ATLANTA — As many families in the metro Atlanta area close out their spring break week, a popular Florida beach destination is making it clear that Atlanta spring breakers aren't welcome if they don't follow the law.
A stretch of beaches along Florida's Gulf Coast known as 30-A has become a popular destination spot for many families, including some from metro Atlanta, as it's located less than a five-hour drive away.
According to local law enforcement, the normally peaceful, family-friendly spot has been dealing with a surge of unsupervised teens throughout the past week.
"The amount of unsupervised kids we've seen this week has more than tripled," said a spokesperson with the Walton County Sheriff's Office in Florida.
The sheriff's office told 11Alive that they have seen an uptick in underage drinking and bike thefts, resulting in officials enacting a 7 p.m. beach curfew on Tuesday. A spokesperson added that the majority of the tourists seen this week were from the metro Atlanta area.
The sheriff's office shared the statement below on social media on Tuesday:
Last night was not a vibe. As best we can, our agency is working to manage the heavy influx of crowds of unsupervised teens flooding to Walton County beaches during Atlanta Spring Break week. The message is this, our county is not the place to allow your children to roam freely in packs and cause fights and destroy property. There will be a heavy presence of law enforcement from County Road 283 to the Bay County line. No unaccompanied minors will be allowed on the sandy beaches after 7 pm.
Many of the private beach communities have begun shutting down their restaurants and shops around 6:45 p.m., including Seaside. The sheriff's office said thousands of teens were seen around the square earlier this week.
Because of all of this, many community residents are pushing back against welcoming Atlanta springbreakers. Atlanta turned 30-A resident Todd Roark said Atlanta's spring break has become something locals dread.
"It’s actually become an embarrassment to even say I'm from the Atlanta area during this week. There's been several posts on local Facebook pages where people are saying they're no longer renting to Atlantans," said Roark.
With the week closing, out many in the community are drawing the line in the sand.
“We don't want to be the babysitter any longer. We want to make sure that our community is a community upon the departure of Atlanta spring break so that everyone else can come down here and enjoy paradise... as we call it," added Roark.
While each year differs, this year, the majority of local districts took the week of Monday, April 1 through Friday, April 5, for spring break.