Sanibel Island is one of Florida’s best-kept secrets. The Sanibel Island public beaches are best known for their soft sugar sand, their quiet atmosphere and for being the best shell beaches in Florida. Sanibel Island is unique in the fact that most islands stretch north to south, but Sanibel Island and neighboring Captiva Island actually face east to west which causes this island to act as a shelf for shells. The island is basically in fact made up of shells. People come from all over the world to collect shells off of the Sanibel Island Public Beaches. It’s such a special and fun place to visit- but there are some things you need to know before you go to help make your trip go smoothly.
How to get to Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is about a 23-mile drive west from Fort Meyers and a short 16 miles from Fort Meyers Beach. This means that it will typically take anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes to get to Sanibel Island from the Fort Meyers metro area. The good part about this though is that getting to Sanibel Island is half the fun. The island is accessible only from the Sanibel Island causeway which is partly a toll bridge that runs across the bay and partly a causeway with pullouts and beach access. The causeway alone will be fun for families to stop and splash in the waves and there are several stops including Sanibel Causeway park that has restrooms.
The cost of the toll to cross Sanibel Island Causeway is $6 paid only en route to Sanibel Island. Coming back to Fort Meyers there is no toll. The whole causeway is 3 miles long and is a scenic and fun part of the experience of visiting Sanibel Island and Captiva Island.
Sanibel Island Public Beaches
Some things you need to know about Sanibel Island Public Beaches. Parking is not cheap and it is limited. It fills up fairly quickly on busy days. Parking costs $5 an hour and is very strictly enforced. You pay at parking machines and display the tag in your window. We saw several employees patrolling the lots and checking stickers when we were there.
Most public beaches have nice restrooms and changing rooms and showers on-site available for use.
Traffic on the main road that runs through Sanibel Island can get backed up quickly. When we were there, there were city employees helping to direct the flow of traffic, there are no stoplights on the island just some four way stops, so keep this in mind if you have a tight time schedule.
Lighthouse Beach Park
This is the closest beach to the Sanibel Island Causeway and a very popular choice as it has a fishing pier, a historic lighthouse, and ample restrooms and showers. It’s a 32 acre park with beautiful views of the bay and Fort Meyers. It’s also a popular spot for picking up seashells.
Bowman’s Beach
This beach is located further west on the island and is one of the most popular spots for those looking for treasured shells. There are plenty of picnic areas and it’s a great swimming location as well.
Gulfside City Park Beach
Gulfside City Park Beach is located on Algiers lane. It’s a great beach if you are on bicycle (which is highly recommended on Sanibel Island as there are many great bike paths that run the length of the island). It’s also a short distance from bike rentals in town and there are lots of places you can park your bike here. Billy’s bike rentals and Finnamore’s bike rentals are popular choices. You may find this beach to be less busy during peak periods. Keep an eye on the events page because there are often free beach walks that happen throughout the week.
Tarpon Bay Road Public Beach
Tarpon Bay beach is a family favorite at Sanibel Island. It tends to be a little more quiet than the other beaches and has a nice short paved trail from the parking to the beach (the parking lot is across the street from the beach). There are showers and picnic tables with benches.
Blind Pass Beach
A beautiful smaller beach that is worth the stop in. The tides here can sometimes be a little strong and at some points this may not be a suitable beach for swimming depending on the wind conditions and tide conditions. It’s a favorite spot for fishing and dolphin watching on the island.
Sanibel Island Northern Beach
Locals argue this is the best beach to find shells at on this beautiful inhabited island. Parking can fill up fast so it’s best to get there early. Parking here can range from $5-$7 an hour. There is also a nice fishing pier that wildlife such as manatees, dolphins and turtles are often spotted from.
Causeway Islands Park
The beach here is narrow and often people pull off the causeway to park right next to their spot on the beach. It’s very popular for fishing and for a quick stop on your way in or out of Sanibel Island. It’s great for swimming, kayaking or stopping to collect a shell or two. Most people enjoy the free parking when stopping along the causeway as opposed to the steep $5-$7 an hour parking on the island.
Silver Key Beach
Silver Key beach is a hidden gem of a beach on Sanibel Island. It is only accessible via a short hike from Blind Pass Beach. Because it tends to be less inhabited it’s a great place to hunt from seashells. The shells are less likely to be picked through. It tends to be more of a quiet and tranquil spot on the island.
Best Beaches to find Sanibel Island Shells
Sanibel Island and Captiva Island are known for being some of the best beaches in the world for finding shells. The beaches that are located on the Gulf side of the island are the best choices for finding choice shells. The best times to find shells are at low tide after a storm or early in the day at low tide. Going early before the beach has had a chance to be picked over by tourists will help.
If you or your kids are interested in shelling here are our list of top public beaches on Sanibel Island for finding the best shells.
- Sanibel Island North Beach
- Bowman’s Beach
- Silver Key Beach
- Lighthouse Beach Park
Finding shells and searching for shells on Sanibel Island is so famous and popular they have even adopted their own name called the “Sanibel Stoop” as a name for what people look like bent over picking up shells.
You can typically find the smaller shells near the Lighthouse (Sanibel side) end of of the island. Bigger shells can be found as you move further west towards the Captiva side. It’s not uncommon to find prized conch shells and coquina.
Some things to know before you go shelling on the island- it’s perfectly legal to take away a small amount of shells from the island. It’s not ok to take shells by the bucketful intended for commercial purposes. It’s also illegal to take away live shells. So if a shell has any form of live specimen, leave it be. Empty shells are free to take within reason.
Sanibel Island Lighthouse
This historic lighthouse found on the east side of Sanibel Island is one of the most historic lighthouses in Florida. It’s known as one of the first lighthouses in Florida outside of the Dry Tortugas and Key West and dates back to 1884. The grounds for the lighthouse and keeper’s house are open to the public. The lighthouse isn’t currently open for tours. The Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel Island is one of the most popular first spots to visitors to Sanibel Island.
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