Monday November 21st 2016

Today I finally made it out to Sanibel Island. I was looking forward to the great beaches and sea shell hunting the island is known for. The weather was perfect. It was sunny in the low 70s.

It takes close to an hour and a half to get to the island through Fort Meyers traffic. It seems like there is always heavy traffic in this area. The access to the island is over a tall two lane bridge and causeway that is several miles long. The bridge wouldn’t be any fun in a high wind. Once on the island you can turn left to the light house on the southeast end or right toward Captiva Island to the northwest. I chose to join the stop and go traffic up the narrow two lane road toward Captiva Island. The island is noted for not having traffic lights, but it does have uniformed traffic conductors. I followed the slow line of traffic until I found a sign for beach access to the south.

Tarpon Beach looking back toward Fort Meyers

Tarpon Beach looking to the west.

Parking for Tarpon Beach is a few hundred yards inland from the beach. You need to walk along the bicycle trail to reach the beach. I was surprised by the narrow beach area. The distance from the tree line to the waters edge was only 40 or 50 feet. The tide was still a few hours from full so it would be even narrower at high tide. This beach didn’t meet my idea of a great beach.

Common shells I found on the beach.

There were lots of shells on the beach and more coming in with the wave action. The collection of shells at the high water mark were mostly broken pieces, but in the tidal area undamaged shells were common. I was expecting to find more exotic shells than seemed to be present. It may be the time of year or the particular beach, but I was not impressed by the shelling opportunities.

I think you need to stay on the island to properly appreciate it. There are many wildlife areas, walking and bicycle trails. If you are walking or riding a bike you avoid two of the islands biggest problems. The car traffic is bad and the cost of parking is high. It cost $6 to cross the causeway to the island and parking at any of the beaches is $4 per hour. Bicycles park free at the beaches. If I were in this area for the winter, I would return with my bike but I don’t think it is possible to ride it from the mainland.

Birds gathering in the campground

Birds in the river in front of the campground

Back at the campground this afternoon, the place had gone to the birds. There were birds filling the trees, other birds congregated on the ground and ducks in the water. Walking around the park was a challenge.