Back to the Inn at Blue Mountain Beach. Circuit Court Case# 93-1133-CA, Claude D. and Elizabeth C. Jones, Plaintiffs, VS. Walton County. This case involved a long-running dispute between Jones and the developers of the Inn. Maybe some old timers remember that originally this was going to be a highrise, as the developers claimed grandfathering exempting them from the height limitation. That was one of the issues that landed them in court. An order approving a settlement agreement was filed on 3/12/98. The agreement is between the Joneses, Walton County, and Blue Mountain Beach Associates L.C. Of interest to this thread:
"Public parking for beach access - 5 spaces.
Public beach access shall be maintained with designated parking spaces, as shown on the site plan, and walking/biking access is to be provided as shown on the site plan attached hereto as Exhibit D. (Sorry I do not have the site plan, should be available from the clerk of court,)
This agreement is binding on all the parties hereto, their assigns, successors, predecessors, heirs and agents. "
So it looks like the access is public. Apparently nobody contemplated that the public access would lead to a private beach.
In fact, it sort of implies that the beach is public, why else would you worry about a public access? Just so you could keep going, trudging through the wet sand to somewhere else? But it isn't spelled out.
An attorney might have fun with this, though.