On November 1, Lee County will close the parking lot at Bonita Beach Access #1 for Hurricane Ian restoration. That makes it the third and last paid county lot on Bonita Beach to close this fall. The beach stays open, but nearly every easy way to park beside it is gone for most of the coming year. For Pelican Landing households, that changes less than it seems. The community's own beach runs on a boat. The public side of a Bonita beach day now runs through eight small free accesses and a few parks farther away. What this season really asks of residents is a plan for guests.
What Closed, and for How Long
The county announced the closures in a September 2 release from Lee County Government. It said federal reimbursement for Hurricane Ian repairs had finally come through, so work could start without local tax dollars. Work on the Bonita Beach sites began Tuesday, September 8:
- Little Hickory Island Beach Park, 26082 Hickory Blvd., also known as Beach Access #10. The parking lot closed so crews can restore boardwalks and pavilions and replace the restroom building the hurricane destroyed. Portable restrooms were moved outside the fence, nearer the road.
- Bonita Beach Park, 27954 Hickory Blvd. The whole site closed for repairs to the county office building, restroom, boardwalks and pavilions. Access #1 next door became the main walk-on route to the sand.
- Bonita Beach Access #1, 27890 Hickory Blvd. Its county facility page says the lot closes starting November 1, 2026, and pedestrian access stays open throughout the work.
The county expects most of these projects to take about 11 months. Counting from early September, that estimate runs to around August 2027, after season is over. No county page has posted an actual completion date.
Restrooms are the detail that catches people off guard. The Access #1 page notes the access has no restrooms of its own and points visitors to the ones at Bonita Beach Park, which are now behind that site's construction fencing. On this stretch, the nearest public facilities are the portable units outside the Little Hickory fence.
The Beach That Isn't on the County's List
The Pelican Landing Community Association's Beach Park sits outside all of this. It's a 34-acre stretch of Gulf beach on Big Hickory Island, and owners reach it by a shuttle boat that crosses Estero Bay in about 12 minutes. The association's Beach Park page says it's open to owners 364 days a year. The association says access to its amenities, apart from the country clubs and golf, is included in the annual HOA assessment. No parking meter or pass applies, and none of Lee County's construction notices mention it.
For an owner's own beach day, the closures barely register. The disruption lands on the trips that leave the community: a walk along Bonita Beach, lunch at a beachfront table, or a morning with visiting family who don't have amenity access.
Guests Are Where Planning Matters
The association publishes a long-term guest authorization form. Residents can use it to authorize qualifying relatives who live outside Lee and Collier counties for guest passes lasting more than 30 days and up to 90 days. Extensions need special permission, and the form says it doesn't replace a lessee rental application. Rules for shorter visits aren't posted on the public site. Before relatives arrive for the holidays, a call to the association office settles what their access will look like. Association rules change and every household's situation is different, so treat this as general information, not legal advice. Confirm the details with PLCA directly.
Plenty of guest beach days will happen on public sand anyway, and that's where this season's map has changed.
The Public Beach Map, Redrawn
With the paid lots closed, the free numbered accesses are the easiest public option on Bonita Beach. Lee County's page for Bonita Beach Accesses #2 through #9 lists all eight with free parking from dawn to dusk, and its closures field shows no notice. These lots are small and fill early, so on a busy weekend morning the start time decides the day.
Before the closures, Access #1, Little Hickory and Bonita Beach Park each charged $2 an hour. Lee County's annual parking pass costs $60 for 12 months. The two Bonita sites it covers, Access #1 and Little Hickory, will both be closed by November, and it doesn't apply at the free #2 through #9 accesses. Anyone who bought a pass mainly for Bonita Beach will get little use from it there this season.
Two larger parks within a short drive remain open:
| Option | Parking or entry | Hours | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonita Beach Accesses #2–#9, Hickory Blvd. | Free | Dawn to dusk | No closure notice posted |
| Lovers Key State Park | $8 per vehicle for 2–8 people; $4 single occupant; $2 walk-in or bike | 8 a.m. to sunset, daily | Tram discontinued; concessions unavailable |
| Barefoot Beach Preserve, Collier County | $10 without a Collier resident beach permit; credit card | 8 a.m. to sunset, year-round | Kayak rentals and food service listed as "coming soon" |
The table doesn't show the walk at Lovers Key. Florida State Parks says tram service has been discontinued, so beachgoers walk or bike to the sand. The mid-beach bridge is about 1,000 feet from parking, and the south-beach bridge is half a mile away. A notice effective May 1, 2026, says food, beverage, gift and bait services are unavailable. Paddling, fishing-equipment and beach rentals still run daily. Pack lunch and a cart before the trip.
At Barefoot Beach Preserve, Collier County lists beach rentals daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lee County also points Bonita beachgoers to LeeTran's ULTRA On Demand. Riders book through the ULTRA app, and pickups start in the parking lot at the northwest corner of US 41 and Bonita Beach Road. Free parking for riders is in the shopping center lot at 3300 Bonita Beach Road SW. For a guest group that wants a full day at Bonita Beach without hunting for parking, it's the option least affected by the closures.
Where the Beach Day Eats
The closures also leave one beachfront restaurant inside the work zone. Doc's Beach House sits between Access #1 and Bonita Beach Park, which is the stretch the county is restoring. On its contact page, Doc's lists 27908 Hickory Blvd. and hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Call ahead about parking before November, since the restaurant hasn't said how the Access #1 closure affects its own lot.
Big Hickory used to be the other familiar stop at the south end of the boulevard. Its own site says Hurricane Ian destroyed the original Hickory Blvd. building. The site was sold to the Bonita Springs Fire Department, and the owners plan to rebuild on Bonita Beach Road. As of a September 2025 report from SWFL.life, the project had city zoning approval but still needed a development order and state water-management approval. No reopening date has been announced.
Waterfront lunches have moved inland to Bonita Beach Road. Coconut Jack's Waterfront Grille, at 5370 Bonita Beach Rd. SW, lists daily hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and offers valet parking. The Fish House, at 4685 Bonita Beach Road, lists the same daily hours. Both are on the drive between US 41 and the beach. With the Bonita Beach Park lot closed, a parking space and lunch at one of them is the steadier way to end a morning on the sand.
One More Construction Zone Closer to Home
The other construction affecting the trip out is on Coconut Road. The Village of Estero reported that Woodfield began roadway and intersection work just west of US 41 on September 8, with a new roundabout at Walden Center Drive plus street lighting, irrigation and landscaping. The village says the work could last up to six months, which would take it to around early March 2027. Woodfield's first phase, now under construction alongside the road work, includes 296 apartments, commercial space and parks.
On those estimates, the Coconut Road work wraps up in the middle of season, and the Bonita Beach lots stay closed into late summer. In between, the 16th Annual Coconut Point Art Festival runs November 21 and 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 23181 Via Villagio Drive, with free admission.
If you're hosting family this season or rethinking how much Gulf access matters to your next move, Peter Rose and our team are glad to talk through how beach access differs from one Southwest Florida community to the next. Contact Us to start the conversation.