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Dauphin Island Beach

Dauphin Island Beach in Alabama offers an area where Fido is welcome year round. The dog-friendly area is located near the Red School House and the old fishing pier. There are at least a couple of miles of beach there, and with Sand Island now connected to Dauphin Island, there are another three miles of undeveloped beach jutting out into the Gulf on that barrier island. Please note that dogs are not allowed at the West End Beach Park on the Island's extreme west end. Visit Website

Or call (251) 861-5525 or email jmclester@townofdauphinisland.org for more information.

Reviews

BringFido Guest Rating
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Dauphin Island Beach has received a rating of 4.6 out of 5 bones by 14 canine critics on BringFido and 4.0 out of 5 by 415 guests on TripAdvisor.

  • MARY
    Jan 31, 2024
    Great Beach

    This is the only beach in Gulf Shores that is dog friendly. I rented the Seascape house from bringfido, and the house, view and beach were AMAZING!

  • Jennifer
    Jan 22, 2024
    Great beach

    We went in January to the east beach and had the place to ourselves. Our dog loved swimming and running around...leashed of course. You have to pay but it was only about $5 for the day. It is also right next to the fort which is dog friendly, too. The beach by the red schoolhouse is dog friendly, too. We went there last year but had really dense marine fog and we were only traveling through so only had time for a quick walk and swim. Will definitely be back here.

  • Amy
    Mar 15, 2023
    The BEST!!

    Came to this island simply bc we could bring our dog to the beach too. Otherwise would have gone to Destin. While the water isn’t pretty, the sand is white and there is hardly anyone here! We had access to Hernando Beach which is private bc our rental was in this gated community. And Sunny spent so much time playing fetch, chasing birds, and running free! It said dogs had to be on leashes but having the entire beach to ourselves we chose to let her off.

  • Emily
    Sep 5, 2021
    Great Place to bring your pup!

    We took our pup to Middle Beach today and she had a blast. Leashed Dogs are welcome at both East Beach and Middle Beach. It is $6 to park at the public access to Middle Beach, and the parking is a short walk from the beach. There were several dogs out there and the majority of people were following the leash rules. We had a great time!

  • Tamara
    May 14, 2021
    Awesome beach

    We loved this beach. It wasn't busy at all. There were several other doggos.
    There was a little debris on the beach, but I wouldn't call it dirty.
    It was a long walk to the beach, and we had to walk thru quite a bit of water to get there. We went early afternoon, and I got attacked by mosquitos or something, so bug spray might be a good thing to bring ;)

  • Megan
    Jan 23, 2021
    Leashed Beach

    The signs on this beach say dogs are supposed to be leashed, so off leash at your own risk. The beach front is very wide from the sea grass to the ocean. The beautiful white sand is super clean!! There were few people at the beach on the chilly day we went, so my pooches had a lot of room to romp. This was a wonderful first time beach for my dogs!!

  • Leigh ann
    Jun 25, 2020
    2 dog beaches

    There are three main beaches on Dauphin Island, and two of them allow dogs: Public Beach and East Beach. The people at the welcome center said that one by the country club does too, but we couldn’t find that one. They said dogs aren’t allowed on West Beach just because it’s a bird sanctuary.

    The beaches are gorgeous. Public Beach is the biggest but requires a hike. East Beach is smaller but beautiful. The guard told me she wouldn’t allow her kids to swim in certain parts of that one because it can get rough.

  • Josh
    Feb 11, 2020
    Good experience

    We went in February on a Tuesday morning and had the beach to ourselves. Our pitbull had a lot of fun trying to catch the waves.

  • Norma
    Jul 8, 2019
    Dirty beach

    We went with our dog and did not really like the beach. It was disappointing to see the water dirty, with tons of seaweed and the walk from parking to the beach is far. It was hot and we only stayed for like 30min. We had been to Pensacola beach the day before and would rather make that extra drive to Pensacola for a clean beach.

  • Bonnie
    More than a year ago
    family trip

    We had an awesome trip!! Only bad thing was it Rain lol but other then that we loved it

  • Nikki
    May 3, 2018
    Awesome spot!

    We spent the afternoon here for our dogs first time at the beach. He loved running and playing in the sand - there was a nice sandbar we swam out to and it wasn't overly crowded. We will definitely be back!

  • Kelli
    More than a year ago
    Wonderful Beach for Dogs and their People!

    We spent a week on Dauphin Island with our two dogs. Much of this time was spent at the beach. It was so great to be able to enjoy the sand, sun, and water with our dogs. There is not an off-leash beach area, but that is fine with us as we don't let our dogs off-leash anyway. If you want to be able to really enjoy a seaside vacation with your dog and not be confined to a "pet friendly" section of beach, you can't go wrong with a Dauphin Island vacation!

  • Gary and Shantele
    More than a year ago
    Great beach for dogs

    Better beach for dogs than people. Several dogs on the beach and overall they had great opportunity to run and play. Out Bassett chased crabs and enjoyed playing with kids. Not a crowded beach at all. Beautiful white beaches of Alabama, but quiet a bit of litter. The downside of this beach is the long walk in sand to water due to environmental changes. We were exhausted from the walk alone.

  • Jess
    More than a year ago
    Nice in October

    We were pleased with the uncrowded beaches and very dog friendly, casual atmosphere. The island is small with little to do other than walk the beach. Our dogs and friends and their preschool children enjoyed our time on DI. We would visit again.

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Dauphin Island Beach