Moving to Cape Coral, here’s the scoop on the local beaches
Are you thinking about moving to a warm climate where freedom is celebrated, no state income tax and the sun and warm weather kisses you all year round? Then welcome to the beautiful city of Cape Coral. Cape Coral is an up and coming city that offers great restaurants, parks businesses, grocery stores and many many other attractions but for this article we will focus on the beaches.
Brief History
Cape Coral began development around 1957, it’s a fairly young city. Prior to being developed it was mostly farmland. One of the first areas developed was the Yacht Club Basin Area along the Caloosahatchee River. The attraction in this area is the Yacht Club Community Park that offers many amenities: boating, fishing pier, restaurant, tennis, racquetball, walking trails and many more. This is one of many desirable areas people inquire about when moving to Cape Coral because many homes are on canals that offer access from your back yard to the Caloosahatchee river that leads to the Gulf of Mexico.
Cape Coral Yacht Club Community Park has a Beach
Cape Coral Yacht Club Community Park is located at 5819 Driftwood Parkway, Cape Coral, FL 33904. The park offers:
BBQ Grills
Fishing Pier
Outdoor Racquetball Courts (2)
Picnic Shelter
Play Ground
Public Beach
Beachside Restaurant – The Boat House Tiki Bar and Grill
This is a very popular park, accessible by boat as well. The boat house Tiki Bar and Grill has excellent food, live music, a fun beachy atmosphere, something you should come check out when in the area. This is the only public beach in Cape Coral. The park as a whole is really cool and has lots to offer and worth coming to. The beach has pros and cons, its fairly small compared to other beaches, so if you want to walk the beach, this is probably not your beach. The Yacht club is off the Caloosahatchee River that Lake Okeechobee drains into, the watercolor is a stained brown color, not the ocean beach color. The positives, it has a nice fishing pier and many other attractions, its easier to keep an eye on kids because the smaller size. It’s a great park.
***NOTICE*** – Cape Coral Yacht Community Park will be closed for 2 years starting April 1, 2022 for a major update and renovations. It will be a major upgrade, here the details you can follow Cape Coral Yacht Club Community Park Project. I’m torn about this project, 2 years is a long time but it will such an incredible addition to the community when completed, I can’t wait!!
Beaches Near Cape Coral
Cayo Costa – this is a HUGE state park only assessable by boat. I highly recommend everyone visit here at least once to see what Florida used to look like prior to development and it’s a beautiful beach/park/island. If you have a boat you can launch on the north point of Bokeelia and take your boat there, or if you don’t have a boat you can take the ferry, Tropical Star. Here you can find shells, long beaches for walking, walking trails on the island, they have a tram that will take you to the beach. Here’s a link to the Amenities.
Fort Myers Public Beach – This is a very popular beach located about 12 miles from Cape Coral. It has shopping, restaurants, fishing pier and of course the beach. They often have live music on the weekends. If you visit this beach make sure to mentally prepare and give yourself extra time. The traffic can get very congested and wait times to get over the bridge can take a while.
Sanibel & Captiva Beaches – This is the shell capital of the world located about 16 miles from Cape Coral. If you’re into shelling, this is a great spot. A shelling tip for you – go when its low tide you’ll find the most shells. This island is more expensive to live on with some homes ranging from 1 million to 15 million. There are shops, restaurants. Sometimes finding beach parking can be tricky as it fills up. There is a causeway to go over to get on the bridge and they charge a fee, as of the time of this writings the fee is $6.00. The beach is beautiful and offers long walks.
Lovers Key -This is a beautiful state park about 29 miles from Cape Coral. I wouldn’t go through Fort Myers Beach to get here due to the traffic. I recommend taking 41 to Bonita Springs south and then come back north. This beach is a state park, so it offers many amenities, walking trails, kayak rentals and many other activities. They do charge $8 per vehicle, as of the time of this writing.
Cape Coral is a fun and upcoming city, it has a beach and surrounded by world class beaches just a short drive away. If you’re looking to buy a home and moving to Cape Coral please reach out to us today so we can help make your sunshine dreams come true.