Lighthouse Park Beach

The clean up is still taking place and will continue for a long time to come. The views are gorgeous, but wear shoes on the beach and in the water. The water was not clear like it used to be. Things have improved a lot since Ian. It felt great to be back on the island that we love, but feel the sadness of the island and know what these people have gone through.

I was so glad to be able to access this beach, especially after the hurricane damage from last season. So many shells! This was my grandson's first shelling experience. It was nice to see there were buckets provided for people to come pick up any trash or debris washed ashore or left by messy humans. It was nice to see local families out there in the early morning doing pick up. The bathrooms are not finished being repaired yet, but they do have port a potties on site.

A quiet and relaxed place to spend the day. The heat and the sun were very intense but if you stay in the water you don't feel it so much… By the way, the water on the beach was very pleasant.

Beautiful beach, still working on bath house but porta potties there. Free parking for handicap. Fishing pier is gone sadly. Hopefully will be rebuilt soon. Still had a very nice beach day

If you were ever at Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel before Hurricane Ian, then you know how beautiful it was. Guess what? IT STILL IS. BEAUTIFUL. Yes, even though the hurricane destroyed so much , everyone pulled together, and got it cleaned up. This actually revealed the beauty of the Lighthouse in a simple and raw way. The hurricane destroyed all that was man-made except the LH and brought this beach right up to the base of the LH. I found it to be beautiful. So, as for the functional aspects of this "park", the parking lot is smoothed out and the craters are gone. The shady treeline at the beginning has been wiped out but a few tree skeletons remain. It is clear that they hope these trees will come back as well as the lower dense foliage. The restrooms are closed and boarded up. There is a block of portapotties where the parking lot used to end closest to the buildings. There is at least one accessibility PP. In the center of this square, they have handwashing stations. Do NOT drink this water. It is suitable for handwashing and rinsing off your items that fell onto the sand. The pay stations are operational, so DO plan on paying for parking. If you have a handicapped placard, the parking is free. I did not notice any picnic tables or man-made shelters. Bring plenty of water to drink, sunscreen, and protective footwear. Remember the most important things: shellbag and scoop! The shells are just as plentiful and pretty as they have been. Be sure to do some pre-planning and check to see what shops and restaurants are open- to get your refreshments, protective weather gear and support the island! So basically, the beach is now back to the natural basic beauty it was before Man made it "better". #SanibelStrong #CaptivaStrong

Photos are how the beach looked on 27 June 2023 around noon. She'll hunting was sparse. Lots of intact smaller shells but no really large ones. Water was very warm. Pay for parking by text by tue hour. Bathroom building is still closed but Porta Johns were available and a footwash. Very short walk to the beach from parking.

Technically IDK if the beach is open. But boaters have easy access to anchor within feet of the beautiful sand and surf near the light house. All of the facilities are currently cordoned off. However, we had a great day, shelling, swimming in the surf and floating out by the boat while listening to some great music from a nearby boat and drinking adult beverages. We saw dolpins and manatee within 10 feet of where we were swimming as well as various fish, crabs, other crustacea and many beautiful birds.

Out-of-the-way space! Light beach traffic, beautiful view of the Fort Myers coastline. LOTS of shells! Not ideal for sunsets from our side of the island as a sunset sort of behind us, but great shallow water to play in for the kids. At low tide you can walk way out before the water starts to get deep. Fun title pools! And we saw a manatee in the water! Can’t ask for more than that :- Parking is five dollars an hour by machine so prepared. Very nice bathroom facilities! At least on the beach side. I did not use the ones on the lighthouse side. Trails allow you to walk from one side of the lighthouse beach to the other. There is only swimming accessible on one side of the lighthouse.

Great beach. Only downside I would say are the sand gnats. We were there around dusk and gotten eaten alive. Still trying to recover from the bites 3 days later!

Best advice... get there before 9am to get a parking spot. It is $5 to park per hour. Well work it! Found some beautiful shells. There is also a fishing pier and public bathrooms. We enjoyed our day at this beach and will definitely return!