Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n
Beachcombers drawn by the plentiful brown-and-cream junonia shells and turkey wings, both prized by collectors. Hikers, scuba divers, and wildlife watchers (especially lovers of birds, dolphins, and manatees) will also find plenty to see here.<\/p>\n
Insider tip<\/p>\n
If you want to explore the mangroves, you can launch a kayak near Water Turkey Bay (or take a tour with Get Up and Go Kayaking<\/a>). In the dunes, watch for gopher tortoises along the paths and be sure to give them space.<\/p>\n Tigertail Beach Park<\/p>\n Tigertail Beach Marco Island Florida<\/p>\n Photo by Paul Harrison\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Shaped like its namesake, this beach on Marco Island\u2019s western edge<\/a> delivers two distinct experiences. A family-friendly inner beach with soft sand and shallow water is connected to the parking lot by boardwalks. For the more adventurous, there\u2019s the outer beach: a long spit locally known as Sand Dollar Island, which faces a calm tidal lagoon on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. <\/p>\n To reach it, you must wade about 50 yards through the lagoon; water shoes are advised, as there\u2019s mucky seagrass on the bottom. At high tide, the water can be waist-deep, so some visitors use a stand-up paddleboard to cross. It\u2019s easy to get distracted by wading birds and interesting shell fragments on the way.<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n Intergenerational family gatherings\u2014the oldest and the youngest can stay on the mainland, while the more adventurous can venture into the lagoon and to Sand Dollar Island.<\/p>\n Insider tip<\/p>\n Low tide makes it easier to reach Sand Dollar Island, where you might find tidal pools with small fish, sea stars, sand dollars, and occasionally a prized junonia shell.<\/p>\n Rabbit Key<\/p>\n Ringed with white sand and reachable only by kayak (or a boat tour from Everglades City with an outfitter like Everglades National Park Adventures<\/a>), Rabbit Key, an outer barrier island in the Ten Thousand Islands archipelago<\/a> that sits within the boundaries of Everglades National Park<\/a>, is as off the grid as Florida beaches get. <\/p>\n Access is limited from March through August to protect nesting shorebirds, but camping is permitted on the island\u2019s eastern side<\/a> between October and April with a backcountry pass. A beach day here means sharing the shore with the birds and the occasional offshore dolphin.<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s for<\/p>\n Intrepid adventurers willing to go the extra mile (and navigate the mangrove estuaries of Ten Thousand Islands) to reach the ultimate remote beach.<\/p>\n Insider Tip<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not familiar with the area\u2019s charts and tides, you\u2019ll be better off with a guided eco-tour<\/a> or ranger-led trip<\/a>. Local guides know which islands are accessible, open, and best for shelling or wildlife sightseeing.<\/p>\n Clam Pass Beach Park<\/p>\n Clam Pass – aerial view<\/p>\n Courtesy of Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades CVB<\/p>\n In the heart of Naples, Clam Pass Park<\/a> beach ($10 to park) offers a remote atmosphere without visitors having to leave the city. To reach it, you must walk along a .75-mile boardwalk though dense mangroves (or take a free tram from the parking lot that leaves every 15 minutes). <\/p>\n Once you\u2019re out of the woods, you\u2019ll discover the park\u2019s most distinctive feature: a narrow, shallow channel you can float down on a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard (Naples Outfitters and Kayak Co.<\/a> rents equipment for pickup or delivery).<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n Water-sports lovers who\u2019d rather be active than flop on the sand. This park also has beach wheelchairs and loaner life jackets.<\/p>\n Insider tip<\/p>\n Follow the lead of the locals, who often drift the channel\u2019s entire length before exiting through an outlet into the Gulf. From December to April, free ranger-led nature walks<\/a> are available with a reservation.<\/p>\n Vanderbilt Beach<\/p>\n Naples, Florida – March 6, 2018: Tourists enjoying the Vanderbilt beach in Naples, Florida. Naples is located on the Gulf Coast in southern Florida.<\/p>\n Photo by LesPalenik\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Stretching for five miles along North Naples, Vanderbilt Beach Park<\/a> ($10 to park) has everything you could want in a Gulf Coast beach: soft white sand, calm water, and easy conditions for swimming or floating. Picnic areas, restrooms, and nearby restaurants make it ideal for lingering through sunset. With services connecting you to Central Naples (like Breeze Beach Shuttle<\/a>, which operates six-person golf carts), a drop-off spot for gear, and kayak launch points, it\u2019s one of the area\u2019s most user-friendly beaches.