The Beaches of 

Marco Island

Interstate 75 Exit: 101 (Collier Blvd / CR 951
Nearest mainland city: Naples is the closest significant city, about 30 minutes north of Marco. 
Major access roads: Collier Blvd.

Directions:
Marco Island, located in Collier County about 30 minutes south of Naples, is the southernmost island on the southwest coast of Florida that has beaches accessible by car. Beyond Marco Island, to the south, are Cape Romano, the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Keys. To get to Marco Island from Interstate 75, take Collier Blvd. exit #101 (County Road 951) and follow the signs to Marco. You will drive through an area where there is not yet much development, but more condos, shopping centers, and generic fast food restaurants are quickly being constructed. This is a beautiful part of the State, but come and enjoy it while you can, because it won't stay this way long.

Marco Island is very overdeveloped. It was once covered with mangroves and Indian middens (mounds of discarded shells); but most of the mangroves were bulldozed, finger canals were carved into the coast so everyone could have a boat dock, and the land was filled in so homes and condos could be built. So here it is, out in the middle of nowhere, a retirement / vacation paradise with all the comforts of any city. There is a lot of money on Marco; that's obvious. You won't see any run down areas or low rent districts. It's high class all the way. Everything looks as if it were just built. The landscaping on Marco is absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful coconut palms are everywhere, along with a great variety of tropical trees and flowering plants. Even the condominiums have plenty of greenery. Your really feel you are on a tropical island when you arrive on Marco. Going over the high Jolley Bridge to Marco you get a great bird's-eye view of the island. The tall buildings you see in the distance are not the downtown business district. They are the beachfront condominiums, of which Marco has too many. Marco Island is the opposite of Sanibel Island.  Everything on Marco is overbuilt and exclusive. But there is one special beach on Marco that allows easy access to the public: Tigertail Park.

95: TIGERTAIL PARK

After crossing the bridge onto Marco Island you will be on Collier Blvd. Follow Collier Blvd. to Kendall Road and turn right. A sign at Kendall Road directs you toward Tigertail Park. You will follow Kendall to Hernando Drive, then turn left on Hernando and it will lead you to Tigertail Park.

There is a $4.00 entrance fee to this beautiful public beach. There are several parking lots, a concession/cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, restroom facilities, and beach equipment rentals (kayaks, water-bikes, covered beach chairs, etc.). Boardwalks take you from the parking areas to the beach. The park is open from 7am to sunset. There are no lifeguards on duty.

Tigertail Beach is the widest and most expansive beach on the lower Gulf coast of Florida. The designated public beach is nearly a half-mile long, although as with most beaches, there are no visible boundaries. If you are accustomed to visiting other beaches in this part of the state you will be amazed at how much beach there is here. As soon as you step off the boardwalk there is a wide, white, sandy beach. In front of the beach is a tidal lagoon several hundred feet across, then there is another wide beach before you finally reach the Gulf shore. The farther beach is called Sand Dollar Island and is partly roped off to protect nesting birds. One reaches the Gulf beach on Sand Dollar Island by wading across the shallow lagoon. Recently, a beach renourishment project has added a  lot of beach to the area just south of the park, so that Sand Dollar Island is now connected at its south end to Tigertail Beach. So you can walk to the Gulf Beach without crossing the lagoon. As of my last visit in October 2004, there was at least a quarter-mile walk to the beach just south of the park. It is nearly as expansive as the huge beach on Treasure Island in Pinellas County. Looking toward the south from the park, you have a sweeping view of all the condos on Marco, as well as of the continuous wide beach which runs the entire length of Marco Island. You can walk from one end to the other in about 2 hours at a brisk pace. At Tigertail Beach, and to the north, there are no condos or homes on the shore, only thick beach grasses and woods. As for the rest of the Marco shoreline, the only place where there are no condominiums is at the Resident's Beach, a private beach access only for Marco residents. It is administered by the Marco Island Civic Association, and is the only part of Marco's Gulf shoreline (other than Tigertail Park) that does not have a condominium or resort built on it.

The Gulf waters here on Marco are shallow, calm, and clean. Marco Island is a long way from any significant source of pollution, and is adjacent to a very large expanse of mangrove forests and estuaries which act as natural pollution filters. Also, since the waters remain fairly shallow for a long way off shore, there is less wave activity here than on beaches further north. On the west coast of Florida there generally isn't much wave activity anyway, to which the frustrated surfers will attest. This is one of the quietest beaches in this area of the state since there is no highway for many miles, and no planes flying overhead. Since the water is relatively shallow, the really large boats stay far enough out not to pollute with their engine noise. The loudest sound out here is the sound of screeching birds guarding their nests in the sand. If you want the true castaway feeling, I would suggest coming here on a weekday when there are fewer people. Wade out to Sand Dollar Island and go for a long walk up the beach. Take your towel and something to drink, and perhaps a beach umbrella. Now you can really relax.

Tigertail Beach itself curves around the north end of Marco and gradually turns into mud flats and mangroves. Sand Dollar Island projects northward for some distance before curving back toward Tigertail Beach.

96: SOUTH MARCO BEACH (Point Marco)

Follow Collier Blvd to the south end of Marco near Caxambas Pass. Parking for this beach is located on Swallow Avenue, which is directly across from The Apollo Tides condominium and the Cape Marco condominium. Turn east on Swallow and you will find two parking lots, one for the royal residents of Marco (Sarazen Park), the other for visitors like you and me (South Marco Beach Parking). This public lot used to be free, but is now a pay-and-park lot with a daily fee of $4.00. The lot is paved, fenced, and landscaped and has restrooms. Follow the sidewalk to the beach. You have to cross the wide Collier Boulevard and walk down a path leading between two towering condos to get to the beach. But you will be pleased, I think, upon seeing the beautiful white beach which is about 150 feet wide. The entire beach on this part of the island is dominated by condos, but the beach is so wide it's easy to ignore them. There are lots of nice shells on the beach and the sand is packed firm, which makes for easy walking. There are no public restrooms or changing facilities out on the beach.

The water here on Marco is excellent for swimming. The white sandy beach slopes very gently into the Gulf, creating a shallow swimming area that extends a considerable distance from shore. The large expanse of gleaming white sand you see in the distance at the north end of Marco is Tigertail Public Beach. Notice also that there are no buildings along Tigertail Beach.

If you look to the south along the shore you will see a rock jetty extending into the Gulf at the southern end of Marco. This is the southernmost beach on the west coast of Florida. There is also another condominium now under construction on the beach. In fact, it has been under construction for several years. Apparently there have been some delays. Unfortunately the condominiums overlooking Caxambas Pass are much too large and are completely out-of-place. Some developers just don't have a sense of scale, except as it relates to their bank account. Indeed, such monstrosities also raise questions about local government oversight. So close do these huge condos stand to Caxambas Pass that one strong hurricane would take them out easily. It would be an improvement. Standing on the seawall that wraps around the Point will give you a great view of several large mangrove islands. One of them has a beach, but you need a boat or jet-ski to get to it. As you are standing here on the southern tip of Marco Island, realize that you are at the very edge of development on the lower west coast of Florida. From here south to the Keys there is little more than water, mangrove tangles, mosquitoes, and wild critters. If you are a fisherman with a boat, you're in heaven.

Photo: Sand Dollar Island at Tigertail Park on Marco Island.