Development
The City Is Asking What the New Fishing Pier Should Be
Featured
The 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.
News
What's New in Sanibel
Openings, closures, festival dates and beach notices for Sanibel. Every item is dated, says where the facts came from, and points back at the pages that explain the practical side.
Front page
What we would read first
Travel alert
The Refuge Shuts on Fridays, and It Catches Somebody Out Every Week
FeaturedOne day a week the gate at the most visited place on Sanibel does not open. Plan your Friday around it rather than discovering it from the car park.
Travel alert
The Live-Shell Ban Is Thirty Years Old, and the Island Fought for It
FeaturedSand dollars and sea stars are covered too. A first offence carries a fine of up to $500. Here is how the rule came about and how to stay the right side of it.
Seasonal
Why the Morning After a Cold Front Is the Best Shelling of the Year
FeaturedFour variables decide whether a morning on the tide line is ordinary or the reason people move here. Two of them are published; two you watch the sky for.
Archive
More stories
Closure
The Refuge Concession Is Closed Until 28 September
Kayak trails, tram tours and the rental dock are shut for a fortnight of maintenance. They reopen on Monday 28 September, without the touch tank.
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.
Seasonal
The Island Is Dark on Purpose, and Turtle Season Makes It Darker
No street lights, no lit beachfront, and from mid-April to the end of October a set of rules that applies to your balcony as much as to the resort behind it.