The Beach!

We get lots of questions about the beach, so how about I describe everything in specific detail? If you have a question still-please ask! I’ll add the missing information here since I’m sure you aren’t the only one with that question.

The Windwood House is a beach house. Meaning immediately behind the house is a beach! As a Florida native, I’m (Kelly) used to this being common, but our friends from the North often ask me to describe or define “beach house.” We are not one house or condo in a community that shares a beach, nor are we far away from the beach but still “within walking distance.” Rather, the beach is immediately adjacent to our property. No really, it is right there. As in, “whoops I forgot my drink and I’ll just go grab it” close.

This photo hopefully can illustrate just how close the beach is. I took this picture while standing on the 1st floor balcony (which is about 14″ up in the air since the house sits on stilts). You’ll see at the bottom of the photo is the shrubbery just behind the house’s parking pad. There is perhaps ten to twenty feet from the parking pad until your toes are in the sand. This photo is taking between tides.

We are dog friendly and so is the beach. You must pick up after your dog anywhere on our property-including the beach-though we hope you always do this anyway. We’ve even provided some doggie bags to make it easy.

What’s the water like, you ask? Well, we are fortunate to have a sandbar between us and the open Gulf. That’s actually one of the main reasons the family chose this lot. This means we have gentle tides and calm waves. No big rollers or rip tides. It has saved us (and the beach!) from some pretty bad hurricanes.

If you’re look for big curling waves, we recommend visit Carrabelle Beach (about 10 minutes away) and St. George Island (about 20-25 minutes away) for that. You’ll find nice waves and deep water. We highly recommend the St. George Island State Park to enjoy big sand dunes and rolling waves. The water behind the house does not get super deep-unless you went to explore beyond the sandbar.

The water is absolutely safe, clean and healthy-evident in the abundant wildlife you’ll see. We have good tides that wash the water in and out, bringing more fresh water to our beach. The Carrabelle River isn’t far and contributes to a somewhat “brackish” water which occurs when river waters mix with the salty Gulf. Depending on the time of year, there’s sometimes a light silt. The color of the water isn’t like a crystal clear pool, but also isn’t dark and non-transparent. You can see your feet through the water easily as you walk out. And from the balcony (if the sun isn’t reflecting too much) you can see the dolphins, ducks, or manatees just under the water’s surface.

Many of our guests have told us they love how close the beach is to the back steps at Windwood, and they simply visit Carrabelle Beach or St. George Island when they want to enjoy some big waves and deep water.