Let’s play a game…
Show the tourists how much money they’d need to pay a local to go to “their” beaches this time of year.
If u/W-S-M-F-P is willing, all proceeds to go to local homeless shelters. I got downvoted hard the other day for even suggesting we have homeless people here in paradise.
Last October, we used the Coleman Pavilion and showed our blue Seaside wristbands to the guards for beach access. Once on the beach, we could rent chairs or sit in our own chairs inside the “70’ gap” between chair rental companies. Exiting the beach has never been an issue and historically has not been monitored.
Recently, I’ve heard and read a lot about the private vs. public beach issue. Has something changed this year, or are people just growing more frustrated?
Between the war over the sand, crowding, parking issues, and McMansions the once pristine and charming town of Seaside is losing its sparkle and hardly resembles the original vision of Robert Davis.
God damn has Walton County/State of Florida made a disaster of the beaches. Growing-up in the area (80s), south Walton was absolutely beautiful and completely undeveloped. I know it's too much to expect it to have stayed that way, but I can't believe my panhandle folks have let any beaches be privatized. It's absolutely disgusting.
In my dreams, all private beaches get a really nice treatment of needles and rusty nails mixed into the sand.
Believe it, my guy… believe it.
Tourists paying north of $5k a week to rent a house, but can’t even get on the beach. Proper ouroboros territory nowadays.
Nothing will change until tourism dries up. The locals don’t want to admit the town survives only because of tourism but it’s the truth. All you can do is encourage people not to visit and spend money and then maybe the city officials will reconsider what they’ve allowed to happen with the beach access
Yep. We’ve been going to South Walton since 1999, making the long drive sometimes more than once a year. (We even bought a little 0.3-acre lot in Point Washington that we had planned to build on, but we’ve since decided against it. We get letters every day from random landgrabbers asking us to sell at stupid prices.)
We’ve made great friends and memories, but we haven’t returned since 2021. The beach situation is untenable. Beach access is too dicey unless one can afford to stay in a beachfront home, and the public beaches are too crowded and overrun by (often rude) vendors. And respectfully, reading how locals feel about tourists (and *gasp* NYers … even though we live far upstate and NY is far more than “the city”) makes us feel a bit unwelcome. Tourist money has made the area, but greed is tearing it apart. It’s so sad to see happen to such a precious place.
We still love the people and incredibly special places in the Panhandle, but we now go to Navarre, Pensacola Beach, and PCB—where we can get on and off the beach and enjoy it without complicated rules.
If you think that sentiment isn’t going to spread, talk to some of the others up here who used to visit SoWal regularly.
All of it is bizarre. It’s hard to understand why seaside or water color would want to prevent entry to those coming from the beach, but whatever. For me, Grayton Bch is the last decent spot left and even it has changed a lot. As a part time resident, it’s sad to see, but until the law changes, I don’t know why anyone would vacation here.
Watching the video of the elder who grew up there makes me cry every time as all I see is my elders and the memories of what once was an amazing area. The complete panhandle area. Not just 30A!! 💔
Although I don’t agree with it, I understand the legality of private beaches, and how legally owners have the right to do what they want with the beach. But how in the world can they legally stop you from entering a public space? That blows my mind. I feel like out of all of this, that is the one thing that would not legally hold up.
If I own a restaurant, I totally understand that I have the right to let in and keep out whoever I want. But if someone were in there, how in the world would I have the right to keep them from leaving? This is just ridiculous.
At this point you would have to pay me to go to Seaside
I wil pay you $20.00 (no expenses) to go to there. To the beach, on the sand, for four minutes.
I’ll match it
Let’s play a game… Show the tourists how much money they’d need to pay a local to go to “their” beaches this time of year. If u/W-S-M-F-P is willing, all proceeds to go to local homeless shelters. I got downvoted hard the other day for even suggesting we have homeless people here in paradise.
$40😂😂😂no way! We do have homeless they camp in the woods.
I got 5 on it
No. The gate is locked on both sides and monitored by security. It's obnoxious.