<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n Beachgoers\u2014like families and snowbirds staying at nearby hotels\u2014who wants only the basics.<\/p>\n Insider tip<\/p>\n At sunset, you can often spot dolphins offshore.<\/p>\n Barefoot Beach Preserve<\/p>\n Barefoot Beach just north of downtown Naples was selected by \u201cDr. Beach\u201d as the #2 USA beach in 2014. The beach has long stretches of white sand perfect for peaceful beach walks.<\/p>\n Karen Bartlett\/Karen Bartlett<\/p>\n One of the last undeveloped barrier islands along Florida\u2019s southwest coast, Barefoot Beach Preserve<\/a> ($10 to park) is also one of the county\u2019s most beautiful. The boardwalk curves through sabal palms and gumbo-limbos before opening onto a seldom-crowded stretch of white sand. Natural dunes, plentiful shorebirds, fighting conch shells, and gopher tortoises in the scrub contribute to the unspoiled atmosphere. This is as natural as a Gulf beach gets\u2014and it\u2019s a 15-mile drive north from Naples and has restrooms, picnic tables, and a marked nature trail.<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n Anyone who wants to feel as if they\u2019ve truly gotten away from it all\u2014but still intends to make it back to Naples for a 7 p.m. dinner reservation.<\/p>\n Insider tip<\/p>\n The farther north you walk along the beach, the more likely you are to see wildlife, including dolphins, ospreys and other birds, manatees in the winter, and sea turtles during their nesting season from May to October.<\/p>\n Lowdermilk Park<\/p>\n Locals come to this spot<\/a> near Gulf Shore Boulevard, the main coastal thoroughfare in North Naples, for an easy, no-fuss beach day. <\/p>\n A wide stretch of soft sand lies beside calm, swimmable water, while behind it a park with some shade\u2014a rarity in South Florida\u2014offers picnic tables, rentable gazebos, volleyball courts, playgrounds, and a concession stand for snacks between dips. There are also mats for wheelchair access<\/a> to the beach.<\/p>\n Who it\u2019s best for<\/p>\n Groups who want to park and chill, and families with little ones who might need a shady respite from the beach.<\/p>\n Insider tip<\/p>\n Hit the beach early to claim one of the eight free tiki huts, which are prized by locals, especially on weekends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida is known for its beaches: 825 miles of them. Some of the state\u2019s prettiest shoreline can be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3879,28,30,29,6628,5387,81325],"class_list":["post-232406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-everglades","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-marco-island","tag-naples","tag-round-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Tigertail](\"https:\/\/afar.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/5c995b5\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x2000+0+0\/resize\/800x533!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk3-prod-afar-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fcf%2Fc3%2Fd06b1d274eef84fa59ad2eddbcab%2Fflorida-san-marco-tigertail-beach-shutterstock-2428445223.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Clam](\"https:\/\/afar.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/cf02bb5\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2999x2000+0+0\/resize\/800x534!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk3-prod-afar-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Ffa%2Ffc%2F4e3d9c5f405faf397faf3cc6d971%2Fflorida-destination-overview-clam-pass-aerial-dsc01374-pr-credit-naples-marco-island-and-the-everglades-cvb.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Naples,](\"https:\/\/afar.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/cb677ef\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x2000+0+0\/resize\/800x533!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk3-prod-afar-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F4a%2F4f%2F5b289b00440c90b166c560837525%2Fflorida-vanderbilt-beach-shutterstock-1054365032.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Barefoot](\"https:\/\/afar.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/6b78e7b\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x2000+0+0\/resize\/800x533!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk3-prod-afar-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F1d%2F9f%2F8defee174e5394d90f6c2e3b7c58%2Fflorida-barefoot-beach-pr-credit-naples-marco-island-and-the-everglades-cvb.jpg\")
<\/p>\n