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Lovers Key State Park

Photo: Stepheneric9 / CC BY-SA 4.0

🏖️ Beaches

Lovers Key State Park

Fort Myers Beach, FL · Southwest Florida

About

Two miles of quiet, sugar-white beach stretch across four barrier islands here, reached by a short tram from the parking lot or a walk over the bridge. Manatees and dolphins work the passes at either end, and the back-bay trails on Black Island are good for spotting roseate spoonbills, ospreys, and the occasional gopher tortoise. Rent a kayak to paddle the mangrove estuary, or just hunt shells on a shoreline that stays calm and uncrowded even in season.

Highlights

Two miles of white-sand Gulf beach across four barrier islandsManatees and dolphins in the passes; over 40 bird speciesKayak and canoe the mangrove estuary (rentals on site)Five-plus miles of trails on Black Island for biking and wildlifeCalm, uncrowded shelling beach reached by tram or footbridge

Getting there

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Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature Lovers Key State Park.

Florida State Parks26 places

Florida State Parks

Florida's park service runs about 175 state parks, and these are the ones worth planning a trip around. Wild barrier islands and sugar-sand beaches, deep springs and dark caverns, 19th-century forts and prairies where bison still roam, from the Panhandle's emerald coast to the coral reefs of the Keys. The definitive short list, not the whole directory.