Ponce de Leon is rumored to have discovered Sanibel Island centuries before a killer hurricane split it in two. Today, Sanibel's fabled beaches are a paradise for visitors---an island of pirate legends, fabulous seashells and spectacular sunsets. Neighboring Fort Myers, a garrison in the Seminole Indian Wars and a thriving coastal city today, shares a similar history. Together, these relaxed beach communities on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast are popular and welcoming family destinations.
The white sand beaches, famous for shelling, playful off-shore dolphins and technicolor sunsets, are free, but parking tolls apply. Try the annual American Sandsculpting Championship Festival on Fort Myers Beach in November. SandVendor Village springs up between the two main sculpting areas with drinks, snacks and souvenirs. Chill on any of Sanibel's sugar-white beaches or take the tram to Lovers Key State Park where kid camps teach about fishing, birding and beach ecosystems ($2 fee per cyclist; $8 fee per vehicle). Collect shells everywhere and watch for bottlenose dolphins offshore just before the sky turns flamingo pink and mango orange as the sun goes down.
American Sandsculpting Championship Festival
Fort Myers Beach
(866) 916-SAND
http://sandsculptingfestival.com/
Lovers Key State Park
County Road 865 between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach,
Lee County, FL 33931
(239) 765-7788
http://floridastateparks.org/loverskey/
The J.N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge has a 5-mile bike loop; you can rent bikes from one of the nearby concessions on Sanibel. Alligators, Great Blue herons and the mangrove swamps of a "lost" Florida can all be viewed from convenient boardwalks. Manatee Park in Fort Myers has plenty of these gentle giants, a threatened species that munches on river grasses and pokes a curious head up to examine visitors. Best viewing is November to March. The Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium is named for the indigenous people who once lived in the area. It offers three nature trails, bird and butterfly aviaries, a living museum, planetarium, gift shop, picnic areas and classes and activities for tots to teens.
"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society---Friends of the Refuge
One Wildlife Drive
Sanibel Island, FL 33957
(239) 472-1100 ext. 233
[email protected]
Lee County Manatee Park
10901 State Road 80 (Palm Beach Boulevard)
Fort Myers, FL 33905
(239) 690-5030
http://www.leeparks.org/facility-info/facility-details.cfm?Project_Num=0088
Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium
3450 Ortiz Avenue
Fort Myers, FL 33905
(239) 275-3435
http://www.calusanature.com/
Take a beach break and time travel at the Southwest Florida Museum of History, located in a 1924 Atlantic Coastline Railroad depot. Tour a pioneer "cracker" house and a 1929 private Pullman car and learn about the region's inhabitants from Paleolithic times to the present day. The Williams Academy Black History Museum features a 1940s classroom in the area's first all-black government-funded school as well as depictions of life in segregated southwest Florida in the first half of the twentieth century. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates are two next-door historic homes, including botanical gardens and Edison's lab. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were well-acquainted and lived a grand life in tropical style in their 1929 snowbird roosts. The museum presents film festivals, antique car shows, garden teas and, just for kids, summer camp and year-round educational classes.
Southwest Florida Museum of History
2300 Peck Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901
(239) 332-5955
http://www.flamuseums.org/museums/info/1636810
Williams Academy Black History Museum
1936 Henderson Avenue
Fort Myers, FL 33916
(239) 332-8778
http://www.leecountyblackhistory.com/museum.html
Edison and Ford Winter Estates
2350 McGregor Boulevard
Fort Myers, FL 33901
(239) 334-7419
http://www.efwefla.org/home.asp
