Cayo Costa State Park in Lee County, Florida

Photograph: CayoCostaSP Landscape01.jpg by https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_pauline/ · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Restored from the credited Wikimedia Commons file, normalized to the consistent attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Portrait originals retain their complete composition over a softly blurred extension of the same photograph.

Lee County attraction

Cayo Costa State Park

Lee County · Gulf Coast

Two thousand four hundred and thirty-six acres on a barrier island four nautical miles west of Pine Island, reachable only by boat.

QUESTIONS THAT NAME THIS PLACE

Where Can You Camp on the Coast in Florida?

ABOUT THIS PLACE

Nine miles of beach run down the Gulf side and almost none of it is built on. Behind the sand are pine flatwoods, oak palm hammock and mangrove swamp, and the island carries gopher tortoises, ospreys and a heavy passage of migrating birds in spring and fall. The shelling here is as good as anywhere in the state because so few people walk the beach, and what washes up stays put. Getting there takes planning. There is no bridge: visitors arrive by private boat, by kayak or by charter. As of the park's own notice dated July 28, 2025, the scheduled ferry service was not running, overnight lodging was unavailable, a boil water notice was in force, and hurricane recovery work was continuing, so anyone planning a trip should confirm the current position with the park before committing to it. Entry is two dollars a person and the fee station requires correct change. The park opens at eight in the morning and closes at sundown, with the ranger station shutting at four

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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