Happenin’
Secluded Florida Gulf Coast BeachesCayo Costa State ParkSt. Vincent Island (National Wildlife Refuge)

Photos: Pinellas County / CC BY 2.0 · Andrea Pauline / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nicole Rankin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Public domain

Places › Florida › Collections › Secluded Florida Gulf Coast Beaches

Secluded Florida Gulf Coast Beaches

Cayo Costa, Caladesi, Anclote Key and St. Vincent Island have no road to them, so you go by ferry or your own boat. You can drive to the other five, and none of the nine has a high-rise on the beach. Pack water and shade either way.

9 places · Florida Gulf Coast

Must-see
Beaches
Cayo Costa State ParkMust-see
Walk the tram path to the Gulf

Cayo Costa State Park

No bridge and no road. Boats leave from Pine Island or Boca Grande, and the $2 honor box wants exact change.

Plan your visit
Boca Grande, FL Southwest Florida
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More to explore

Caladesi Island State Park Beaches

Caladesi Island State Park

Dunedin, FL · Tampa Bay

Ferry or private boat only, and the shell flats are worth the ride.

Anclote Key Preserve State Park Beaches

Anclote Key Preserve State Park

Tarpon Springs, FL · Tampa Bay

Three miles off the sponge docks, with bald eagles and oystercatchers in the shallows.

Grayton Beach State Park Beaches

Grayton Beach State Park

Santa Rosa Beach, FL · Panhandle$

The state park keeps it all undeveloped: scrub oak and sea oats behind the sand.

Bowman's Beach Beaches

Bowman's Beach

Sanibel, FL · Southwest Florida

You reach the sand on a footbridge over Clam Bayou, where manatees drift below.

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Lovers Key State Park Beaches

Lovers Key State Park

Fort Myers Beach, FL · Southwest Florida

The tram at Lovers Key State Park has been discontinued, so you reach the beach on foot or by bike. From parking lot 1 it's 1,000 feet over the Mid-Beach Wood Bridge, or half a…

St. Andrews State Park Beaches

St. Andrews State Park

Panama City Beach, FL · Panhandle$

The rock jetty at St. Andrews State Park, in Panama City Beach, doubles as an artificial reef. You can find rays, angelfish, sheepshead and octopus around the rocks. Only boats…

Honeymoon Island State Park Beaches

Honeymoon Island State Park

Dunedin, FL · Tampa Bay

Around 20 osprey nests are active each spring on Honeymoon Island, at the end of the Dunedin Causeway, and bald eagles have nested here since 2009. In 1940 some 50 palm-thatched…

Destin / Henderson Beach State Park Beaches

Destin / Henderson Beach State Park

Destin, FL · Panhandle$

Destin's commercial strip rings Henderson Beach State Park, and its beach is still dark enough at night for green and loggerhead sea turtles to nest. The park has 1.25 miles of…

Fort De Soto Park Beaches

Fort De Soto Park

Tierra Verde, FL · Tampa Bay

Fort De Soto Park covers five keys at the mouth of Tampa Bay, and the coastal guns of its 1898 fort are still mounted in the batteries, which you can walk through. Nearly three…

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