I know the likely reason you are interested in this section. It’s beaches. So, I’ll get that out of the way right now so that we can get on with a more general orientation to the area. Nothing wrong with beaches, it’s just that there are (almost) countless web sites that can tell you everything you could possibly want to know about them. Pick one, google it, and you’ll see.
After you do that, go to Beach Wildlife and Rules, where we’ll try to cover some of the things that might have been omitted. Like things that can go wrong….
Charlotte County
Starting in Charlotte County in the north, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are the major population centers. Punta Gorda is located on the south bank of the Peace River and Port Charlotte/Charlotte Harbor opposite it on the north bank.
North of the Peace River is something of a transition zone between the rest of southwest Florida and central Florida, where Tampa and Orlando are the major centers. The vegetation begins to change and the climate is a little cooler. Many activities north of the river are more oriented toward Tampa and Sarasota than, maybe, is true farther south. Tampa’s airport is at least as close to much of this area as to the Regional Southwest Florida Airport in Ft. Myers.
In the western part of the county lies Cape Haze with the communities of Placida, Rotunda, and El Jobean. Up the coast from Placida, you will find Englewood Beach (The bridge to it is almost in Sarasota County) and several other beaches. On Englewood Beach, in particular, you can find fossilized teeth and bones, mostly from various shark species.
Off the west coast of Charlotte County is a long, narrow barrier island. It’s all one piece, but goes by several names: Palm Island (the north end), Don Pedro Island (a state park in the middle with a pavilion and restrooms), and Little Gasparilla Island (the south end). The island has no bridges to it and only a primitive road system. It is accessible only by boat… or helicopter, I suppose. Most folks around here know it as Palm Island or Little Gaspariila because the park separates the two and has no roads through it. A water taxi ($5 a head) runs from noon until dark or whenever they get tired of it and takes you from Leverock Resort’s dock in Placida to the Rum Bay Resort dock on Palm Island. I think you can get a water taxi from elsewhere in Placida to either the park or Little Gasparilla for $15. Notice the lack of people in the following image, taken the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Palm island beach at low tide
Lee County
Cape Coral and Ft. Myers are the major population centers of Lee County, which has the largest population of the three coastal counties. Lee County also includes the major barrier islands: Sanibel/Captiva, Cayo Costa, and Pine Island.
A general word here about Pine Island. It is the largest of the islands and doesn’t have any beaches. It is, however, easy to get to and a good spot for boating excursions to islands that do. Pine Island is known for its sport fishing opportunities. Among the islands easily reached by boat that do have beaches are Sanibel/Captiva (also accessible by road from the mainland), Cayo Costa, and North Captiva.
Boca Grande is located in the extreme northwest corner of the county and is accessible only by water or air from the rest of Lee County. If you want to drive to it, you will need to reach it through Charlotte County and will pay a substantial toll to cross the bridge to get there. After you look at the map, you might wonder why it is in Lee County at all. I have no idea. It’s just how they did it. Boca Grande is known for its tarpon tournament, and is a pretty exclusive hang out for some of the rich and famous.
Bokeelia is located on the northern tip of Pine Island and across Charlotte Sound from Boca Grande. It has a couple of restaurants and a fair number of condos.
Pineland is shown on most maps of Pine Island but it isn’t really a town. It’s an area. If it has a center, it’s the marina.
Marina behind Tarpon Lodge, Pineland
St. James City is on the south end of Pine Island. It has a small canal network, plus several restaurants and taverns. There are some condos and a number of houses. St. James City once had aspirations of being the Lee County seat until a hurricane put an end to the notion by almost putting an end to St. James City. This is a view toward Sanibel from St. James City:
Sanibel/Captiva are the best known of the islands. Technically and geographically, they are really two islands, Sanibel and Captiva, but they are combined administratively. There aren’t any towns, exactly, on the islands just “areas.” The entire gulf side of the islands is one world-class beach after another. Lots of things to do. But I’ll let their Chamber of Commerce tell you all about it. Fodor also can help here , although their listings are sparse, to say the least.
You don’t hear this a lot, but like Pine Island (above), you can arrange a boat trip to the other islands from Sanibel. You can also arrange fishing trips.
Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge is a place you may want to visit. You can take the driving tour and see what Sanibel looked like when it was left alone. The best time to go is at low tide (which exposes mud flats) and just before sunset (when the birds return to their roosting areas), but be sure to time it so you’re out before they shut the gate.
Roseatte spoonbills
- The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is, I think, the only one of its kind in the world. If you still have questions about shells after you leave here, it’s because you didn’t ask them while you were there.
- Traffic during the islands’ high season (January through April) can be annoying and there is only one entrance and exit for the island. If you have plane to catch, leave enough time. Otherwise, you may be stuck. In paradise, stuck in traffic. It can’t get worse.
