Shoreline Defender

Shoreline Defender Shoreline Defender App is expanding fast — now covering every coastal county in Florida.

It’s your beach access watchdog, forecasting public shoreline boundaries. Built to inform, protect, and empower, it helps you know where the public beach begins.

They are not golf carts.
05/28/2026

They are not golf carts.

05/27/2026

🌊 RIP CURRENT SAFETY ALERT 🌊

As we move closer into summer along the coast, changing tide cycles and stronger wave action can increase the risk of dangerous rip currents the beaches.

A rip current is a fast-moving channel of water flowing away from shore. Even strong swimmers can get caught in one quickly.

⚠️ If you get caught in a rip current:
• Stay calm
• Don’t swim directly back to shore
• Swim parallel to the beach until you escape the current
• Then angle back toward shore
• If you can’t escape, float or tread water and wave for help

🏖️ Before heading to the beach:
• Check the beach flag conditions
• Never swim alone
• Keep a close eye on children near the water’s edge
• When in doubt, stay out

The water can look calm while dangerous currents are still present underneath the surface. Respect the water and stay aware so everyone makes it home safely after a beach day

Today, Walton County passed a resolution reaffirming its support for public beach use and public beach access while also...
05/26/2026

Today, Walton County passed a resolution reaffirming its support for public beach use and public beach access while also specifically recognizing Dune Allen Beach Inc. for its willingness to continue sharing the beach with both locals and visitors.

The resolution acknowledges something everyone already knows: years of lawsuits, customary use battles, quiet title disputes, and conflicts between visitors, property owners, vendors, and the County have created major hostility surrounding Walton County’s beaches.

But despite all of that, the County still officially stated that beach access and shared use remain important to this community and to the local economy built around our beaches.

One of the most notable parts of the resolution was the County specifically naming and recognizing Dune Allen Beach Inc. for “graciously” allowing shared beach use instead of choosing conflict.

This resolution does not settle ownership disputes or restore customary use rights, but it is still a very public statement from the County supporting beach access, shared use, and cooperation instead of division.

We just moved through another neap tide cycle, which is when the difference between high and low tide is smaller and Gul...
05/26/2026

We just moved through another neap tide cycle, which is when the difference between high and low tide is smaller and Gulf conditions tend to be more moderate and stable. As we head toward the first of June, those tidal swings will begin increasing along the beaches of Walton County, Florida.

High tides will start pushing farther up the beach, while low tides will recede even farther out, creating more noticeable changes in the shoreline throughout the day. These larger tidal swings can also influence currents and water movement along the beach, especially around sandbars and cuts, so it’s always important to stay aware of changing surf conditions and potential rip currents.

It’s a good reminder of how dynamic our coastline really is from day to day.

Want to track tide cycles in your area? Check out the Shoreline Defender app. We’re now statewide across Florida, helping people stay informed about tides, shoreline conditions, and beach access.

We just moved through another neap tide cycle, which is the period when the difference between high and low tide is smal...
05/26/2026

We just moved through another neap tide cycle, which is the period when the difference between high and low tide is smaller and the Gulf tends to stay more moderate and stable. As we head toward the first of June, that will begin to change along the beaches of Walton County, Florida.

The high tides will start pushing farther up the beach, while the low tides will recede even farther out, creating wider swings in the shoreline throughout the day.

It’s one of the more noticeable tide transitions of the season and a reminder of how much our beaches naturally change from day to day.

Want to track tide cycles in your area? Check out the Shoreline Defender app. We’re now statewide across Florida, helping people stay informed about tides, shoreline conditions, and beach access.

05/25/2026

Looks miserable.

05/23/2026

What started as an amicus brief supporting Dune Allen Beach Inc. has now turned into two separate proposed resolutions regarding public beach use.

Oddly enough, there’s no copy of the proposed resolutions attached to Tuesday’s agenda for the public to review before the meeting.

If you support Dune Allen Beach Inc. or support public beach use, you may want to attend.

Walton County Board of County Commissioners
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
1:00 PM
South Walton Annex Board Room

Agenda Item #24:
Request to approve and authorize the Chairman to sign proposed resolution(s) on Public Beach Use.

05/20/2026

This song was inspired by the Dune Allen Beach quiet title case and the fight over what parts of the shoreline were actually deeded property in the first place.

The key issue? Many of these beachfront lots were originally given specific deeded measurements in feet by Dune Allen Beach Inc. A measurements that stopped well short of today’s constantly shifting shoreline. The deeds described fixed distances and platted lots, not ownership extending endlessly south. 

That’s what the quiet title fight is really about.

Meanwhile the public is dealing with:

• Trespassing disputes

• Signs in the sand

• Empty chairs and umbrella lining the shoreline to deter beachgoers

• And one particularly aggressive beachfront owner is suing both the Sheriff’s Department and a senior citizen over beach conflicts on sand that wasn’t included in their original deed.

So this song remembers what Dune Allen used to feel like before the lawsuits, confrontations, and attempts to redefine the shoreline.

And yes… AI helped make the song.

Because apparently even artificial intelligence can read a plat map and ask, “Wait… if the deed says a fixed number of feet, how does it suddenly reach the Gulf?”

So now even Henderson Beach State Park has officially entered the “better reserve your spot before sunrise” era. Beginn...
05/18/2026

So now even Henderson Beach State Park has officially entered the “better reserve your spot before sunrise” era.

Beginning May 15, visitors now have to make a reservation just to drive into Henderson Beach State Park. No more casually pulling up to the gate and heading to the beach.

Florida State Parks says the new reservation system is meant to reduce traffic backups and long entrance lines stacking out onto the highway.

But you can’t help but ask the obvious question…

Is this happening because more people are being pushed away from traditional beach accesses, harassed off the wet sand, or squeezed out by endless rows of rental chairs and private property drama… so now everyone is flooding into the last reliable public beach option left?

For years people said:
“Just go to the state park.”

Well… apparently now you need a reservation for that too.

Meanwhile the average beach day in Destin now requires:
✔️ Checking tide charts
✔️ Studying property line signs
✔️ Dodging ghost chairs
✔️ Wondering if someone’s about to lecture you about where your towel is located
✔️ And now… reserving a parking spot days ahead of time just to visit a state park beach.

Florida beach access in 2026:
“Public beach… while supplies last.”

I’ll post the reservation link in the comments for anyone planning to go.

Address

Destin, FL
32550

Website

https://www.shorelinedefenderapp.com/

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