Discover the Secret Islands of Southwest Florida
Many of Southwest Florida’s barrier islands, spanning the coast from Marco north to Manasota Key, deliver seclusion — without the three-hour tour or that dunderhead Gilligan. The best are those accessible only by boat, chartered ferry excursions and, in some cases, a helicopter or seaplane. Bonus for resort amenities and grand, Old Florida-style cottages and estate rentals — or sleeping platforms for the truly adventurous who don’t mind starlit nights within the thick nothingness of the Everglades. This time of year, even those islands connected by bridge offer more room to spread out your beach blanket.
Find Your Key to Paradise
The Ten Thousand Islands
Just a smattering of the Everglades’ Ten Thousand Islands are inhabited. Subtract Marco from the mix, and the majority of the remaining 9,999 are devoid of civilization or an inkling of man’s presence. Heck, some are merely walking-on-water mangroves with little to no actual land. Motorboats allow you to take the plunge deeper into the ‘Glades and the 35,000-acre Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge. The national park is part of the largest mangrove forest in North America and plays an important role in the circle of life with its bird rookeries and fish nurseries. You might spot the rare mangrove cuckoo or black-whiskered vireo, or a sea turtle nest along the refuge’s small slices of beach.
Opt for paddle power and you’re bound to hear and see more, the dip of your paddle the only manmade noise within a natural soundtrack of bird calls, leaping fish splashdowns and, if you’re lucky, the distinguishable snort of dolphins and manatees. Florida panthers also live here, and the quiet back bay waters are home to snook, permit, flounder, pompano and sea trout.
Some of the islands also offer platforms for overnight campers.
Gasparilla Island
Boca Grande–the Palm Beach of Gasparilla Island. This easy-going, but upscale island boasts stylish shops and boutiques, as well as to-die-for seafood restaurants.
Long before roads opened southwest Florida to the masses, privileged northerners came by train to spend the winter on beautiful Gasparilla Island. This picturesque town looks much the way it did a century ago. In the off-season, beach goers can have the water to themselves, going the whole day without seeing anyone.
Cabbage Key
Almost every island in Florida claims to be “the one” — the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” Sans paved roads, nary a car or crowded like a lot of tourist destinations, the 100-acre Cabbage Key in the middle of Pine Island Sound is indeed a likely candidate. The leader of Parrothead Nation did, after all, visit the island in the 1970s, and the historic Cabbage Key Inn does serve a mean cheeseburger.
A popular stop for weekend boaters and the visitors-who-lunch set, many charter captains and ferries offer daily excursions from Pine Island, Captiva, Boca Grande and Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. Guests occasionally fly in by helicopter. The inn’s perch atop a 38-foot Calusa Indian shell mound isn’t quite an above-sea-level record for Southwest Florida, but it does heighten the view of arriving boats and the water. Walls throughout the dining room and the appropriately named and legendary Dollar Bill Bar are papered with singles signed by patrons.
The storied building has served as a safe house for boaters and shrimpers caught in storms, and its ambience is as Old Florida as it gets. The cheeseburger is a must, as is the restaurant’s signature rice and beans. Burn off those calories wandering the island’s winding shell-crushed paths or stay overnight at the inn or its charming cottages.
Upper Captiva
A hurricane almost a century ago cut off the northern tip of Captiva, creating a Pine Island-and-gulf-connecting channel that quickly earned the name Redfish Pass and a reputation for prime redfish sports fishing. Rumored as a hideaway for the legendary (and possibly non-existent) Spanish pirate José Gaspar, 700-acre North Captiva offers five miles of beaches, just 370 homes, a population of 50 year-round residents and 350 acres of state-owned nature preserve. It was once the site of an extensive tomato plantation and the main processing plant for the Punta Gorda Fish Co.
As one of Southwest Florida’s most secluded inhabited islands, Upper Cap has a discernibly swanky side with multimillion dollar homes (some of them on weekly rental programs), resorts with onsite dining and amenities and a private airstrip. Three miles from the mainland, it’s also accessible by ferry and private boats.
Stay in one of North Captiva Island Club Resort’s two- to five-bedroom rental properties — many with private pools, beachfront views and song-ofthe sea names such as Dolphin Cottage, Sunset Beach House, Havana Breeze and Hidden Harmony — and enjoy complimentary use of bikes, beach chairs and kayaks.
Safety Harbor, the island’s main marina, is a planned neighborhood and home to Barnacle’s Island Resort and the iconic Barnacle Phil’s restaurant, where walls are plastered with dollar bills.
Shelling, fishing and birding are just some of the activities guests enjoy on Upper Captiva.
Useppa Island
Useppa is about as exclusive as they come and an anomaly among Southwest Florida’s islands. The private island community gives the general public just a two-hour window of opportunity to visit for lunch and, if time permits, explore the famed pink path, the Collier Inn and its signature Old-Florida-style homes rendered in white and pale grays. There is some wiggle room for visitors interested in real estate and friends of Useppa Island Club members.
A resort destination for the wealthy since the late 19th century, lucky guests and homeowners enjoy a setting steeped in nature, where golf carts are the primary mode of transportation and in-season croquet games mandate the wearing the traditional all-white.
Ferries from South Seas Island Resort and Pine Island offer daily public lunchtime excursions.
Manasota Key
Think of Englewood Beach, on the southern portion of the 11-mile long key, as a scaled-down and more secluded version of Fort Myers Beach. Many visitors and even some longtime residents aren’t even aware Charlotte County has a beach — likely due to its big disconnect from Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda. It’s a good 45-minute drive upon turning onto S.R. 776/McCall Road from Tamiami Trail. But totally worth it, if you long for elbow room and a dozen or so mom-and-pop businesses, including the county’s best tiki bars with live music, tropical cocktails and food, and even cornhole, giant Jenga and Caribbean ring toss games.
With Lemon Bay to the east and the gulf to the west, the island boasts public beaches along most of its span. For the ultimate quiet time, head south to Stump Pass Beach State Park, offering a mile of undeveloped beachfront that becomes more secluded the farther south you walk toward the channel separating Manasota Key from Don Pedro Island at its southernmost tip. The calm waters on the Lemon Bay side are ideal for paddleboarding.
The main beach at Chadwick Park offers daily yoga and a Sunday sunset drum circle.
Florida Weekly June 2015