Fort Myers Beach is an incorporated town, as well as a beach. It is not as well known as Sanibel, but it is not as expensive either. It’s just across the channel from Sanibel and is on the same Gulf of Mexico. Just not as “upscale’” I guess.
The beach is really another barrier island, Estero Island, and has four distinctive communities:
- the north end (north of the pier)
- Times Square around the pier and to the south a bit
- Mid-Island, the center of which is Mid-Island Marina on the bay side
- the south end
Estero Blvd is the main road, and the only one running the length of the island.
- Traffic on and off-island is often a problem. I find it’s easier on my short supply of patience just to go off island in the opposite direction of the traffic, which is usually south through Bonita Springs. I have been told — many times— it takes the same amount of time as just waiting it out in traffic and is further to boot. I don’t care. At least I’m moving.
Once again, if you have to be somewhere at a particular time, leave yourself enough travel time.
Going south from Ft. Myers Beach, you come to…
Lovers’ Key, one of those little known places. As a beach, it ranks in Florida’s top 10. Located south of Fort Myers Beach on the way to Bonita Springs, it’s pretty much the kind of beach the earliest Europeans would have seen.
- Take a hat and sunscreen. There’s a hot dog/hamburger stand at the south end, so take some money, too.
Lovers Key beach, looking north at high tide. Most of the beach is not this narrow.
Bonita Springs is the southernmost town in Lee County, down the road from Ft. Myers Beach as you might have guessed. There are condos and houses both for rent and for sale. Bonita Springs has almost anything you might want, except a full-service hospital. Naples and Fort Myers answer that need, neither of which is very far. Bonita Beach, together with Barefoot Beach, is one of the nicer areas, with many options for rent.
Fort Myers can be reached from Bonita Springs by going north on US 41. It is the County Seat of Lee County and the county’s second largest city, after Cape Coral. This is a bit misleading, though, because Ft. Myers proper does not include South Fort Myers (a somewhat sprawling area of shopping centers and suburban homes), Tice, or Ft. Myers Shores, small communities up the Caloosahatchie River from Ft. Myers. There is no clear boundary between these communities and Ft. Myers.
There are several attractions in Ft. Myers. The ones that seem to stand out are the Edison & Ford Winter Estates and Manatee Park (actually, it’s not in Fort Myers, rather it is to the east). My opinion is based on the interest expressed by my visitors– numbering about six. But, I like them, too, so there you are.
Downtown Ft. Myers has been refurbished, maintaining early 20th century facades where possible. There are several good restaurants and taverns here and more things going on than you might think. Nevertheless, things pretty well shut down around 10PM unless there’s something special happening.
Cape Coral is connected to Fort Myers by four bridges, two of which are tolled coming into the Cape. The two that are not tolled are on US41 and the US41 business route, both entering/leaving downtown Fort Myers from North Fort Myers.
The Cape’s (as it is known around here) best attraction is its extensive canal network (zoom in on the above link), with more miles of canals than Venice, Italy. The canals are used for flood control and for recreation. Alligators are common in them, and it is not that unusual to see otters throughout the city in and near the canals.
Cape Coral fresh water canal
Cape Coral salt water public boat ramp, one of many
The street network has to work itself around the canals, which can be confusing until you get used to it. The main north-south and east-west arteries have bridges, but most secondary streets do not. On the plus side, this has the effect of creating separate, more intimate neighborhoods than might otherwise be the case.
Cape Coral is pretty much a self-contained city, with all the basic amenities you might need. So far, it hasn’t lost its small-town atmosphere. (See the list of activities and attractions on the city’s website for more information.)
North Fort Myers lies to the east of Cape Coral. It is an autonomous city, not part of Fort Myers. There are several motels near the river and restaurants close by them. Several planned, gated communities have North Fort Myers addresses, including the following:
- Sabal Springs
- Heron’s Glen
- a host of manufactured home communities along US41
Most of these neighborhoods have at least a nine-hole golf course. Moody River Community is a planned, gated community without its own golf course, but there are several nearby.
There are several other more or less autonomous communities in Lee County. These are a couple you might miss if you concentrate on the Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area:
- Alva, which takes its name not from Thomas A. Edison’s middle name but from a small white flower native to the area, is upriver east of North Fort Myers, on the north side of the Caloosahatchie. It is a sleepy sort of place which may awaken soon. A new planned community is in the works to the north of town, if they can work out the environmental details.
- Lehigh Acres, east of Fort Myers, is primarily a low to moderately priced bedroom community with shopping malls and some service businesses. Zoom in and out on the map to get an idea of Lehigh’s situation.
