful.
Things to keep in mind:
Customary Use Information:
Walton County Beach Maintenance Department has been denied access to collect trash on private property by some beachfront property owners. As a result of those beach front property owners, beach garbage pickup by TDC crews is no longer available on about 40-percent of beaches. That percentage not only includes the beachfront properties that owners will not allow access to or across their property, but in some cases also adjacent properties that can no longer be accessed for garbage collection because crews are blocked on either side by property owners that will not allow collection crews to cross their property. The affected owners were notified. Public Regional and Neighborhood Beach Accesses will not be affected, and garbage collection will continue as usual on those beaches.
Visit South Walton
25777 US Highway 331 South | Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459
(800)-822-6877
Things to keep in mind:
- Visit South Walton currently maintains 58 public beach access points, including 8 Regional Public Beach Accesses complete with parking, restroom facilities, and lifeguards. South Walton also enjoys additional miles of public beach thanks to our State Parks. The customary use changes do not affect our public beaches, only privately-owned beachfront property.
- A user-friendly interactive map of public beach access points can be found here: https://www.visitsouthwalton.com/beach-and-bay-access-locations
- A full chart of beach accesses maintained by Visit South Walton can be found here: https://bit.ly/2QSYNgE
- Many beach neighborhoods and resorts already have dedicated beach areas available for guests staying with them.
- What is customary use?
- Customary use is a common law term referring to the public access of the privately-owned beachfront property. Some Gulf-front properties in Florida have a property line that extends to the mean high water line.
- What is changing?
- Essentially, a privately-owned beachfront property is considered the "dry sand area" and publicly owned property is the "wet sand area." The Walton County Sheriff’s Department will be the governing force for any conflicts or complications that may arise on the space in front of properties now considered private property.
- Does that mean I can't walk all 26 miles of our white sand beaches?
- No, you can absolutely still walk our beautiful beaches for as far as you wish. There will still be plenty of space in the wet sand area for beach-walkers to enjoy, and plenty of public beach where access is in no way under dispute.
Customary Use Information:
Walton County Beach Maintenance Department has been denied access to collect trash on private property by some beachfront property owners. As a result of those beach front property owners, beach garbage pickup by TDC crews is no longer available on about 40-percent of beaches. That percentage not only includes the beachfront properties that owners will not allow access to or across their property, but in some cases also adjacent properties that can no longer be accessed for garbage collection because crews are blocked on either side by property owners that will not allow collection crews to cross their property. The affected owners were notified. Public Regional and Neighborhood Beach Accesses will not be affected, and garbage collection will continue as usual on those beaches.
Visit South Walton
25777 US Highway 331 South | Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 32459
(800)-822-6877
