Best Family-Friendly Beaches in Sanibel, Florida

Sanibel Lighthouse Beach is named after the 100-year-old lighthouse that towers over it. This beach is great for families, picnics, swimming, and fishing from the pier. A nature trail leads from the pier to the island's wetlands, offering beautiful views and picture opportunities. Shelling is quite popular here, as the beach's strong currents leave beautiful treasures at the water's edge; it is for this reason that swimming is not recommended, but Sanibel's beauty is more than enough to attract plenty of beachgoers to its shore every year.

Located in southern Florida, Bowman’s Beach is a large beach with white sand and is the most popular beach on Santibel Island.  Bowman’s Beach is a part of a larger recreational park named Bowman’s Beach Park.  

Bowman’s Beach was listed by the Condé Nast Traveller magazine as one of the 24 Best Beaches in the United States in 2022.  In 2018, Bowman’s Beach was also listed as one of the 50 best beaches in the world by the travel organization Flight Network, and it is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.

Located in Sanibel Island, Gulfside City Park is a recreational park that has an unnamed long white sand beach. This beach is also known as Gulfside City Park Beach and Algiers Beach. As an interesting fact, the beach gets its alternative name after a Mississippi River steamboat boat named "Algiers" - this steamboat was the planned home of the affluent politician Lathrop Brown and his wife Helen. The Browns had bought the land around the beach’s current location to add it within their estate along with the steamboat during the late 1950s. However, Lathrop Brown died before his plans could be fully implemented, and the boat was dismantled in 1982, while Brown’s land was purchased by the city of Sanibel after Helen’s death in 1979. 

Located in the southern part of the Sanibel Island shoreline, Tarpon Bay Beach is a beach with white sand and nearby trees. Tarpon Bay Beach does not have lifeguards. However, it has a few other amenities including benches, restrooms, and showers. Dogs are allowed on leash in Tarpon Bay Beach. The City of Sanibel Police Department offers complimentary beach wheelchairs (based on availability) to visitors with disabilities in Tarpon Bay Beach. If you want a beach wheelchair, you can contact the City of Sanibel Police Department Dispatch at (239) 472-3111 hours before your visit.