See and Do

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Estates
2350 McGregor Blvd.
Fort Myers

The turn of the century houses are open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hours are 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Saturday and 12:00 pm to 5:30 pm Sunday.

Everglades Wonder Gardens
27180 Old US 41
Bonita Springs

The gardens feature a large collection of native Florida wildlife in a beautiful jungle setting. Hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.

Ostego Bay Marine Foundation
San Carlos Island
718 Fisherman’s Wharf
Fort Myers Beach

There are marine exhibits, a touch tank and aquarium. Open 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Wednesday through Saturday.

Shell Factory
2787 North Tamiami Trail
Fort Myers

See thousands of rare and exotic shells, corals, video arcade, restaurants, aquarium, African lounge, bumper boats, sponges and fossils. Free guided tours.

Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
Six Mile Parkway at Penzance Road
Fort Myers

This preserve is a 2,000 wetland ecosystem and home to a variety of animals, including endangered ones. Walk the mile-long boardwalk through the swamp where you can see alligators, turtles and birds.

J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Sanibel-Captiva Road
Sanibel

This 5,000 acre sanctuary is a wonderful place to view native and migratory birds. Enjoy the five mile drive or get out and walk the foot trails or canoe through the swamps.

Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium
3450 Ortiz Avenue
Fort Myers

You can view exhibits on wildlife, fossils and native habitats. The planetarium offers star shows and other great events.

Bailey Matthews Shell Museum
3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road
Sanibel Island

Features educational displays on local shells and shells of the world. Hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Fort Myers Historical Museum
2300 Peck Street
Fort Myers

Visit a restored historic railroad depot in Fort Myers and see items of Southwest Florida history.

Boston Red Socks Training
City of Palms Park
Fort Myers

Red Sox training starts in Feb and runs for 6 weeks. Tickets are available for viewing of games and training.

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater
1380 Colonial Blvd.
Fort Myers

Great live theatre with or without dinner buffet.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
375 Sanctuary Road W
Naples

Take the self guided tour on the 2.25 mile raised boardwalk through 4 distinct environments; a pine upland, a wet prairie, a cypress forest and a marsh.

Eden Vineyards
19709 Little Lane
Alva

Daily wine tasting 11:30 to 3:30. No reservation needed.

Florida Everblades Ice Hockey and Firecats Arena Football
Germain Arena
1100 Everblades Parkway
Estero

Indoor ice hockey and football. Great action and excitement.

Florida Miracle Professional Baseball
Hammond Stadium/Lee County Sports Complex
Six Mile Cypress
Fort Myers

Professional baseball tickets available for all games.

Key West Express
Salty Sam’s Marina
2200 Main Street
Fort Myers Beach

Take the Key West Express to Key West. Daily trips to and from Key West. Spend the night or take the same day trip back.

BEACHES:

Fort Myers Beach

Lynn Hall Memorial Park:
This is the main public beach on Fort Myers Beach, and located beside Times Square. Here you’ll find a playground area for the kids, fishing pier, picnic huts, benches, information kiosk, shops and restaurants.

Bowditche Point Park:
To the North of Lynn Hall Memorial Park you’ll find Bowditche Point Park. An unspoiled, natural beach area with native vegetation. The beach wraps around the Bay and Gulf of Mexico.

Beach Access Points Along Estero Blvd.:
There are numerous beach access points all along Estero Blvd. These allow access to the full 7 miles of white sugar sand beach to everyone. The north end of the island by Times Square tends to be the busiest, while the far north, middle of the island and south end beach areas are generally quiet.

Lover’s Key State Park Recreation:
The most remote beaches can be found here. On Lover’s Key State Park you may find yourself alone on a secluded beach. Here you can bike ride through trails, canoe and kayak, watch dolphins and manatees play.

Sanibel Beaches

Causeway Beaches:
These are great for swimming, fishing, windsurfing and picnicking. Pull up along the waters edge and enjoy the beach and Gulf of Mexico.

Lighthouse Beach and Fishing Pier:
Enjoy the historic, working lighthouse, boardwalk nature trail and native wetlands.

Tarpon Bay Beach:
Easy parking for recreation vehicles. Enjoy the miles of beach and shelling.

Bowmans Beach:
There are no hotels here, just peaceful, pristine beach.

WATERSPORTS:

Fort Myers Beach is all about water. There are numerous marinas, charter boat rentals, jet ski rentals, parasailing, kayaking, and canoe rentals, fishing charters, dolphin tours, and a lot more.

FISHING:

The waters around Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel offer some of the greatest fishing in Florida. Purchase a nonresident license and you can fish from the public pier at Lynn Hall Memorial Park on Fort Myers Beach, or the Lighthouse at the eastern tip of Sanibel.

BOATING:

Charter boats are easily found on Fort Myers Beach. You can rent your own boat or charter one with a captain. Half day and full day rentals are available at reasonable prices.

GOLFING:

The following courses are open to the public at least some portion of the year, if not the entire year. Contact courses for current rates.

GAMBLING:

Big M Casino Boat
Fort Myers Beach

Las Vegas style gambling. Blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, bingo and slots.

