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I took a trip to Sanibel Island, Florida on Monday (along with side trips to Captiva and Lover’s Key). It’s been quite awhile since I’ve actually been to Sanibel, and it’s both changed and unchanged.
It’s changed because it’s a lot more built up. There are houses, clubs and inns everywhere. It’s hard to find the water at times!
It’s unchanged because when you do manage to get to the beach, it’s as lovely as I remember it. The Gulf is just as blue, the shells just as abundant, the sands just as soft.
I went to Lighthouse Beach, and there was ample parking available. There is a boardwalk over to the lighthouse and restrooms, and you can take a stroll over to the fishing pier.
You can also wander over to the beach side and take in the sun and sand and water.
The shells in this photo are from the beach itself — there are so many, all over the beach! Shells with small blemishes that I’d normally grab on a “regular” beach I passed up on Sanibel Island — there were too many that were even better.
The water near the pier area seemed a little cloudy for swimming, and it seems more people prefer the area around the point from the lighthouse, for going in the water.
I don’t know if this is usual, but I saw a fair amount of starfish on the beach, near the waters edge. They were ever-so-slowly making their way back into the waves. Pictured is just one of the many that I came across.
Now David and I did drive over to the other beaches on the island, and they seemed pretty packed, as far as parking goes. We couldn’t even get into the parking lot for one beach (limited parking is putting it very mildly).
So if you want to go shelling and seeing all kinds of sea life, try Lighthouse Beach. As you enter Sanibel Island, Florida from the causeway, take a left to get there.