EDITOR'S NOTE:The photos on this page and others in Lee County were taken before Hurricane Ian hit the Gulf Coast is 2022. As always in nature, landscapes can and do change over time.
Overview: We've been to beaches and beach parks throughout South Florida. Few can match the diversity of Lighthouse Beach Park. At least that's the way it was before 2022 when Hurricane Ian devastated Sanibel and the surrounding area, and hopefully that's the way it will be again as time passes.
Lighthouse Beach Park is 44.77 acres sitting on the eastern end of Sanibel Island, named after the Point Ybel Light, built in 1884. The light is one of the oldest on Florida's Gulf Coast and remains operational. The park itself, including the light, is owned and managed by the city of Sanibel. It is mostly beach and dune habitat but also includes marine hammock and mangrove forest within its confines. The beach itself isn't as wide as the beaches typically seen on Florida's east coast but all in all, the park is absolutely gorgeous.
Want to bird watch? This is your place. Want to fish or shell or picnic or wade the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Just want to get away from it all for a while? This is your place.
History: In a sense, the history of Lighthouse Beach Park dates back to 1833 not long after the Florida Peninsular Land Co. established Sanibel's first "modern" settlement. Sanibel residents petitioned for the construction of a light to aid area shipping through San Carlos Bay. It would take until 1883 before Congress approved funding for the project, and the light went up the following year. The Coast Guard wanted to close the light in 1972 but island residents convinced the service to keep it open. A decade later, the Coast Guard transferred ownership of the surrounding propery to the federal Bureau of Land Management, but kept control of the light until 2000. BLM then transferred the land and the light to Sanibel in 2010.
What You'll See: Even if you don't see a single bird, you'll be experiencing one of Florida's most beautiful beaches. The variety of habitat attracts a variety of wildlife, especially birds. We saw birds typically seen in wooded habitats, such as warblers, catbirds, red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers and a larger number of shorebirds, including willets, terns, egrets, laughing gulls and more. One of the highlights of our visit: an absolutely huge flock of white pelicans flying overhead. In the dunes, we saw a gopher tortoise scurring about.
We should note here again that Sanibel Island and Lighthouse Beach Park were hit hard by Ian, a category 4 hurricane that devastated Florida's Gulf Coast. The light and its tower have have been rebuilt but the out buildings, including the lightkeeper's house, are gone. Much of the vegetation that provided vital habitat for a multitude of birds and other animals has been stripped away. Compare what you see in the video above shot post Ian with the pre-Ian photos below and you get some idea of the destruction that occurred. We should also note that a beach renourishment project began in December 2024.
Amenities: Lighthouse Beach Park offers plenty of parking, drinking water and restrooms, picnic facilities and a fishing pier. Check the website, link above, for a full list of what it offers.
Nearby: Most of Sanibel Island is conservation land, the largest portion of which is the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The Bailey Tract, which is a unit of the refuge, is at the end of Periwinkle Drive, Sanibel's main road. The island has sundry other beaches worth visiting, including Bowman's Beach.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Lighthouse Beach Park is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation does not have any data on the park.
Of Note: Admission to the park is free but you do have to pay for parking, which, at the time of this writing (February 2025) was $5 per hour. Check the website above for any changes. Lighthouse Beach Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the week.
Cover Photo: A small example of why Lighthouse Beach Park is one of the best spots for birding on Sanibel Island: A reddish egret forages in shallows with a laughing gull to the left and a willet on the right. Secondary photo: The Lighthouse Beach Park fishing pier pre-Ian.
Overview: We've been to beaches and beach parks throughout South Florida. Few can match the diversity of Lighthouse Beach Park. At least that's the way it was before 2022 when Hurricane Ian devastated Sanibel and the surrounding area, and hopefully that's the way it will be again as time passes.
Lighthouse Beach Park is 44.77 acres sitting on the eastern end of Sanibel Island, named after the Point Ybel Light, built in 1884. The light is one of the oldest on Florida's Gulf Coast and remains operational. The park itself, including the light, is owned and managed by the city of Sanibel. It is mostly beach and dune habitat but also includes marine hammock and mangrove forest within its confines. The beach itself isn't as wide as the beaches typically seen on Florida's east coast but all in all, the park is absolutely gorgeous.
Want to bird watch? This is your place. Want to fish or shell or picnic or wade the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Just want to get away from it all for a while? This is your place.
History: In a sense, the history of Lighthouse Beach Park dates back to 1833 not long after the Florida Peninsular Land Co. established Sanibel's first "modern" settlement. Sanibel residents petitioned for the construction of a light to aid area shipping through San Carlos Bay. It would take until 1883 before Congress approved funding for the project, and the light went up the following year. The Coast Guard wanted to close the light in 1972 but island residents convinced the service to keep it open. A decade later, the Coast Guard transferred ownership of the surrounding propery to the federal Bureau of Land Management, but kept control of the light until 2000. BLM then transferred the land and the light to Sanibel in 2010.
What You'll See: Even if you don't see a single bird, you'll be experiencing one of Florida's most beautiful beaches. The variety of habitat attracts a variety of wildlife, especially birds. We saw birds typically seen in wooded habitats, such as warblers, catbirds, red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers and a larger number of shorebirds, including willets, terns, egrets, laughing gulls and more. One of the highlights of our visit: an absolutely huge flock of white pelicans flying overhead. In the dunes, we saw a gopher tortoise scurring about.
We should note here again that Sanibel Island and Lighthouse Beach Park were hit hard by Ian, a category 4 hurricane that devastated Florida's Gulf Coast. The light and its tower have have been rebuilt but the out buildings, including the lightkeeper's house, are gone. Much of the vegetation that provided vital habitat for a multitude of birds and other animals has been stripped away. Compare what you see in the video above shot post Ian with the pre-Ian photos below and you get some idea of the destruction that occurred. We should also note that a beach renourishment project began in December 2024.
Amenities: Lighthouse Beach Park offers plenty of parking, drinking water and restrooms, picnic facilities and a fishing pier. Check the website, link above, for a full list of what it offers.
Nearby: Most of Sanibel Island is conservation land, the largest portion of which is the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The Bailey Tract, which is a unit of the refuge, is at the end of Periwinkle Drive, Sanibel's main road. The island has sundry other beaches worth visiting, including Bowman's Beach.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Lighthouse Beach Park is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation does not have any data on the park.
Of Note: Admission to the park is free but you do have to pay for parking, which, at the time of this writing (February 2025) was $5 per hour. Check the website above for any changes. Lighthouse Beach Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the week.
Cover Photo: A small example of why Lighthouse Beach Park is one of the best spots for birding on Sanibel Island: A reddish egret forages in shallows with a laughing gull to the left and a willet on the right. Secondary photo: The Lighthouse Beach Park fishing pier pre-Ian.
