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In front of Back Porch, Destin FL 8/8/17
Heidi sent us another update:
Additionally, researchers need samples of June grass! Would anybody be willing to collect samples? Please see details here. This kind of information could potentially make the June Grass Report even more useful. Thanks in advance!
Live from Destin
Thank you Clay for sending in this report and pic:
“I have been here at El Matador at the end of Okaloosa Island since Saturday. A little algae and some grass out in the water but nothing to complain about. In my opinion you would have to go too far to be safe to get to the bulk of it. My grossness scale would be “0”. As far as the fish kill, there are dead fish. At first i thought it was some left over bait a fisherman discarded but soon realized i was wrong. Its not like they are all over the place but they are here. Nothing too bad though.”
June Grass is a 1 on Okaloosa Island
I stopped at Beasley Park and had a look around. The water looked nice, a nice emerald green, and I only saw a couple random small clumps of June grass. The wind is from the South. Choctawhatchee Bay looks a bit tannic and Destin Pass and Crab Island waters are a deep shade of navy and also a bit tannic.
Red flag day on the Panhandle.
There is no June grass report today because of the red flags and ongoing rip current warning. I have been to the beach and the waves are big. Do not go in the water, it isn’t safe!
June Grass is in at Henderson Beach & Blue Mountain Beach
I’ve got reports from the POST BEACH CONDITIONS HERE page that the June grass is in at Henderson (Destin) and Blue Mountain (Santa Rosa Beach 30-A). I haven’t had time to go look yet. Subscribe to the comments on POST BEACH CONDITIONS HERE if you want the most current updates from people on the local beaches. Thank you to the reporting parties and please send pics if you have them!
June Grass Update for Walton County 8/11/13:AM
June grass update for Walton County 8/11/13:AM
5 on the June Grass Grossness Index
It’s a very pretty day to be at the beach even if the water isn’t so pretty. The June Grass looks more spinach than broccoli right now, so hopefully that means it’s dying and will go away soon. I think it’s doing the clumping thing, so if you walk a few hundred yards up or down the beach you may be able to avoid it somewhat. The beach water quality reports are good for both Walton and Okaloosa county, except Clement Taylor Park, which is bayside in Destin. When I drove across the pass earlier this week both the pass and Crab Island had finally gone back to blue water instead of brown. However, when I was driving east on 98 on Okaloosa Island I could smell the rotting June Grass from the road. Yuck.
While it’s not ideal swimming conditions right now, there are some biggish boogie board waves coming in over the first two sandbars (there are three right now: 2 close to the beach and the usual “2nd sandbar” out further). These waves aren’t quite big enough for regular surfing but might be an interesting challenge for more advanced SUP. There are also a lot of shorebirds around for the birdwatchers to enjoy. I didn’t see any surf fishers out yet today. As kids go back to school tourist season seems to be winding down. I’ve been quite pleased with the pleasantness of visitors we’ve had on the beaches this year: nobody was so annoying that I left the beach (which has happened often in years past).
In the future there will not be June Grass Reports on red flag days because I don’t encourage anybody to go in the water on a red flag.
At the time this report was made the beach flags were yellow, but check them again before you head to the beach. In Walton County you can text “beachflag” to 67463*
I would love it if you would share your personal June Grass and beach condition reports on the Most Recent June Grass Sightings & Beach Conditions page, to further improve the June Grass Report. It would also e great if you left a comment to tell me where you’re traveling from to visit the beach!
If there isn’t a current June Grass report up on this site I suggest checking the link to local beach cams on the left side of this page. They can often give you an idea of what the water is like. It is also important to “Know Before You Go” and check local beach flags. They are updated twice daily at 9:30am and 1:30pm.
PLEASE ENJOY THE BEACH RESPONSIBLY!
The June Grass Report 