We love having folks visit our beaches all year, including during the winter. It’s a wonderful time on the coast, with moderate temperatures and beaches that are just as beautiful as they are the rest of the year.

We ask all visitors to follow Leave Only Footprints regulations to keep the natural beauty for many years to come.

Regulations prohibit leaving anything on the beach overnight. That includes any gear you tote down to the shoreline, such as chairs, umbrellas or tents. If left behind, they will be removed and disposed of by crews. Just to be clear, items are not returned to owners.

We also ask you to make sure trash, including cans and food wrappers, end up in the proper bin. Same goes for single-use bottles and soda cans. Our public beaches in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores have plenty of trash and recycling containers, so make sure you put your waste in the correct one.

Another way to protect our shoreline is to avoid walking on vegetation while making your way to the beach. Using boardwalks or marked paths help keep the sea oats and sand dunes intact. It’s important to keep those in place to protect our coastline from erosion.

We also ask that you take steps to protect local wildlife. While it’s fun to feed shorebirds, it takes away their fear of humans and can be dangerous for them. It also gets them accustomed to picking up food at the beach and they can mistake wrappers or plastic for food.

It’s not hard to keep our beaches clean and protect them for future generations. We just ask that everyone do their part, no matter when they visit.