No Frisbees, Barbecues, Skimpy Suits Allowed : Fun in the Summer Sun Has Its Limits

Perfect beach weather, you say? A great day to grab your towel, shades, sun block, the latest best seller and head for sandy shores?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, a virtual sand trap of rules and regulations awaits, governing such things as your oceanside attire, what you pack in your cooler, even whether you can toss a Frisbee.

You think Fido might enjoy a romp in the waves? Sorry, but an informal survey of beach restrictions on both coasts and some inland beaches shows that most ban dogs, at least during the summer.

“Frankly, people just don’t want to put their beach blankets down next to a pile of deep doo-doo,” said East Hampton Supervisor Tony Bullock on New York’s Long Island. Horses are prohibited too.

Wayne Shattaway, a lifeguard at Jacksonville Beach in Florida, which even hired a dogcatcher to patrol the beach, said dogs can sometimes be aggressive to strangers.

“Right now, Rottweilers and Dobermans are the popular dogs here. If there was just poodles on the beach, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said.

‘Liquor, Sun, Surf’ Don’t Mix

Bottles and glass containers are banned virtually everywhere, restrictions on cans are almost as rampant, and if you’re toting anything stronger than soft drinks, that’s likely to be forbidden too.

“The liquor, sun and surf just didn’t mix,” said John Crisp, assistant chief of the Volusia County Beach Patrol, explaining why the Florida county, which covers Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach Shores, eliminated alcohol a few years ago.

Well, how about packing some hot dogs and having a barbecue?

Open fires are banned on Virginia Beach, Va., Alabama’s Gulf of Mexico shoreline, California’s Los Angeles County and Long Island and New Jersey beaches, to name a few. Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts bans fires without a permit. Wrightsville Beach, N.C., bans grills.

“A few years ago people would cook with charcoal on the beach and then dump the hot charcoal in the sand and cover it up. Then someone else would come walking along and step on it and ruin their day,” said Wrightsville Beach Police Chief George Antley.

No Frisbees, Ball Playing

Frisbees are banned at Hilton Head Island, S.C., Long Island and Virginia Beach, among other places.

No ball playing of any kind on Ocean City, Md., beaches from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the summer. No flotation devices--inner tubes, rafts and such--on Rehoboth Beach, Del., or on the more than 10 miles of Lake Michigan beaches within Chicago’s city limits.

Los Angeles County beaches have a “flying missile” ordinance to quell beer hurtling.

Even President Bush’s favorite pastime--horseshoes--is banned at Hilton Head, according to Cynthia Harrison, a code enforcement officer for the popular resort area.

Swimsuit Decency Rules

Most beaches have general rules banning nudity or indecent exposure. But what is indecent is subject to debate.

Thong bathing suits, swimsuits that expose the derriere, aren’t considered appropriate attire in North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach and the Isle of Palms, S.C.

Thongs are OK on Hilton Head, but T-shirts that say “lifeguard” are not, unless the wearer really is a lifeguard.

Other rules include: No swimming in water deeper than your shoulders in Myrtle Beach, no picking of flowers at Cape Cod National Seashore, no radio playing without earphones on New York’s Jones Beach and no swimming at Surfrider Beach, a surfing-only beach in Malibu, Calif. Volleyball is allowed on Myrtle Beach, but leaving the net up overnight will get you fined.

Driving on the beach in a regular vehicle is prohibited almost everywhere except where the beaches have hard-packed sand, such as along the Washington coastline. But proposed legislation there will probably ban that activity by next summer.

Do all these restrictions make you want to tell somebody to go fly a kite?

That’s a no-no in many places too.