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Bonita Beach on BeachHunter.net |
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Bonita BeachBonita Beach, Florida and its inland town of Bonita Springs are south of Ft. Myers and just north of Naples. They bask in the opulent aura of Naples and identify themselves as having closer ties to the upper-crust settlers of Naples than with the somewhat less well-to-do populace of Ft. Myers. Bonita Beach is just south of Fort Myers Beach and comprises a very upscale beach community with a few condominiums and lots of very nice modern beachfront homes nestled among the coconut palms, sea grapes, and other lush tropical foliage. Beach access is fairly generous for such an upscale and comparatively small island. Barefoot Beach at the south end of Bonita Beach is home to an incredible development suitable for the rich and famous. The homes are huge, as are the condominiums. Incredibly, just south of the huge homes is a beautiful nature preserve and county park beach. There's not a lot to do in Bonita Beach, so for entertainment it's a short drive to Fort Myers or Naples. There are a few less expensive hotels in Bonita Springs, Florida but on the beach, it's either a luxury condo or a beachhouse for a vacation rental.
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Just south of Fort Myers Beach, the northernmost beach accessible by the public is Little Hickory Beach Park. It is a quiet beach, with beach homes immediately to the south of the access, and condominiums to the north, as seen below. The parking lot has pay stations and it fills up quickly on the weekends and on holidays. |
| Here is the view looking north from Little Hickory Beach Park on Bonita Beach. |
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The landscaping in the Bonita Beach area is very lush and tropical, with lots of healthy coconut palms full of coconuts. It is an upscale area, and many of the homes are quite extravagant. At left is a wooden dune walkover at one of the public access points. This is a quiet, well cared for neighborhood beach. There are quite a few shells on the beach in this area. Parking is free, but limited to a few street-ends. |
| Bonita Beach Park and Lely Barefoot Beach are adjacent to each other and are located where Bonita Beach Road curves along the coast and becomes Hickory Blvd. They are VERY popular beaches and parking is at a premium. There are hot dog vendors on the beach, and Doc's Beachhouse Restaurant is right on the beach. The restroom and changing facilities are excellent. |
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South of Bonita Beach Park is Barefoot Beach Preserve, a Collier County park. To get to the park you first must drive through a luxury housing development, also called, oddly enough, Barefoot Preserve. Don't you wish you lived here! |
| Here you can see the beach in front of the luxury housing development called Barefoot Preserve. There is no public access provided on this stretch of beach, but you can easily walk here from Bonita Beach Park. You could walk all the way to the County Park and Wiggins Pass, but it's quite a long hike. It's nice to take a walk here and enjoy the quiet beach and dream that one of these beachhouses is your winter home... |
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Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park is a lengthy stretch of beach with no buildings. There are few Australian pines left. It appears they were removed as part of the habitat restoration project which removes non-native species. A few dead pine trees can be seen silhouetted against the clouds. The southern tip of the island faces Wiggins Pass, which separates Barefoot Beach from Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, another fine beach. In addition to the beach, there is a nature trail that weaves its way to Wiggins Pass. At the park entrance there is a nature center sponsored by Friends of Barefoot Beach which has informative displays and information about classes and tours offered to the pubic. |
| Barefoot
Beach Preserve, a Collier County nature preserve and public park, is
promoted, enhanced, and cared for by the Friends of Barefoot Beach, a
local not-for-profit organization. Here is one of the dune walkovers
leading through a very healthy plant community on the upper beach.
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The last few hundred feet of Barefoot Beach sees the beach become quite narrow as you approach Wiggins Pass. Stumps of Australian pine trees stand in the water, having lost their battle to hold onto a constantly shifting shoreline. The pass is not very wide and is not deep enough for large ships. If you walked down near this end of Barefoot Beach you would have a very quiet and relaxing day, away from the beach crowd which tends to stay near the facilities at the entrance to the park. |
| Here is a July sunset. It had rained
very heavily all afternoon. The sky started to clear a bit just before
sunset, and the remains of the angry clouds were drifting out to sea. It
can be a little buggy around sunset during the rainy summer months on
Bonita Beach, so be sure to have your insect repellent nearby, just in
case. Or you can always duck into Doc's Beach House Restaurant after sunset (below). |
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