Tampa Bay & Southwest Florida - Florida - page 949

There is no 'downtown.' On Sanibel, businesses and restaurants are spread leisurely
along the inner-island corridor: Periwinkle Way, which becomes Sanibel-Captiva Rd. On
Captiva, the tiny village is confined to a single street, Andy Rosse Lane. There are no
traffic lights and the preferred mode of transport is the family-friendly bike.
Sights
The quality of shelling on Sanibel is so high that dedicated hunters are identified by their
hunchbacked 'Sanibel stoop.' If you're serious, buy a scoop net, get a shell guide from the
visitor center and peruse the blog www.iloveshelling.com .
Fourteen miles of largely public-access beaches give you lots of room to choose from.
Most beaches except Blind Pass have restrooms; none of the beaches have concessions or
snack bars. Parking is $2 per hour.
JN 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge WILDLIFE RESERVE
( GOOGLE MAP ; 239-472-1100; www.fws.gov/dingdarling ; 1 Wildlife Dr; car/cyclist $5/1;
7am-7pm Sat-Thu Apr-Oct, to 5:30pm Nov-Mar)
Named for cartoonist Jay Norwood 'Ding' Darling, an environmentalist who helped estab-
lish more than 300 sanctuaries across the USA, this 6300-acre refuge is home to an abund-
ance of seabirds and wildlife, including alligators, night herons, red-shouldered hawks,
spotted sandpipers, roseate spoonbills, pelicans and anhinga. The refuge's 5-mile Wildlife
Drive provides easy access, but bring binoculars; flocks sometimes sit at expansive dis-
tances. Only a few very short walks lead into the mangroves. For the best, most intimate
experience, canoe or kayak Tarpon Bay.
Don't miss the free visitors center (open from 9am to 5pm), which has excellent exhib-
its on refuge life and Darling himself. Naturalist-narrated Wildlife Drive tram tours depart
from the visitor-center parking lot, usually on the hour from 10am to 4pm.
Bowman's Beach BEACH
( GOOGLE MAP ; 1700 Bowman's Beach Rd)
Bowman's Beach is the quintessential Sanibel beach, a bright dollop of coast with soft
white sand, supplied with a playground and excellent facilities. It's remote in the sense that
it rarely feels crowded, except perhaps at the height of tourist season. Alphabet cones, an-