Wooden boardwalk through sea oats to the beach at Mexico Beach, Florida

Can you have a bonfire on the beach at Mexico Beach?

No

there is no permit to apply for

Fires on the beach are banned outright inside the Mexico Beach city limits. The ordinance is one sentence long and has no exceptions and no permit process.

Permit

None exists

Fires

Banned

Nearest legal

Gulf County

The rule

One sentence, no exceptions.

No fires will be allowed on the beach within the corporate limits of the City.

§ 2.09.03, Mexico Beach Land Development Code

It was adopted by Ordinance 711 in 2019 and sits in the Land Development Code rather than in the beach chapter of the Code of Ordinances, which is why people miss it. Because the ban is unconditional, none of the usual questions apply — there is no setback, no size limit, no fuel rule and no permit, because there is nothing to permit.

Penalty: as a Land Development Code violation it runs through code enforcement, where penalties do not exceed $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat. A fire on the dunes is worse — § 99.06 makes that a second-degree misdemeanour at $500 per offence.

Banned alongside it

Four more things the beach chapters prohibit.

Worth knowing before you pack the car.

Lighting or maintaining open fires on the dunes — a separate prohibition at § 99.04

Glass of any kind on the beach within the city limits

Unattended personal property on the beach between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. — it becomes city property

Holes deeper than two feet, and any hole left unfilled at the end of the day

Where fires are legal

Twenty minutes west, the answer changes completely.

Gulf County allows beach fires with no permit at all — a genuinely different regime, a short drive away.

St. Joe Beach and WindMark Beach, on Highway 98 — Gulf County rules apply

Cape San Blas and Indian Pass, out on the peninsula

The Gulf County rule: no permit, but 100 feet from any structure, natural wood only, attended throughout, and everything carried off the same day

Inside T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, fires are campground fire rings only

More Mexico Beach rules

The other three, in the same shape.

Staying in Mexico Beach?

Rentals booked direct with the owner. No service fee.

Browse rentals

Official

§ 2.09.03, Mexico Beach Land Development Code City of Mexico Beach — beach rules

Rules and regulations change. This page is intended as a general overview to help you plan your trip and is not a substitute for reading the current official rules yourself. Laws, permit requirements, and enforcement can change at any time, and this content may not reflect the most current version. It is your responsibility to verify current rules directly with the relevant city, county, or State of Florida agency. Book Direct Forgotten Coast is not responsible for citations, fines, accidents, or other consequences resulting from reliance on this page.