Bowditch Point Park(Bowditch Point Beach, Bowditch Point Park, Bowditch Point Park Beach)

Located in the town of Fort Myers Beach, Bowditch Point Park is a 17-acre Lee County-owned recreational park. This park has a large unnamed curve-shaped white-sand beach with driftwood and nearby vegetation. This beach is also known as Bowditch Point Park Beach. Bowditch Park is situated near the northern end of Estero Island. A portion of the beach in Bowditch Point Park is present along the Gulf of Mexico, while the other portion is present along the shores of Matanzas Pass (also commonly known as the back-bay). Bowditch Point Park is named after the renowned American mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch, who is known for his contribution towards maritime celestial navigation. Bowditch Point Park does not have lifeguards. 

However, it has many other amenities including an amphitheater, boardwalks, picnic areas, charcoal grills, showers, restrooms, observation areas, and paddle craft launching areas. Dogs on leash are allowed in Bowditch Point Park. The beach in Bowditch Point Park also offers accessibility for people with disabilities. 

Bowditch Point Park offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, hiking, fishing, picnicking, swimming, kitesurfing, windsurfing, paddle-boarding, boating, jet-skiing, surf-skiing, water-skiing, wake-boarding, and parasailing. The portion of the beach in Bowditch Park facing the Gulf of Mexico is more popular among visitors, while the portion of the beach facing the Matanzas Pass has calm water - this makes this portion ideal for beginner swimmers, kayakers, canoers, and paddleboarders. Bowditch Point Park is also a part of a 190-mile long coastal paddling trail named the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail which spans across the Lee County coastline. However, if you are planning to enter the water near Bowditch Point Park, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents. Depending on the time of the year, you can view many kinds of animals in the water near Bowditch Point Park including dolphins and sea turtles. If you like birdwatching, you can view many kinds of birds along the portion of the beach facing the Gulf of Mexico including terns, gulls, and many kinds of plovers. The portion of the beach facing the Matanzas Pass is great for watching wading birds. If you are planning to fish in the water near Bowditch Point Park, we recommend ensuring compliance with the local fishing regulations. 

Bowditch Point Park has a vibrant landscape which consists of many kinds of habitats including salt marshes, mangrove swamps, sand dune-fields, and mud-flats. You can explore the park’s vibrant biodiversity and landscape via the hiking trails present here. This park is also a part of the Great Florida Bird and Wildlife Trail and it offers an amazing wildlife watching experience. Free guided tours of the park’s premises are also seasonally offered on Tuesdays and Fridays generally between 9:30 am and 11 am.

Getting to Bowditch Point Park is easy - the park is located near 50 Estero Boulevard, where a paid parking lot is also present. The parking fee for this parking lot is two dollars per hour.

There are many attractions near Bowditch Point Park. Matanzas Pass Preserve is a 60-acre preserve that has mangroves, wetlands, and oak hammock forests. The preserve also has hiking trails, a paddle craft landing area, and a boardwalk and you can see many kinds of birds and animals here including turtles, snakes, rabbits, hawks, and osprey. A historic cottage named Fort Myers Beach Historic Cottage is also present at the preserve entrance which has interesting exhibits offering unique information about local history. Fort Myers Beach Fishing Pier (also known as Fort Myers Beach Pier) is a pier that provides amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Gulf of Mexico and the Lee County shoreline. You can catch many kinds of fish in the water around the pier including cobia, pompano, and Spanish mackerel. If you are looking for another attraction near Bowditch Point Park, the Times Square area of Fort Myers Beach has many interesting shops and restaurants. This area also hosts a fun festival named Sunset Celebrations during Friday and Saturday evenings which sees many exciting events being performed in this area including live music performances and performances by street entertainers, along with many great food options.

If you get hungry,there are many great restaurants near Bowditch Point Park. Bayfront Bistro is an upscale waterfront restaurant which offers amazing dishes for brunch, lunch, and dinner including steaks, pasta, seafood, poultry dishes, salads, soups, and tacos. The restaurant has also been awarded Wine Spectator magazine’s Award Of Excellence in 2014 and TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence in 2015,2013, and 2012. Matanzas On The Bay serves excellent dishes for lunch and dinner including seafood, salads, steaks, pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, and chicken wings. A section of this restaurant also offers live music performances. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Bowditch Point Park, the modestly priced Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Cafe has a laid-back ambiance and it offers amazing dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including fries, sandwiches, seafood, burgers, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, hot dogs, and chili. The restaurant also offers live entertainment. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Bowditch Point Park, there are many great nearby options. If you are looking for a 5-Star hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Naples is a 43-minute drive away and offers many amenities including seven restaurants, a spa, complimentary shuttle service to a golf club, a fitness center, a kids’ club, a hot tub, two pools, and tennis courts. As another upscale hotel, the 4-Star Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina offers many amenities including water sporting equipment rental facilities, a marina, three pools (including a lagoon-style pool with a waterfall), a spa, a fitness center, a children’s camp and a restaurant. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Lighthouse Resort Inn and Suites which offers many amenities including on-site laundry facilities, two pools (including one with waterfall), a tiki bar, and a restaurant. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Bowditch Point Park, the 2-Star Shipwreck Motel offers many amenities including a private dock, a patio with thatched roof sitting areas that offers lagoon views, charcoal barbecue grills, and two pools.