The town of Fort Myers Beach in Florida has great beaches to meet every desire and need. Whether you’re looking for opportunities for shelling or bird watching, need an ADA compliant beach, or one that welcomes your furry friend, you’ll find what you seek at one of this town’s great beaches.
Lovers Key State Park
This park boasts a beautiful 2.5 mile stretch of beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Although many visitors come for swimming, picnicking, and sunbathing, the beach is a special delight for lovers of birding and shelling. Birders can observe least terns and snowy plovers that nest on the beach. Visitors may take shells that do not have animals living in them. A courtesy tram takes visitors to the beach’s southern end, where amenities such as a restaurant, restrooms, and a picnic area are located. Visitors can also reach the beach by a boardwalk that goes to the beach’s midpoint. Lovers Key State Park (8700 Estero Blvd.) charges a nominal admission fee and can be reached by trolley or car.
Bowditch Point Park
The lovely beach on the gulf side of Bowditch Point Park (50 Estero Blvd.) is a great place for swimming, shelling, sunbathing, and picnicking. This park is at the northern end of Estero Island, which also makes its beach the perfect place to watch the boats going to and from the gulf. The park is a stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. Birders can expect to see various plovers, terns, and gulls on the beachside of the park. Since this beach is ADA compliant, individuals with mobility challenges can access the beach via the boardwalk from the parking lot. Concessions and rentals for kayaks and paddleboards are available. The park is located near a trolley stop.
Lynn Hall Memorial Park
A convenient downtown location near Times Square and a plethora of amenities make this beachfront park one of the area’s most popular attractions. In addition to the sun and sand, visitors can take advantage of picnic shelters with grills, volleyball courts, concession stands, outdoor showers, and restrooms. For anglers, there’s a licensed fishing pier and fishing poles are available for rent from the bait shop. Also, holders of saltwater fishing licenses may fish from the shore. Lynn Hall Memorial Park (950 Estero Blvd.) has a paid parking lot and is near the Times Square trolley stop.
Newton Park
The gorgeous beach at Newton Park (4650 Estero Blvd.) has amazing gulf views and a unique past. The property was home to Jim and Ellie Newton. Jim Newton became famous for his book about his friendships with some of the 20th century’s most famous personalities including Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and Charles Lindbergh. The Newtons’ cottage home, Seven Seas, still stands on the beach and can be rented for events.
Today the city of Fort Myers Beach operates Newton Park. The beach offers bocce courts, picnic tables, a thatched roof picnic shelter, thatched roof shade shelters, restrooms, outdoor showers, and a paid parking lot. Weather permitting, a free, guided beach walk with a master naturalist takes place on Tuesday mornings. While Newton Park doesn’t have concessions, a grocery store is next to the park.
Dog Beach
Unlike other area beaches, dogs can play and swim off-leash at Dog Beach (8800 Estero Blvd.). Even visitors who don’t bring a pet can enjoy watching the dogs play. Since this beach is located on a tidal flat, low tide is the best time to visit. Portable toilets and dog showers are available. Parking and admission are free.
These beaches near Fort Myers Beach have the expected white sand and amazing sunsets. What makes these the best beaches is that they offer something beyond those expectations.
