Need to Know Info

BEACH FLAGS & Rip Currents

Rip currents are strong currents and sometimes deadly currents that are present in large bodies of water. Even to a trained eye these can be hard to spot. Check beach safety flags each time before entering the water and review rip current safety information. Life jackets and other flotation devices save lives! On double red flag days: Ankle deep is too deep. If the Gulf is too unsafe consider visiting St Joe Bay instead.

Mexico Beach does not have a beach flag system. Check online beach safety warnings before entering the water.

Helpful Links:

• Gulf County Beach Safety Guide
• Rip Current Awareness Safety Information
• NWS How to Avoid Rip Currents
• NWS Rip Current Outlook – Panhandle Gulf Coast
• South Gulf Fire & Rescue Safety Links

• Cape San Blas Beach Flags
• Panama City Beach Beach Flags (Mexico Beach Resource)
• Apalachicola & St George Island Beach Flags

WEATHER ALERTS

Gulf County Sheriffs Department has an outstanding app that has notifications for local weather alerts. I recommend downloading this app and turning on weather notifications while you are staying in our area. The best part is you can delete it when you leave! Other weather information can be found under our Tropics webpage.

Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Google Play Store App
Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Apple App

LEASH LAW

All pets must be on a handheld leash at all times. All pet waste must be bagged and disposed of in a trash can and not just covered up by sand. Please be a good steward of our beaches and follow our rules and ordinances even if those around you do not. Also, if your dog loves to swim in the ocean make sure to bring a long lead. Regardless of the leash law a dog might not know how to get out of a current and would tire quickly without proper flotation device and lead to reel them back in.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Gulf County has a plenty of wonderful events including farmers markets, sea turtle festivals, 4th of July Fireworks, crafting events, and live music among other things to experience while you are in town. Check out our Welcome Center’s Calendar Events to find something fun to do during your stay.

LIGHTS OUT – May 1 thru Oct 31

Our area is home to hundreds of nesting sea turtles every year. The sea turtles are disoriented by the artificial lights coming from our homes. Please limit lights, interior and exterior, to only what is needed. Pull curtains and close blinds to limit to amount of light pollution. Flashlights or any other light used on the beaches after dark should have a red light filter so not to distrupt the nesting sea turtles.

LEAVE NO TRACE

Gulf County along with nearly every other Florida Beach participates in LEAVE NO TRACE. This means, simply, that nothing should be left on the beaches when your family leaves the beach in the evening. No trash, gear, food, debris from fires, or anything else may be left on the beaches overnight. Leave Only Footprints!

FIRE SAFETY

FIREWORKS– Recreational fireworks, except sparklers, are illegal in the state of Florida. Fireworks are extra dangerous in our dry beach environment! All it takes is a spark….
Apalachicola, Port St Joe, & Mexico Beach all have free community fireworks events for your family to enjoy.

BEACH BONFIRES– When you have a fire on the beach please dig a hole deep enough to protect the fire from winds. Do not have fires when the winds are blowing onshore towards the houses. Make sure that the fire is COMPLETELY out and all remnants removed before you leave the beach. (Do not simply cover it up with sand, this pollutes our beaches.) Oh, and fill in the hole!

Golf Carts & Gulf County

Unfortunately none of our current homes are Golf Carts friendly. You may not drive golf carts or ATVs on, next to, or across any roadway with a speed limit over 35 MPH or on an unapproved State highway. Cape San Blas Road and HWY 98 are both a state highways and 45 MPH. This is Florida law. This means if you rent a golf cart while staying at one of our homes you will not be able to drive it anywhere except on the side road of the home you have rented (if applicable.) Save your money and rent some fun beach gear or a beach wheel chair instead!

TIME ZONES

All of Teresa’s Beach Homes are in EASTERN time zone. Mexico Beach, Panama City, Panama City Beach, Wewahitchka, and White City are all CENTRAL time zone. Port St Joe, Windmark, St Joe Beach, Cape San Blas, & Indian Pass are all EASTERN time zone. To prevent your phone from changing time zones check your settings, turn off auto, and select a time zone manually.

If you arrive to town early…

Medical Resources – Pets Too!

We hope that you do not experience a medical emergency while on vacation, however, while we play hard sometimes things happen. Here are some resources to help you find the best care for your family. If you are having a medical emergency please call 911!

Helpful Tips & Information

• SUNSCREEN You can get burnt even if it’s cloudy. The sun bounces off the water, the sand, and our metal roofs giving you a quadruple whammy. We recommend purchase before you arrive. It seems a bit cheaper outside of the coastal regions, but if you forget or need more all of our stores sell it! Even the gas stations.
• Pool Access: Rish Park is now offering a day pass for access to their pool to ALL guests and not just those with special mobility needs. It’s $6 for a car with up to 8 people or $2 per individual on a bike. Rish park is located on Cape San Blas/St Joseph Peninsula between the Cape Tradin’ Post and St Joseph State Park. Rish Park Website
  
• BUGS Florida has bugs in every season. Black & yellow flies come and go and hopefully are gone in a day or two. LOCAL PRO TIP- Buy a bottle of Australian Gold AND/OR Cactus Juice and bring it with you. If you use Australian Gold with bronzer DO NOT wipe it off with our white towels! It ruins them. Australian Gold without bug spray will not protect you against mosquitoes or other bugs. We suggest you wear bug spray with deet or anything else you feel comfortable with starting at dusk and be aware of this when swimming at night. No See Ums are small gnat like bugs that can get through screens. Do not leave your windows or doors open at night even if they have screens. Sometimes these bites can take a day or so to show up and are very itchy. Palmetto bugs also come out in when it rains! These are large bugs that fly. They can only live outside are not infestation roaches. They come inside when you open doors or windows, but die within 24 hours of entering your home. Don’t believe me? Google it!
• CRITTERS Florida plays host to a wide variety of critters including friendly and not so friendly. We recommend you always wear shoes when walking to and from the beaches as well as walking around our trails and homes. Ensure your dogs are always on a leash and that you have a flashlight while out and about after dark. (Red light filters for flashlights on the beach can be purchased at Scallop Cove.)
• WIFI, TV, PHONE For outage try unplugging your router/modem for 10 seconds and plugging it back in. Wait a few minutes. If it says you have the incorrect password also try this. If that does not help please CALL 850-229-6619 to report an outage. Do not hit the reset button it will require a service call. If you’ve already done this call the service line to report.
• TRIP PLANNING VisitGulf.com offers a concierge program that gives you 1 free hour of trip planning services! Give them a call and they can help you plan some awesome adventures.
• WATER PRESSURE The county has recently upgraded our water system on Cape San Blas and has made great improvements in regards to water pressure. However, during peak times of the year you may experience low water pressure. The pressure should improve the lower in the home you are. If your top floor has having poor pressure, consider using the lowest floor with a water source. Unfortunately this is part of being in the middle of no where and that’s why we love Cape San Blas, right?

Teresa’s Beach Homes Reservation Line – 850-229-1522 (Terri)
Teresa’s Beach Homes Maintenance & Service Line – 850-229-6619 (Teresa)
Non-Emergency Gulf County Sheriff/ Dispatch 850-227-1115

If you experience an emergency call 911