Spending your winter on our beautiful Alabama beaches? We’d like to ask you to keep those beaches clean and help preserve them for future generations.

How can you do that? Glad you asked.

First, just follow our Leave Only Footprints rules. Basically, the regulations prohibit leaving anything on the beach overnight. That gear you tote down to the shoreline – things like chairs or umbrellas – needs to be removed each night. If items are left on the sand, crews will remove them and dispose of them. (Just to be clear: These items will not be returned.)

The second thing we’d ask is that you make sure trash (cans, food wrappers, etc.) ends up in the proper bin. 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 right one.

Third, watch out for plant vegetation when you make your way to and from the beach. There are boardwalks or marked paths to help you avoid the sea oats and sand dunes. Those are important to protect our coastline from erosion, so of course we’d like to keep them in place.

Last, protect our wildlife. Don’t feed the shorebirds. It’s fun, but it takes away their fear of humans and that can be dangerous for them. It also makes them accustomed to picking up food at the beach and that can mean mistaking wrappers or plastic for food. We all know that’s not good. Also, watch out for their nesting areas and leave them undisturbed.

That’s it. Simple, right? We’re glad you’re here. Enjoy your stay and Leave Only Footprints behind.