Seminole Indian Casino of Immokalee
506 South 1st Street
Immokalee

Video gaming, low stake poker and bingo. Enjoy the restaurant, bar and nightly entertainment.

The Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track
10601 Bonita Beach Road
Bonita Springs

Live greyhound racing, plus simulcasting of horse and greyhound races. Snack bar, clubhouse, restaurant and box seats.

DAY EXCURSIONS:

Wooten’s Total Everglades Adventure
Tamiami Trail
Naples

Airboat, swamp buggy and pontoon boat tours through the swamp. See exhibits of native animals. Gators abound depending on the time of year and weather.

Everglades National Park and Boat Tours
Everglade Road
Naples

Take a boat ride through the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands.

Jungle Larry’s Zoological Park
Goodlette Road
Naples

A tropical, nature themed park, featuring animal shows, tram and boat rides through islands filled with monkeys.

FESTIVALS:

There are numerous festivals that take place during the year in Southwest Florida. Here are just a few of the most popular ones.

Fort Myers Beach Lions Club Shrimp Festival – Mid March

A 5-K run kicks off the event with a two hour parade, festival queen, art show, and shrimp boil. The parade takes place on a Saturday morning around 10:00 am and lasts till noon or after. It runs from the Beach Library on the corner of Estero Blvd. and Bay Street down Estero Blvd. and ends at Lynn Hall Memorial Park where the rest of the festivities take place.

Edison Festival of Lights – February

It’s one of the areas largest and most celebrated annual events, celebrating the birthday of Thomas A. Edison. A fantastic Parade of Light is the highlight of the events held. There is also a gala ball, fashion show, 5-K run, and craft show.

Labelle Swamp Cabbage Festival – February

This is an annual festival celebrating “Old Florida”. Here you’ll find arts and crafts booths, and “swamp cabbage” dishes to try.

Everglade’s Seafood Festival

Enjoy arts and crafts and fresh, world famous seafood.

Annual Sanibel Shell Fair – March

This show features judged shell displays, crafts, food and entertainment.

FLEAMARKETS:

Fleamaster’s Giant Flea Market
4135 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Fort Myers
Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Ortiz Flea Market
Ortiz Blvd.
Fort Myers
Open Friday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 am – 4:00 pm

Shoppers Village
McGregor Blvd. and College Parkway
Fort Myers
Open Thursday through Sunday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Super Flea
Bonita Beach Road
Bonita Springs
Open Friday through Sunday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

More Than A Trip To The Beach

Everyone knows that beaches are Lee County’s No. 1 outdoor attraction.

But for people who want to do something a little more active than lying in the sand or stooping over to pick up seashells, the area has plenty of outdoor physical activities.

CYCLING:

Southwest Florida has great weather for cycling – warm temperatures, no ice or snow – but it lacks the big thigh-burning hills that excite many serious cyclists.

The county offers several long bike paths, the best of which might be the Summerlin path, which runs southwest from Fort Myers near the Midpoint Memorial Bridge to the Sanibel Causeway.

If you want to go off-road, try the mountain-bike trail at the Caloosahatchee Regional Park in Alva.

CANOEING/KAYAKING:

Serious canoeists and kayakers know that Southwest Florida has some of the best paddling water anywhere.

You can throw your paddlecraft in virtually any water body – river, stream, creek, estuary – and have a great day.

Or you can check out the Great Calusa Blue Way, a 100 mile marked paddling trail that meanders through Estero Bay then to Sanibel, Captiva, Matlacha Pass and Pine Island Sound.

Contact Distinctive Beach Rentals, at 239-898-7370, for kayak rentals. We have ½ day and full day rates. All kayaks are delivered to your desired point of departure and picked up upon your return.

SCUBA DIVING:

Lee County doesn’t bill itself as a scuba diving destination – if you want to dive, people say, go to the Keys – but local Gulf waters offer great diving opportunities.

Although we don’t have any coral reefs, we do have many natural limestone ledges that are full of life.

Much of the seafloor is barren sand, so the Lee County Division of Natural Resources has created artificial reefs on 20 sites that range from four to 30 miles offshore in 30 to 90 feet of water.

Two popular local wrecks for divers are the Bay Ronto, a 400 foot British freighter that sank in a 1919 hurricane 32 miles west of Boca Grande Pass, and the Fantastico, a 200 foot Honduran freighter that foundered in the No Name Storm of 1993 about 48 miles southwest of Fort Myers Beach.

None of these sites has the colorful tropical fish of the Keys, but they do hold large number of many fish species.

WINDSURFING/KITE BOARDING:

Depending on meteorological conditions, windsurfing/kite boarding season in Southwest Florida runs from late December through April because that’s when the fronts move through – during the rest of the year the wind is depressingly calm, though the occasional tropical storm or hurricane can whip up some wind and excitement. Lessons are available from Ace Adventures on McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers for those who might want to start a new hobby, or rent some equipment.

Note: All properties rented by Distinctive Beach Rentals have a minimum age requirement. Two persons in the rental party must be over the age of 30 in order to rent.