Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace
Building on the Leave No Trace program, which encourages beachgoers to be environmental stewards and remove personal items from the beach each night, fill in holes and use designated dune walkovers and paths, Your Beach. Your Place. helps beachgoers navigate and take pride in protecting and caring for one of Northwest Florida's most precious resources--the beaches.
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics
The
Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a national organization that protects the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly. The Center accomplishes this mission by delivering cutting-edge education and research to millions of people across the country every year.
Enjoy your world. Leave No Trace.
Leave No Trace on the Beach
The beach is like any other fragile ecosystem. In order to help protect and ensure your beach remains clean and pristine, beach-goers are encouraged to:
- Use dune walkovers and designated paths to the beach. Do not walk on the dunes.
- Remove trash from the beach
- Leave what you find
- Respect wildlife (look but don’t touch)
- Be considerate of other beach-goers
- Fill in any holes you dig (for the safety of other beach-goers and nesting sea turtles)
Help Endangered Sea Turtles
Sea turtle nesting season is from May 1 to November 1 and endangered sea turtles need your help so they can lay their nest and get safely back to the Gulf of Mexico.
Keep lights that can be seen from beach turned off
Fill in your holes and smooth out your sandcastles for the night
Take your “stuff” off the beach when you leave (see Leave No Trace Ordinance)
Put your trash in the trash bins provided
Report any seen sea turtle activity to the Walton County Sheriff
Use turtle safe flashlight cover on your light when walking the beach at night. These are found on line at
www.turtlesafeonline.com or receive them locally at the Visit South Walton Welcome Center (corner of Highway 98b and US 331) or the Blue Giraffe in WaterColor.
For more information visit,
South Walton Turtle Watch
online
for Walton County Beaches or
Emerald Coast Turtle Watch on Facebook for Okaloosa County Beaches for the latest updates and information.
We appreciate your support in keeping the area’s beaches clean, dark and flat.
Local Leave No Trace Ordinance for the Beaches
Following the international Leave No Trace program, Walton County Leave No Trace Ordinance
2017-05 supports this program by requiring personal items to be removed from the beach each night. Personal articles that are found abandoned on the beach one hour after dusk until one hour after sunrise will be removed. Leave No Trace is monitored by TDC Beach Code Enforcement of Walton County. If you have additional questions, please call Beach Code
Enforcement at (850) 267‐4578.
BEACH SAFETY
Safety is important when enjoying the area’s beaches. Surf conditions change frequently and it is important to “Know Before You Go.” Dangerous rip currents claim lives along beaches throughout the United States. In Walton and Okaloosa Counties, seasonal lifeguards work to educate guests on the dangers of rip currents and the flag warning system, which identifies current conditions.
Click here
for current conditions in Walton County.
Click here
for current conditions in Okaloosa County.
Flag Warning System & Rip Currents - How to Escape
BEACH GUIDELINES
Okaloosa Beach Rules & Regulations (Destin Beaches):
Okaloosa Island follows county regulations. Beach rules enforced by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department.
NO LITTER on the beach.
Everyone should know this one, but we find stacks of abandoned trash, cans, cigarette butts, and bottles every day. We want to keep our beaches beautiful for everyone to enjoy.
NO GLASS on the beach. No glass containers on beaches. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in all County and City of Destin beach parks.
NO ANIMALS on the beach.
Animals are not allowed on the beaches for health and safety reasons.
NO FIRES on the beach. We do not allow fires on the beach because we want to keep the sand white and also for health and safety reasons.
NO VEHICLES on the beach. Beach cleaning machines, approved beach services, and emergency vehicles are the only exceptions.
NO BOATING near the beach.
An Okaloosa County Ordinance requires motorboats (including jet skis, wave runners, etc.) to stay at least 700 feet from the Gulf shoreline.
Walton County Ordinances:
To prevent crowding, no tents larger than 10x10 are permitted on county owned or maintained beaches and must be set up on the top 1/3 of the beach. (Waterways Ordinance 2018-01; Section 22-54)
Please allow a 15’ setback from dunes and water’s edge for emergency vehicles.
No glass containers are permitted on the beach (Waterways Ordinance 2018-01; Section 22-54(d)).
No charcoal grills are permitted on the beach, propane grills may be permitted if 225 sq. inches (approximately 16" x 20") or smaller.
Removal of sand, water or vegetation is strictly prohibited.
Beachgoers should stay on designated paths and beach walkovers/ do not walk on the dunes.
Leave No Trace Ordinance. Items left on the beach overnight will be discarded.
Permits required for dogs, bonfires and vehicles on the beach in Walton County. Click here
for details on bonfire permits.
Dogs are permitted on Walton County beaches on a leash with a beach permit dog tag during specific hours (4 p.m. – 8 a.m.). Click here for details. Dog owners risk up to $500 in fines for dogs on the beach not in compliance. NO DOGS are allowed on Okaloosa County Beaches.
Learn more about Beach Safety, Beach Rules & Rip Currents atVisit South Walton Beaches online or
Emerald Coast Beaches online.
