Updated October 6, 2026. Rewritten top to bottom with fall 2026 closures, new parking rules and six more beaches.
Fort Myers sits within an hour of a dozen public beaches, and no two work the same way. Some have showers and playgrounds. Some have a portable toilet and a sandbar. Here is the address, the parking price and the one thing each beach does best, plus the repair closures that still matter in fall 2026. Every fact was checked on the park’s own website on October 6, 2026.
Fort Myers Beach: Crescent Beach Family Park and Lynn Hall
Crescent Beach Family Park, 1100 Estero Blvd., is the easiest full-service beach on Estero Island right now. It reopened July 29, 2026 with two modular restrooms, showers, pavilions and four short paths to 400 feet of sand at the foot of the Matanzas Pass Bridge. Open dawn to dusk. No pets.
Lynn Hall Memorial Park, 950 Estero Blvd., next to Times Square, is closed. Lee County shut the park and its lot on April 6, 2026 for a rebuild, and the pier has its own restoration project. You can still reach that stretch of sand on the LeeTran Beach Park and Ride. When the lot reopens, parking is $2 an hour and the county annual pass does not work there.
Bowditch Point Park
50 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach. Dawn to dusk. This 17-acre park at the north tip of the island has Gulf beach on one side, calm bay water on the other and birding trails through 10 acres of preserve. The parking lot and amenities closed September 8, 2026 for Hurricane Ian repairs, but the trolley stop and walk-in beach access stay open. Normal parking is $2 an hour with the county pass accepted. No pets.
Bunche Beach Preserve
18201 John Morris Road, Fort Myers. Dawn to dusk. Parking is $2 an hour, the county pass works, and there are about 100 spaces. This 718-acre tidal flat on San Carlos Bay is better for wading, birding, fishing and kayaking than for swimming. It has two kayak launches, two fishing piers, kayak and paddleboard rentals, and composting restrooms with no running water. Boardwalk repairs began October 1, 2026 and run to about January 2027, so parking is tight near the work zones, but the beach, restrooms and launch stay open. No pets, no grills.
Lovers Key State Park
8700 Estero Blvd., Bonita Springs. Open 8 a.m. to sunset every day. Admission is $8 per vehicle, so a carload of kids is one of the cheapest beach days around. The park has two miles of beach plus lagoons where manatees and shorebirds feed. The tram is gone, so you walk or bike about 1,000 feet from Lot 1 over the Mid-Beach bridge, or a half mile over the South Beach bridge. Since May 1, 2026 there is no gift shop, bait shop or food service, though paddling, fishing and beach rentals are open daily. The Discovery Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Bonita Beach Park, Little Hickory Island and Dog Beach
Bonita Beach Park, 27954 Hickory Blvd., and Little Hickory Island Beach Park (Access #10), 26082 Hickory Blvd., both lost their parking lots and amenities to Ian repairs on September 8, 2026. You can still walk onto the sand. At Bonita Beach Park the walk-in is through Bonita Beach Access #1 next door, and LeeTran’s ULTRA On Demand will drive you there. Normal parking at both is $2 an hour. The county pass works at Little Hickory and not at Bonita Beach Park. No pets at either.
Dog Beach, 14436 Bonita Beach Causeway, is the one county beach where dogs run off leash. Parking is free. There are portable toilets and a rinse station for the dog. Check the tide first. It is a tidal flat, and at mid to high tide you wade to reach the beach.
Barefoot Beach Preserve (Collier County)
505 Barefoot Beach Blvd., Naples, off Bonita Beach Road at Lely Barefoot Boulevard. This one is just over the Collier line, so Lee County passes do not apply. Parking is $10 without a Collier resident beach permit. Open 8 a.m. to sunset. The 342-acre preserve is one of the last undeveloped barrier islands on this coast, with gopher tortoises in the dunes. Docents sit in Lot 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Fridays in the 2026 season to help kids name shells and birds. Lounger and umbrella rentals run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No dogs.
Sanibel beaches: Lighthouse, Bowman’s and Blind Pass
Every Sanibel beach park is open again. Parking is $5 an hour at all of them, 24 hours a day, and you pay by phone because the old pay stations never came back after Ian. Your paid hour transfers from one Sanibel lot to another until the time runs out. Dogs on leash are welcome on Sanibel beaches. The city asks you to wear shoes in the water, since buried storm debris can turn up.
