Boca Grande Beaches on BeachHunter.net |
||||
Boca Grande (Gasparilla Island)
 |
 |
|
Up to the early 1900's, Boca Grande, Florida, on Gasparilla Island was a busy and important place for the fresh seafood trade. It was a place of colorful characters that earned a hard living from the Gulf and Bay. Now it is mostly an island of leisure; an island of vacation homes with perfect tropical charm; an island of sporting Tarpon fishing tournaments. Some good things have been lost, some good things have been gained. There is still a touch of yesterday here if you make some effort to look for it. On the road of life, sometimes it's good to look over your shoulder to see where you came from and remember the people that made it all happen. Boca Grande is the perfect place to find quiet sophistication and luxury blended with the charm of old Florida, the influence of old money and new, without compromising on a beautiful natural environment with brilliant beaches, clear blue and green water, and lots of tropical vegetation everywhere. |
|
The
Boca Beacon Island Newspaper - very informative. Keeps you in touch
with what's up on the island. Live Beach Web Cam - Very good beach web cam at the Boca Grande Club. This link takes you to their home page. Click on "Beach Camera." They give you the password to access the camera. |
 |
 |
Do you have all the beach gear you need to be comfortable during your beach vacation? I've got some great suggestions for you. Have a look at some beach chairs, umbrellas, totes, floating chairs, towels, kids gear, and a LOT more! |
 |
 |
Gasparilla Island Beach Photos |
 |
At left is Boca Grande Public Beach parking area #2, also known as the Seagrape access. It is of course exactly between access #1 and access #3. This is a beautiful beach with lots of white sand, beautiful clear water, some small dunes and a wooden dune walkover from the parking lot. Within 10 minutes of arriving and taking this photo I saw several dolphins, some tarpon, some large snook, and a small hammerhead shark swimming just off the beach. The shark caused a little excitement, but was not interested in eating anyone. It is not unusual to see single hammerheads swimming along the beach, especially in the morning. In my experience, when they encounter people, they make a wide detour around. |
 |
Here is the beach at the "sea grape" access. This photo was taken on a beautiful spring day in May. The Gulf waters usually display the best color and clarity during the month of May. |
 |
Boca Grand Pass is the scene of world-famous tarpon tournaments. Apparently, the trick is not only keeping the tarpon hooked long enough to get him in the boat, but also to get him in the boat before the sharks catch him. At left is the scene of a tarpon fishing tournament in Boca Grande Pass. Yes, there are some mighty big sharks down below. |
 |
Here is a closer view of the Boca Grande lighthouse and surrounding area. You can tour the lighthouse. Notice the large Great Blue Heron flying in the sky. Cayo Costa Island is on the other side of the pass just to the right of the lighthouse. Pine Island is in the far distance between the two buildings. Cayo Costa has beautiful beaches but as mentioned earlier, you need a boat to get there. Pine Island is surrounded by mangroves and has no beaches. It is a wonderful island to visit and is the site of an annual mango festival. |
 |
Boca Grande is such a warm and hospitable place to live that iguanas find it delightful. If you have a picnic on any of the tables near the lighthouse they will surely pay you a visit. This one is about two feet long. |
 |
My favorite street on the island, Banyan street intersects Gilchrist and is easy to find. The large spreading tropical ficus trees cover the entire street. The temperature under the trees feels at least twenty degrees cooler than in the sun. The foliage in all the neighborhoods on Boca Grande is lush, much like Naples. Park your car at the end of the street by the Gulf and take a slow stroll under the trees. It will do you some good. These trees withstood the winds of Hurricane Charlie. |
 |
At left is a view of the Gulf of Mexico at the end of Banyan Street. The water is beautiful and clear and full of fish. Notice that there is no beach here. That is because of the seawall. Seawalls destroy beaches. But this island had most of its development done back in the day when it was thought that seawalls protect the shore. Experience has shown otherwise. I'm going to bring a kayak back here for a different perspective of Gasparilla Island. |
 |
The lighthouse on Boca Grande Pass also houses a small, but wonderful island museum and gift shop. This lighthouse withstood 170 mile per hour winds during Hurricane Charley on August 13, 2004. |
 |
Here is a view of a corner of the museum inside the lighthouse. You can learn a lot about Boca Grand history by spending just a half-hour browsing through the museum. Kids will love it. It is not a stuffy old collection of artifacts. |
 |
The view from the lighthouse, overlooking Boca Grande Pass. The island of Cayo Costa can be seen in the distance. |
 |
A typical beach scene on Boca Grande. This photo was taken from the "seawall" access, looking toward the sea grape and sandspur beach accesses. Note the homes lined up along the shore. Many of them are available for vacation rentals. |
 |
A view of the beach at the sandspur beach access. Just to my right, out of view is an old lighthouse. This is probably the most popular beach access on Gasparilla Island because it is the first access, it has shaded picnic tables, good restroom/changing facilities, it has a lighthouse, and it is a safe swimming area. You have to pay to park. |
 |
Here is a view of the private beaches on Boca Grande. Some of these beaches have street-end access, but parking is limited and there are no facilities. It is a beautiful residential area. |
|
|
