13 Coastal Florida Destinations: Lee Island Coast
Lee Island Coast
Talk about an island escape! This coast’s name gives you a clue as to what you’ll find here: how about 50 miles of beach to start? Popular with beachcombers, the Lee Island Coast teems with seashells (more about that in the Sanibel Island profile), nature preserves and is popular for fishing and kayaking; enthusiasts of the latter will be in nirvana on the Great Calusa Blueway, a 200-mile marked canoe and kayak trail that meanders through coastal waters and inland tributaries in Lee County, after beginning on Paradise Coast.
The wonders of nature abound on Lee Island Coast. ©Visit Florida
Orlando magazine’s dedicated editorial team is taking the guesswork out of your next coastal trip! Check out these important facts:
☀ BOUNDED BY: Bonita Springs to Fort Myers, the bottom 2/3 of Gasparilla and Little Gasparilla plus more than 100 coastal islands.
⚑ COUNTIES: Lee.
⚐ MAJOR CITIES/AREAS: Sanibel, Captiva, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero Island, Bonita Springs.
♜ HIGHLIGHTS: Shelling, birdwatching, fishing, boating.
☸ HIDDEN GEMS: Cayo Costa Island and State Park (accessible only by boat or kayak), Port Boca Grande Lighthouse (the only lighthouse on Florida’s west coast that’s open to the public), Newton Home and Park (former residence of the friend to Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh).
☺ OVERALL VIBE: Natural and relaxed.
Shelling is a popular pastime on Sanibel Island, the “Seashell Capital of the World,” which has more than 400 species of shells. ©Visit Florida
Sanibel Island
Called the “Seashell Capital of the World,” Sanibel Island is surrounded by an underwater shelf with a gradual slope that runs for miles. Its east-west orientation along the Gulf Coast makes for the perfect vacuum where shells are pulled in by the currents. More than 400 species of shells can be found here.
There’s even a term for the stance that has visitors doubled over the sand—the “Sanibel Stoop.” Those planning to do this for any length of time should warm up with lumbar exercises!
If you’re drawn by the lure of the shell, be sure you know the regulations—the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission restricts live shell collection to two specimens of any one species per person per day. The possession and harvest of live shellfish, sand dollars, sea stars (starfish) and sea urchins are prohibited, as is all shelling within the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Learn more about the shells before you go with a visit to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium—it’s the only accredited museum in the U.S. devoted solely to shells and mollusks. It was started by a local shell collector in 1984 and has since become an international resource in the study of mollusks.
Although the museum sustained damage during Hurricane Ian, the Great Hall of Shells has been redesigned and will reopen with a display that’s doubled in size in Spring 2025. Special focuses include Southwest Florida shells, world-record-sized shells, deep-sea species, land snails and ancient fossils.
