The bridges leading to Sanibel Island introduce incoming travelers to island-style views.
Blue water views are everywhere on Ding Darling NWR’s Wildlife Drive.
National Shell Museum.
Sanibel lighthouse is located at the eastern tip of the island.
Wildlife Drive is a one-way 4-mile NWR loop road that winds along Sanibel’s pristine bay side. You can walk, ride a bike, drive your car or RV, or board a tram for a narrated tour of the loop. The drive begins and ends on San-Cap Road. Venture onto the drive in the early morning or late afternoon for optimal wildlife sightings. The observation tower affords sweeping views of refuge lands and waters. On bright winter days, alligators soak up sunshine at the bay’s edge. Spring and autumn are the seasons for colorful migrating songbirds. Early summer is a good time to spot a bright pink roseate spoonbill in flight. The NWR’s Tarpon Bay Recreation Area is tops for exploring Sanibel’s freshwater marshes. Rental kayaks, canoes, stand up paddleboards, pontoon boats, and bikes are available. Nature & Sea Life Cruises help you scout out manatees and dolphins. Fishing charter participants reel in the likes of sea trout, snook, and redfish. At the Bailey Tract on Tarpon Bay Road, you might catch glimpses of alligators lurking, bobcats slinking, or marsh rabbits hopping. After exiting J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge onto San-Cap Road, continue northwest for a short distance and make an easy left turn toward Bowman’s Beach, an area preferred for swimming, shelling and
observing nesting shorebirds and sea turtles. Bowman’s offers sandy shores, clear waters, Australian pines, and shady walking trails lined with yellow blooming cacti, sea grapes, and palms. Westerly strolls down the beach lead to seashell mounds that accumulate during stormy winter seasons. Shell caches at Bowman’s tend to dazzle even experienced shellers. Blind Pass Beach and Captiva’s Turner Beach are just west of Bowman’s at the northern tip of Sanibel—where the glorious Gulf of Mexico and southern end of Captiva Island are visible. After you cross the panoramic Blind Pass Bridge, the road becomes Captiva Drive. Public beach parks on both sides of the bridge are popular stops for surf fishing, shell hunting, bird watching, and photographing Florida’s splendid West Coast sunsets. From the vintage lighthouse on its eastern edge to scenic Blind Pass Beach on its western end, Sanibel Island is a nature lover’s paradise that’s too good to miss.
FOR MORE INFORMATION www.sanibel-captiva.org
SANIBEL
COAST TO COAST SPRING MAGAZINE 2018
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