Sunset Key Beach

Located in the city of Sanibel, Sunset Key Beach is a long, wide, and remote beach situated in front of the Gulf of Mexico and Wulfert Eagle Buffer Sanctuary.  Sunset Key Beach is west of the historic Sanibel Lighthouse and J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge where you can swim, boat, and camp. The beach is backed by many waterways including Dinken Bayou, Clam Bayou, and Old Blind Pass. Sunset Key Beach is a well-known destination for sport and recreational fishing with the most sought-after species being tarpon, snook, redfish, and speckled trout.

Although Sunset Key Beach does not have lifeguards, Sunset Key Beach welcomes dogs and offers a couple of amenities including restrooms, picnic tables, and a fishing pier. 

There are many fun activities at Sunset Key Beach including swimming, fishing, hiking, biking, and beach walking. 

Getting to Sunset Key Beach is very easy – the beach’s paid parking lot is situated west of the point where Sanibel Captiva Road meets Pine Tree Drive and provides easy access to the beach. 

If you are looking for nearby attractions, there are many options within a 30-minute drive of Sunset Key Beach. Gasparilla Island State Park features many activities including swimming, snorkeling, shelling, nature study, and is home to many birds and animals such as the West Indian manatee, gopher tortoise, bald eagle, osprey, least tern, and black skimmer. Port Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum is the oldest structure on Gasparilla Island – it is very popular for its nature room which contains a ‘please touch’ area and has local bones, shells, and fossils. The historic Whidden’s Marina offers souvenir shops, art galleries, whale watching tours, boating tours, fishing trips, and is a great spot for photography. Another great attraction near Sunset Key Beach is Cedar Point Environmental Park that has a vista point – and is a great place to hike, picnic, or camp. 

If you get hungry, you can drive 10 minutes to many restaurants near Sunset Key Beach. The seafood restaurant Eagle Grill and Miller’s Dockside features oysters, surf ‘n’ turf, groupers, fish ‘n’ chips, and shrimps. If you like Italian food, the family-friendly Sisters Restaurant serves pan-seared sea bass, pizza, pasta, bay scallops, gnocchi, homemade pesto sauce, and risotto with asparagus and prosciutto. Another good restaurant near Sunset Key Beach is The Inn Bakery, a vegetarian-friendly eatery well-known for pies, pastries, smoothies, cakes, mousses, and habanero chocolate ice cream. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Sunset Key Beach, you can drive three minutes to the 4-Star historic golf course resort Gasparilla Inn & Club that welcomes pets and features a pool, lounge, spa, sauna, restaurant, fitness center, private championship golf course, tennis courts, table tennis, and boating, fishing, and walking tours. The Innlet is a 3-Star pet-friendly hotel with ocean views and it offers a pool, restaurant, courtyard, and barbecue grills. If you are looking for an affordable hotel near Sunset Key Beach, the 2-Star Sun Coast Inn has a nice pool.