Is there a certain time they start/stop gatekeeping? It's not locked up through the middle of the night is it?
It's always locked.
Last October, we used the Coleman Pavilion and showed our blue Seaside wristbands to the guards for beach access. Once on the beach, we could rent chairs or sit in our own chairs inside the “70’ gap” between chair rental companies. Exiting the beach has never been an issue and historically has not been monitored. Recently, I’ve heard and read a lot about the private vs. public beach issue. Has something changed this year, or are people just growing more frustrated? Between the war over the sand, crowding, parking issues, and McMansions the once pristine and charming town of Seaside is losing its sparkle and hardly resembles the original vision of Robert Davis.
Welcome to the world of privately owned acres to public lands
God damn has Walton County/State of Florida made a disaster of the beaches. Growing-up in the area (80s), south Walton was absolutely beautiful and completely undeveloped. I know it's too much to expect it to have stayed that way, but I can't believe my panhandle folks have let any beaches be privatized. It's absolutely disgusting. In my dreams, all private beaches get a really nice treatment of needles and rusty nails mixed into the sand.
Believe it, my guy… believe it. Tourists paying north of $5k a week to rent a house, but can’t even get on the beach. Proper ouroboros territory nowadays.
Nothing will change until tourism dries up. The locals don’t want to admit the town survives only because of tourism but it’s the truth. All you can do is encourage people not to visit and spend money and then maybe the city officials will reconsider what they’ve allowed to happen with the beach access
Yep. We’ve been going to South Walton since 1999, making the long drive sometimes more than once a year. (We even bought a little 0.3-acre lot in Point Washington that we had planned to build on, but we’ve since decided against it. We get letters every day from random landgrabbers asking us to sell at stupid prices.) We’ve made great friends and memories, but we haven’t returned since 2021. The beach situation is untenable. Beach access is too dicey unless one can afford to stay in a beachfront home, and the public beaches are too crowded and overrun by (often rude) vendors. And respectfully, reading how locals feel about tourists (and *gasp* NYers … even though we live far upstate and NY is far more than “the city”) makes us feel a bit unwelcome. Tourist money has made the area, but greed is tearing it apart. It’s so sad to see happen to such a precious place. We still love the people and incredibly special places in the Panhandle, but we now go to Navarre, Pensacola Beach, and PCB—where we can get on and off the beach and enjoy it without complicated rules. If you think that sentiment isn’t going to spread, talk to some of the others up here who used to visit SoWal regularly.
Dogwood beach access is the closest to seaside.
All of it is bizarre. It’s hard to understand why seaside or water color would want to prevent entry to those coming from the beach, but whatever. For me, Grayton Bch is the last decent spot left and even it has changed a lot. As a part time resident, it’s sad to see, but until the law changes, I don’t know why anyone would vacation here.
The whole idea is to keep the place from becoming Panama City Beach
You can go up the access into the town (to spend money there) but can’t use *their* access to go back down onto the beach
This conflicts with the top comment. Which is it? I would assume this. They would want people coming up to spend money right?
Yes I have a friend who works the access/chairs who told me this a couple weeks ago. Of course they want your money
Watching the video of the elder who grew up there makes me cry every time as all I see is my elders and the memories of what once was an amazing area. The complete panhandle area. Not just 30A!! 💔
[Seaside Be Like](https://www.instagram.com/p/C85bIw7OeBb/?igsh=MXF4bm52MWs3cTRtZw==)
I noticed that they tend to leave the gate open during the off-season.
Place is unsustainable without local dollars in the off-season.
Although I don’t agree with it, I understand the legality of private beaches, and how legally owners have the right to do what they want with the beach. But how in the world can they legally stop you from entering a public space? That blows my mind. I feel like out of all of this, that is the one thing that would not legally hold up. If I own a restaurant, I totally understand that I have the right to let in and keep out whoever I want. But if someone were in there, how in the world would I have the right to keep them from leaving? This is just ridiculous.
I would guess (wildly) it’s bc the path from the beach before you get to the public street is private