Collier County
Collier County is really two, or maybe three, worlds in one county. It is composed of urban, sophisticated Naples and Marco Island, the farmworker town of Immokalee, and the Everglades with the communities of Everglades City and Chokoloskee. As to the latter two, the emphasis is on the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands. Fishing, exploring, outdoor activities. With Naples and Marco, it’s air conditioning, no mosquitoes, and minimal– make that no– discomfort. In Naples and Marco, if you are discomfited, then they think they have somehow failed. In Chokoloskee and Everglades City, they assume roughing it, at least a little, is why you came.
Anyway, to continue south from Bonita Springs on US41…
Vanderbilt Beach is the first stop in Collier County. What strikes us first about the place is the large number of high-rise condos on, or close to, the beach. It is an upscale community with prices to match. Very attractive.
Leaving here, development along the beach front is pretty much unbroken all the way to Naples, and beyond.
Naples began as a tourist stop, if you don’t count the Calusa Indians who originally lived there. Now, it is a bustling town full of folks who like the climate. I think it is easily the most cosmopolitan city in our area. In the Cape, we like to say that the people in Naples actually dress up to get their mail. But, that’s probably unfair. They stay dressed up, most likely.
I can’t think of a thing you might want that Naples wouldn’t have. Somewhere.
There are several smaller communities around Naples:
- North Naples
- Golden Gate
- East Naples
- Naples Manor
Home and condo prices vary from moderate to very expensive. Rentals are readily available.
Marco is on Marco Island. If you thought Naples was expensive, it’s because you hadn’t yet been to Marco. A variety of condos are available for rent or for sale. There are a number of good restaurants and bars. You might think of Marco as being the last town-sized outpost of upscale civilization before you reach the Everglades or the other parts of the 10,000 Islands.
- You’ll not find a better fishing area anywhere I know about than 10,000 Islands. Some may be as good, but none are consistently better.
Everglades City is reached off US41 south of Naples/Marco. It is a jumping off place for the Everglades National Park and the Ten Thousand Islands.
Gumbo limbo tree at the Park Service visitor center, Everglades CXity
By the way, the gumbo limbo’s bark is often red and peeling. It is also known as “the tourist tree” because of it. This is a fairly small example: they can grow quite large.
- The ‘Glades includes a Florida State park, the Fakahatchie Strand, the only known U.S. home of the “ghost orchid” . This plant was one objective of the Orchid Thief, a book and movie a few years back. There’s even a walking — or rather, wading– tour through the swamp. Give it a try if you can get reservations. It’s pretty popular.
- When you go, take plenty of mosquito repellent, preferably the kind with “DEET” as the active ingredient. Test it first: some people (not many) are allergic to the stuff. Especially on the boardwalk at Big Cypress, the mosquitoes would carry you off if they ever learned to cooperate. The following pictures are all from the boardwalk:
On the boardwalk
Bald eagle on nest
Ibis bathing
Heron, marabou stork with alligator looking for lunch
Chokoloskee is an island just to the south of Everglades City. A visit there is like going back in time, when this part of Florida was wild and untamed. Before the Park. Before roads. Pretty much like the “wild American west”, only wetter. I bet the Park staff has a few tales about that period.
Immokalee can be reached on State Road 29, Everglades City’s main drag, which continues north through the little settlements of Copeland, Jerome, and Sunniland. Immokalee is an agricultural community with many Hispanic farmworkers for whom English is a second language, although most (if not all) the merchants are fluently bilingual. The farmers’ market is one of the best in the area, but the main money-maker is the Seminole Casino.
- A note of caution. State Road 29 is a good road, but has narrow shoulders. Be sure your tires are OK and that you have enough gas to go the 30 miles or so. And, take it easy. Especially in the dry season, alligators might be on the road. I don’t recommend driving this route after dark, though for the life of me I don’t know why you would want to, since you’ll not be able to see much.
After you leave Immokalee, you can either return to Naples or continue north on State Road 29 for about 5 miles, then turn onto State Road 82, which becomes Immokalee Road in Lee County, and it will take you into Ft. Myers.
Corkscrew Nature Preserve is between Immokalee and Ft. Myers, on Road 850. If you go to the link, be sure to check out their virtual tour. The sanctuary website also provides directions for getting there. Like Lovers’ Key, it’s not a town or a beach, but… you know how it is by now: I like it, so here you are again.
If you go, your trip will be a lot more pleasant if you take the following precautions:
- Take mosquito repellent, hat, and sun glasses.
- Use sunscreen (some brands also have insect repellent).
- Bring or buy a water bottle if you take the walking tour.
- Bring your lunch as there are only snacks in the sanctuary store.
Now, that’s about it. Go back to SR 82 and head for either Ft. Myers or Naples. When you get there, you’ve gone full circle .
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