Lighthouse Beach Park, 110 Periwinkle Way, is at the east tip of the island. It has 162 spaces, restrooms, outdoor showers, grills, picnic areas and Mobi-Mats to the sand. The 1884 lighthouse is not open for tours, and the fishing pier is closed until further notice. Smoking and vaping are banned here under a new city ordinance.
Bowman’s Beach Park, 1700 Bowmans Beach Road, is the island’s main shelling beach. The five-minute walk from the lot keeps crowds down. It has a playground, grills, restrooms, showers, fitness stations and a kayak launch. The Lee County annual pass is accepted here.
Blind Pass Beach Park, 6497 Sanibel Captiva Road, is a 29-space lot at the bridge to Captiva. The fast tide through the pass piles up shells and draws snook and redfish for shore anglers, and it is one of the island’s best sunset spots. Do not swim here. The city bans it because of the currents. Restrooms are across the bridge at Turner Beach, 17200 Captiva Drive, where the Lee pass also works and dogs are not allowed.
Causeway Islands Park
19931 Sanibel Causeway Road. Dawn to dusk. Pay the $6 causeway toll and parking is free on the two spoil islands. You get pull-in spots at the water, portable restrooms, and room for fishing, swimming, kiteboarding, paddling and shelling. Gas grills are allowed, charcoal is not. Leashed dogs are fine. No alcohol, no RVs and no launching boats or jet skis.
Cape Coral Yacht Club beach
The city’s only beach is in the middle of a long rebuild. In its 2026 project updates the city says staff still maintain the beach and keep portable restroom trailers on site. The pier design is done but waits on permits, the Boathouse restaurant is coming back after its 2024 fire, and City Council has picked a phased plan with no funding set yet. Check capecoral.gov before you go.
Tips before you go
- Pay for parking from your phone. Sanibel is mobile pay only. Lee County lots like Bowditch take bills and most cards, and the county’s annual parking pass covers Bunche, Bowditch, Little Hickory, Bowman’s and Turner.
- Fort Myers Beach passes changed. The Town’s 2027 Non-Residential Parking Pass went on sale October 5, 2026 for $300 at Bay Oaks Park, 2731 Oak St. It covers Town beach access lots and Matanzas Pass Bridge Lots 1 to 4. It does not cover Lee County parks or metered street spots.
- Check the water first. Look up red tide status at myfwc.com and Lee County’s beach water quality page before you load the car.
- Sea turtle season runs May through October. Fill in holes, flatten sandcastles and keep lights off the beach after dark.
- Shells and sun. Take only empty shells. Bring more sunscreen and water than you think you need, and go early.
FAQ
Which Fort Myers Beach park has parking and restrooms open right now?
Crescent Beach Family Park, 1100 Estero Blvd. Lynn Hall, Bowditch Point, Bonita Beach Park and Little Hickory all have their lots closed for Hurricane Ian repairs this fall. The LeeTran Beach Park and Ride is the easy way around it.
Which beach is best for shelling?
Bowman’s Beach and Blind Pass on Sanibel. Lovers Key also runs ranger-led shell walks; check the park’s event list.
Where can I bring my dog?
Off leash at Dog Beach in Bonita Springs. On leash at Causeway Islands Park and on Sanibel beaches, except Turner Beach. Lee County’s other beach parks and Barefoot Beach do not allow pets.
How much does beach parking cost?
$2 an hour at Lee County beach parks, $5 an hour on Sanibel, $8 per car at Lovers Key and $10 at Barefoot Beach. Dog Beach is free, and Causeway Islands is free after the $6 toll.
Is it safe to swim at Blind Pass?
No. The City of Sanibel bans swimming there because of strong currents in the channel. Swim at Bowman’s or Lighthouse instead.
What is the cheapest beach day for a family?
Lovers Key at $8 per car, or Causeway Islands at $6 for the toll. Pack food either way.
For more days outside, see our guides to the best parks and nature trails in Fort Myers and the farmers markets in Fort Myers and Lee County. Our new resident guide covers the county parking pass, and beach cleanups and ranger walks are on the Fort Myers events calendar.
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