Visiting Lovers Key State Park, Florida

It’s not often that visitors to the Sunshine State stray away from the norm of soaking up the sun on sandy beaches. But visiting Lovers Key in Florida, on the most southern portion of Fort Myers Beach, is a little slice of paradise worth escaping the beach for the day.

Getting to Lovers Key State Park

Lovers Key is located on the southern portion of Estero Island, between Naples and Fort Myers. If you’re coming by car to the park, stop by the visitor center on your way in to pay your entrance fee. Check current prices on their website here.

I came to Lovers Key from Times Square in Fort Myers Beach by using the LeeTran Trolley, which is 75 cents to ride.

Read More: Fort Myers Beach Travel Guide

After arriving at the park, a short walk down the pathway will lead you to the visitor’s center where you’ll pay your entrance fee.

About Lovers Key State Park

Lovers Key State Park is actually comprised of 4 different islands: Lovers Key, Inner Key, Black Island and Long Key. Nearly 100 years ago, Lovers Key was only accessible by boat. Legend holds that only lovers would make this trek to the island, hence the title.

Black Island, which makes up the north side of the park, is named after a pirate who escaped from custody and created a home here. A road was built giving access to Lovers Key in 1965. After that, the development of the islands nearby wreaked havoc on the land. The creation of canals through the mangroves caused the swampland to be altered. In the early 1980s, the state of Florida took over the area, creating a 1600-acred state park.

Visiting Lovers Key State Park

You can easily spend an entire day at Lovers Key State Park, with a wide variety of activities to take part in:

Kayak / Canoe the Mangroves

Kayaking or canoeing the mangroves at Lovers Key is an experience not to miss as manatees and alligators make common appearances. With over 900 acres of waterways fed by the gulf of Mexico, you could spend hours alone sailing through the canals.

Kayaks and canoes are available to rent from the concession stand near the tram shelter within the park.

Lovers Key Adventures also operates stand up paddle board and kayak tours every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Take a sail through the estuaries with a guide, pointing out all of the wildlife and navigating you through the channels.

Soak up the Sun

With over 2.5 miles of white sandy beaches, Lovers Key is a beautiful spot to spend the day soaking up the sun. The beaches here were even ranked #4 in all of Florida by the Travel Channel.

Sea Shelling

Along with those stretches of white sand beaches are amazing shelling opportunities. Since Lovers Key is located within an unobstructed bay on the Gulf of Mexico, waves crash constantly on the shoreline. Those forces of water bring in multitudes of perfectly-shaped shells.

It’s important to remember that you cannot take a shell if an animal still calls it home!

Swim in the Ocean

Due to the existence of alligators, the mangroves are not the place to swim in Lovers Key. Trust me though, the ocean here is much better anyways! Temperatures of the water in the Gulf of Mexico are much warmer than others, creating a comfortable swimming environment.

With Lovers Key proximity in the Gulf, waves are constantly washing ashore. Without any lifeguards on duty here, it’s important to pay attention to the colors of the flags when on the beach. When I visited, the colors of the flags flying were purple, indicating dangerous marine life, and red, denoting high hazard from strong currents.

Go Fishing

With those 2.5 miles of shoreline is also the opportunity for some great saltwater fishing. While you must acquire a fishing license, you could spend a whole day baiting in trout, tarpon, redfish and snook.

Hike or Bike the Trails

With over 5 miles of trails throughout Black Island, you could spend a couple of hours exploring the sandy pathways.

Wildlife Viewing

If you love seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, Lovers Key is the perfect place for that. Hailed as one of the best birding areas in Florida, Osprey and Egrets are two of 40 species found here.

Other wildlife that call Lovers Key home are American Alligators and Bottlenose Dolphins. Some of the more unique creatures are the West Indian Manatees and the Gopher Tortoise.

I got lucky enough to see one of those tortoises while hiking through Lovers Key. Interestingly enough, these tortoises are able to dig a hole 10 feet deep and 40 feet long. This in turn creates shelter for over 350 different species of animals.

Before heading in to any natural areas, it’s imperative that you’re familiar with the “Leave No Trace” principles.
Read More: Leave No Trace: The 7 Rules of the Backcountry
Learn more about Leave No Trace on their website here.

Read More Tropical Travel Posts Here

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