Water Bird Watching
The Pine Island Sound offers mangroves filled with water birds. Tour the area by water to see roseate spoonbills, egrets and great blue herons. Sanibel-Captiva Charter Service offers tours specifically designed for birders. Rates require a two-hour minimum and lunch tours may be arranged with early registration. Six guests may tour at one time.
Sanibel-Captiva Charter Services
Captiva Island
15183 Captiva Drive
Captiva, FL 33924
(239) 822-3337
nativeguidesfishing.com/birding.html
Cedar Point Environmental Park
Cedar Point Environmental Park is located on the Lemon Bay estuary system. The park includes seven marked trails that welcome guests from sunrise until closing at sunset. Nature observations feature aquatic and forest tours, including selective tours for bald eagle nesting (October through May).The park is home to bobcats, gopher tortoises and native grasses and plants. The facility is open year-round, but the nature center hours are limited to weekdays from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Cedar Point Environmental Park
2300 Placida Road
Englewood, FL 34224
(941) 475-0769
checflorida.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=92.com
Caspersen Beach Dunes
Caspersen Beach, covering 177 acres, is famous for the shells and fossilized shark's teeth that wash up along the white sand beach. The site also features a boardwalk, natural dune environment and a nature trail. Walking and hiking trails and walkovers take guests along tidal flats, saltwater and freshwater marshes and mangrove preserves. The short, self-guided nature walk along the coastal hammock is approximately one-half mile.
Caspersen Beach
4100 Harbor Drive
Venice, FL 34285
(941) 861-5000
scgov.net/ParksandRecreation/Beaches/CaspersenBeach.asp
Canoeing and Kayaking
Blind Pass Beach, located on the Manasota Key, offers a launch for canoes. Kayaking also is available, and boat rentals (and kayak sales) are made directly in Englewood from the Kayak Outpost. Guided tours are offered by Kayak's staff. Blind Pass Beach has nearly 3,000 linear footage of sandy frontage and is home to sand dunes and self-guided nature trails. Beach hours are from dawn until dusk, and lifeguards are not on duty.
Blind Pass Beach
6725 Manasota Key Road
Manasota Key, FL 34223
(941) 861-5000
scgov.net/ParksandRecreation/Beaches/BlindPassBeach.asp
Kayak Outpost
526 W. Green St.
Englewood, Flordia 34223
(941) 473-4799
(941) 209-9636
kayak-outpost.com/
