Sanibel & Captiva Islands
Beach parking pay stations are no longer available on City of Sanibel beaches or Captiva Island beaches.
- Sanibel: For patrons who do not possess a City of Sanibel Beach Parking Permit or a Lee County Parking sticker (only valid at Bowman's Beach), paid parking must be processed through the City of Sanibel's new mobile pay system. Learn more here.
- Captiva: Visitors parking at the Captiva Island North Lot (Alison Hagerup Beach Park) will need to download the ParkMobile app. Get more info here. The park and pay stations are maintained by the Captiva Erosion Prevention District. Parking proceeds are applied directly to beach nourishment and the enhancement of wildlife habitat.
Within Lee County, some beaches are owned and managed by municipalities and the state. Please visit the following websites for more information:
Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach & Bonita Springs:
A new parking payment system, Text2Park is in effect at select Lee County beach locations to allow patrons the convenience to pay for parking from their mobile device.
The updated system features a convenient, cashless pay-by-plate system. This means visitors will no longer need to visit a kiosk or display a parking receipt on the dashboard of their vehicle. Directions will be displayed on each parking space sign. Parking is $2 per hour, with the ability to add additional time.
The beach locations implementing pay-by-plate parking are:
• Bonita Beach Park, 27954 Hickory Blvd., Bonita Springs
• Bonita Beach Access #1, 27890 Hickory Blvd., Bonita Springs
• Bonita Beach Access #10, 26082 Hickory Blvd., Bonita Springs
• Bowditch Point Park, 50 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach
• Lynn Hall Memorial Beach Park, 950 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach
• San Carlos Bay-Bunche Beach Preserve, 18201 John Morris Road, Fort Myers
Park staff will be available throughout the rollout of this system to assist guests and a video explaining the new pay-by-plate process will be available at www.leeparks.org/beaches.
Red Drift Algae - Looks Like Red Seaweed
Red Drift Algae is a species of algae that can detach from the bottom of the Gulf and wash up along area beaches. If you are seeing red-colored seaweed washing up on the beach, please know it is not harmful and is non-toxic, but when they wash up on beaches, it can have an unpleasant smell as they decompose and dry out in the sun. Learn more here.
Red Tide
At this time, there is no sign of Karenia brevis, the organism that causes red tide, in our area.
See a map where water quality samples were taken by clicking here. TIP: Click on a specific point on the map to see the date the sample was taken. We encourage all beachgoers review this daily sampling map prior to visiting their preferred beach park facility.
We highly advise that you use the resources listed below before planning to visit our beaches. Red Tide can affect your beach experience and it is important to know which beaches are being impacted prior to your visit. These conditions do change daily and we advise you to stay informed.
The most recent Red Tide Report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission can be seen here.
The Red Tide Respiratory Forecast Tool from the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) can be seen here.
See a map from Mote Marine Laboratory with current beach conditions here.
