Make Sure You Have Beach Access At Your Vacation Rental

Kurt LischkaJanuary 10, 20262 min

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Make Sure You Have Beach Access At Your Vacation Rental

When you lay down your hard-earned money here in South Walton for the” vacation of a lifetime,” you need to make sure you have easy beach access without any hassles. South Walton has a lot of legal issues with beach access. There are ongoing court battles regarding private beaches, public access, and customary use.

It can all be confusing and intimidating: beach access, private beaches, deeded beach access – locked walkovers, chains and signs on the beach are scary. Some private beaches are marked with signs and monitored, some are not. Some public accesses have walkover to public beach, but the public part of the beach might only be 50 feet wide, sandwiched between private beach.

See our guide to Beach Access, Parking, restrooms, lifeguards, and more info.

A surefire way to avoid problems is to rent a Gulf front home or condo. They can be surprisingly affordable, especially in shoulder season and off season. Book online through our rental partners.

If you find a rental that’s price is too good to be true, a reason may be that it has no nearby beach access, or very limited. However you may also pay top dollar, only to arrive and find you are a mile or more from a public beach access.

If you’re not renting a Gulf front home or condo, or in a private resort or community with its own beach, be careful what you rent, and make sure you know where your closest SoWal public beach access is.

VRBO and AirBNB are full of South Walton rental listings that are no clear about beach access, or downright misleading. Many rental companies are not always upfront either. Best to talk to someone who will give you the straight talk and knows the ins and outs.

Most places along Scenic 30A, Miramar Beach, or Inlet Beach are not too far from a public access or state park, but some are too far to bike or walk easily. Only the larger public accesses have parking, and often parking gets filled up in the summer and spring break.

South Walton Beach Access Map and Info >