Loggerheads, and sometimes greens or Kemp’s ridleys, use these barrier-island beaches. FWC’s model lighting rule and beach-cleaning guidance set nesting season for Santa Rosa, Escambia, Okaloosa, and the rest of the Panhandle as May 1–October 31 (southeast Florida counties start March 1; that is not us). Hatchlings can still be working through October. Treat the whole window as live.

If you see a turtle on the sand: back up, lights off, no flash. Watch from a distance. Call it in if it is injured or someone is harassing it.

Lights

Hatchlings crawl toward the brightest horizon. That used to be the Gulf. Porch lights, string lights, and a phone flashlight are how they crawl into a parking lot. FWC’s lighting guidance: keep it low, long-wavelength (amber/red), and shielded. Decorative lights that are not for human safety should be off for the season. NPS Gulf Islands says the same thing in plainer park language: artificial light disorients adults and hatchlings. Turn it off or shield it. If you see a turtle at night, keep your distance and kill the light.

Leave-no-trace is turtle infrastructure

Santa Rosa County already tells you not to leave gear on Navarre Beach overnight, not to camp, not to have fires, not to bring pets onto the beach. That is not a vibe. Holes, tents, and chairs left after dark are obstacles for nesting females and hatchlings. Fill holes. Pack it out at the end of the day. County page and the ordinance are linked below. Gulf Islands: no pets on seashore beaches; do not disturb nests.

If you want to learn, not pose

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center is in the Marine Park. Their mission and visitor info live on their site — hours belong there. NPS lists volunteer lighting work on seashore pages. We are not a gift shop.

Report: someone disturbing a nest, or an injured / dead / harassed sea turtle — FWC Wildlife Alert 888-404-FWCC (3922), or report online from the FWC sea turtle program page. Cell: *FWC or #FWC.
Official pages

Sources

  1. FWC, nesting season May 1–Oct 31 for counties other than Brevard–Broward (F.A.C. 62B-55 language as summarized on FWC beach-cleaning guidelines). https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/sea-turtle/beach-activities/beach-cleaning-guidelines/
  2. FWC lighting guidelines. https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/sea-turtle/lighting/
  3. NPS Gulf Islands sea turtle help / reproduction pages (May–October nesting window in park language; lighting).
  4. Santa Rosa leave-no-trace / beach rules.

Unclear: nest counts for 2026 on Navarre specifically — use FWC FWRI nesting surveys, not a blog. Conservation-center hours: their site.