Guide
Sanibel After Hurricane Ian: What Is Open Now
Featured
Four years on, most of the island is trading and some of it is bare ground. Here is what has actually reopened, with dates, and what has not.
9 min read
Harriet Lowell
Senior Editor
Beat: Beaches, Things to Do, Attractions
Harriet has covered the Lee County islands for eleven years and owns the pages that decide a reader's day: which lot charges what, which causeway crossing is tolled, what reopened this season and what is still a bare lot. She quotes fees as bands because the city revises them, and she will say plainly when a place could not be confirmed.
4 guides · 3 news posts
Last updatedHarriet's most recent update to this site was .
Long-form
Guides by Harriet Lowell
Reported guides to Sanibel, each with its own publication and last-updated date.
Guide
A Day on Captiva: Crossing Blind Pass
Cross the pass and the island turns ninety degrees. Captiva runs north to south and faces west, which is why the sunset is there and not here.
8 min read
Guide
A First-Timer's Guide to Sanibel Island
FeaturedOne road on, no traffic lights, metered sand and a law about what you may pick up. Sanibel rewards a visitor who understands it before they cross the bridge.
10 min read
Guide
Sanibel Beaches: Which One, and What It Costs
FeaturedTwelve miles of south-facing sand, seven metered car parks and a tide that decides everything. Here is which beach to pick and when.
10 min read
News desk
News under Harriet Lowell's byline
Shorter, dated pieces about what is changing in Sanibel.
How this was written. News published under Harriet Lowell's byline was drafted by machine from primary sources — operator notices, government and municipal releases, published schedules — and every factual claim in it was matched to one of those sources before it published. A Sanibel Guide editor can change or pull any of it. Our editorial standards.
Development
The City Is Asking What the New Fishing Pier Should Be
FeaturedThe pier at the lighthouse end has been gone since 2022. The city is now consulting on what replaces it, which is the clearest signal yet that something will.
Reopening
The Historical Village Reopens on 15 October After Its Summer Break
Nine relocated island buildings, a volunteer docent and the version of Sanibel that existed before the causeway. Closed since April, back on 15 October.
Beach update
How to Check for Red Tide Before You Drive Out to the Islands
Blooms are patchy, they move, and last week's report is not this morning's beach. The state publishes daily sampling and a weekly status report.