South Walton Beach Rules & Safety Info

Walton County Beach Activities ordinance "(Items left on the beach overnight will be discarded. (Ordinance 2013-04 Section 22-54) "Obstructions also include fences, ropes, chains, or signs unless properly permitted by county, state, and federal agencies as appropriate.".

 

The revolution starts here.

 

How about Walton Co. start with discarded chairs, beach toys, etc. Many mornings I have watched the Walton Co. truck drive around the junk and never stop. Ordinances are worthless without enforcement.

 

They would need 24 more trucks.

 

Possibly with incorporation, much of the northbound flow of cash can stay on the coast and buy a few more trucks?

 

I have recently retired and have moved to this beautiful area..I have lived at various coastal locations with some quite a bit more populated then here..I am shocked and dismayed by the sheer amount of trash and items left on the beach at the end of the day...i.e. Umbrellas , chairs ,trash, .. So sad !.I pick up what I can but there must be a better way...other locales drag their beaches every morning in am....I know I will hear about costs but obviously other resort areas had same pushback and still figured out a way even if it is only done during prime season. I just don't understand the lack of respect for the wonderful area we live in and I say this to all age because I have seen all ages leave the beaches a mess.

 

Agree - it is a perfect storm here...
Rich entitled visitors who will spend hundreds at walmart and don't think twice about leaving it behind. Also the attitude of "I'm paying 20 grand this week I can do whatever I want".
A permissive attitude by local residents, rental companies, government, etc ... begging people to bring money and do whatever they want. Greed rules in SoWal.
County commissioners with a vested interest in development, vendors, rental mgmt, etc.
No real enforcement or rules for fear of ticking of tourists.

With such an amazing beautiful environment we should have a very protective attitude for our area!!!

 

We are at Eastern Shores and someone left a tent frame on the beach 3 days ago. It is still there. If your county is so concerned about garbage left on the beach, why hasn't the county picked this up?? UNBELIEVABLE!!! Practice what you preach, or tourists are never going to believe you are serious about your clean beaches. I, for one, am appalled that this thing has been here this long. What is the problem??? I would appreciate an answer to this question. I have been visiting this beach for 21 years, and have never seen anything so blatantly ignored. Great job, Sowal, in reinforcing your laws. It isn't the tourons that are stupid, it is your county government. By the way, why have you removed all the garbage collection cans at each condo walkover? Do you not realize that this is going to encourage people who don't care to leave their trash on the beach? You all seem to be going backward in protecting your beautiful beaches. What a shame. This has been our worst visit ever. When coming home from Gulf Place we were followed by a black Cadillac SUV, driven by a mother and her entitled daughter. I followed the speed limit and this woman was up my bumper the whole way. When I approached a pedestrian crosswalk, and the car coming from the opposite direction had stopped, I stopped as well. The spoiled entitled brat leaned over and laid on the horn of her Mother's car. This continued all the way to Grayton Beach. This spoiled teenager continued to lean over and lay on the horn all the way. You people need our dollars to continue to feed your lifestyle, however after 21 years we will be seeking a more friendly, less snobby place to spend our money. I live at the base of the Smoky Mtns. and we would never treat our tourists the way you people do. Enjoy your rich, snotty lifestyle. We are not less than you people, we are more gracious and refined. New money does not equal class.

 

Hmmmm ....

Maybe change your board name.

You can thank a handful of greedy beachfront owners for ending garbage pickup on the beach. They are ruining our community.

 

@ThirtyAGal you need to get up to speed. The county has been cut off from picking up trash in a lot of areas. It is now considered tresspassing. Please don't don't blame all of the locals for someone tailgating you and being obnoxious.

 

I strongly suggest you find somewhere else to vacation. Our beaches don't need the likes of you.

 

Don't give up on us, There are a lot of locals who are working in front of the scenes and behind the scenes to counteract some of the recent changes, including the trash pick up. Most of our visitors are good, polite folks. A few aren't and those are the ones that have (for a large part) gotten us into this mess that we are in. At yesterday's Tourist Development Council meeting a major topic was the lack of enforcement and education of the basic rules of the beach. We locals want it better for you, as well as for ourselves. I think we can all agree that it has gotten out of hand.

 

?

 

so why don't the beach front owners clean their "yards"? I'm sure if there was trash in the front yard, owners would pick it up.

 

I'd bet most of them do. and it might make them angry. If people left stuff and trash in my yard it would make me angry. But I would clean it up. And I'd be proud to do it. But I would be angry.

 

First, it is unfortunate that you had the experience you did. Many gulf front owners are diligent about keeping their beaches cleaned up, right down to cigarette butts; however, there are also many rentals that are owned by absentee owners that may or may not have an agent paying attention to items left on the beach by renters or the public, or occasionally, an owner. In spite of the rhetoric about customary use and private beaches, many gulf front owners are sharing their beaches peacefully with respectful beach goers. If you see something on the beach that needs removal, anyone can notify the rental company for the property (if you are able to identify that from signage, name of property or other means) or Beach Maintenance at 850-267-4578, select option 3 and leave a message if there is no answer.

In terms of garbage cans at walkovers, it is the responsibility of private property owners to provide waste receptacles for their guests at this point. IMO, that should have been the case all along, but it wasn't. I believe our beaches are best served by NOT getting people in the habit of having trash cans all along the beach ON the beach, but rather have them conveniently located at street side exit points for easy pickup by Waste Management (our county garbage collector) or by the Tourist Development Council maintenance personnel when appropriate. All PUBLIC accesses to the beach should still have garbage cans at the street side and possibly on the beach as well. Best practices for beach stabilization and wildlife indicate that driving on the beach should not occur except in circumstances where there is a true need, not just for convenience purposes. Virtually all trash on the beach can be recovered without driving on the beach, particularly if people clean up after themselves. I find the attitude that "I paid $$$$ so I shouldn't have to clean up after myself" an irresponsible one and frankly, people who feel that way are not welcome here by most who live and visit here. The Boy Scouts have a saying "Pack it in, pack it out". Doesn't seem like a difficult concept. If someone takes items to the beach, surely they can take them back off the beach. Many locals and some visitors also walk the beaches routinely with a bag to pick up smaller debris such as plastics, food wrappers, cigarette butts (the #1 trash item that people leave on the beach), pieces of styrofoam and other things that will fit in their bag.

The driving experience you had is frustrating for everyone and growing, much to our dismay. People who are just plain rude (like the one you experienced), too many people for our roads during a considerable portion of the year, and too many drivers that are not focused on driving all contribute to this situation. We have the added issue of more and more people using golf cart type vehicles (SLVs: Street Legal Vehicles) and even similar vehicles that do not meet the guidelines for SLVs (no seat belts, no headlights are particular safety risks). Sorry this is so long, but I thought your concerns deserved some answers. You may want to try coming back in a couple of years and give us another chance. We hope our county government will improve their course on development, infrastructure, and beach rules so that everyone can go back to peaceful coexistence again.