The beach is open, but the two parking lots at either end of Hickory Boulevard are not. On Sept. 8, 2026, Lee County closed the lots at Bonita Beach Park and at Little Hickory Island Beach Park, also called Access 10, and put up construction fencing at both. The county expects the Hurricane Ian restoration work to take about 11 months, and it has said the beaches stay open the whole time, as Gulf Coast News Now reported.
That shifts the weight of a beach day to the middle of the road. The eight free numbered accesses between those two parks had the smallest footprint on Hickory Boulevard. Now they do most of the work. The real planning question for this season is where the restrooms are and when you arrive. The parking meter matters much less.
The closures come in two stages
Not everything closed at once. Here's the order Lee County published:
- Sept. 8, 2026. The Little Hickory Island Beach Park lot at 26082 Hickory Blvd. closed so crews can restore structures, boardwalks and pavilions and replace the restroom building the hurricane destroyed. Bonita Beach Park at 27954 Hickory Blvd. closed the same day for repairs to a county office building, the restroom, boardwalks and pavilions.
- Nov. 1, 2026. The parking lot at Bonita Beach Access 1, 27890 Hickory Blvd., closes for construction. A pedestrian path to the beach stays open while the work goes on.
- Reopening. The county's 11-month estimate points to late summer 2027. That's an estimate, not a firm reopening date for Bonita Beach Park or Access 10.
Access 1 matters more than its size suggests. Lee County named it the main walking route to the beach while Bonita Beach Park is fenced. Parking there costs $2 an hour, and it's one of the places the county's annual parking pass works. So from now through Oct. 31, you can still park at Access 1 and walk south to the stretch in front of Bonita Beach Park. Starting Nov. 1, you can still walk in, but you'll need to park somewhere else.
The restroom problem is bigger than the parking problem
Read the county pages together and a pattern shows up. Access 1 has no restrooms of its own. Its listing sends visitors to the restrooms at Bonita Beach Park, and that building is now behind the fence for repairs. The county page for Accesses #2 through #9 lists one amenity, beach access.
The one fix the county has spelled out is at the north end. The portable restrooms inside Little Hickory Island Beach Park are being moved outside the construction fence, closer to the road, so beachgoers can still use them.
In practice, if you're spending the afternoon at one of the middle accesses, the nearest county restroom may be a portable unit on the roadside at the Access 10 end. That's a bigger change to a beach day than paying for parking ever was.
The same county page carries a standing notice that's easy to skip. Lee County says its beaches and beach parks haven't been restored to pre-Ian conditions, debris still washes up and can hide under the sand, and beach shoes should be worn at all times. The work on these lots is the county catching up on exactly that damage.
The free accesses, from north to south
Accesses #2 through #9 are free to park, open dawn to dusk, and don't allow pets, fires or grilling on the beach. Here they are, listed from the Little Hickory end down toward Bonita Beach Park:
- Access #9, 26220 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #8, 26410 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #7, 26590 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #6, 26786 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #5, 27010 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #4, 27260 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #3, 27494 Hickory Blvd.
- Access #2, 27720 Hickory Blvd.
The county doesn't publish space counts for these accesses, so plan as if parking is limited at each one. With two big lots closed now and a third closing Nov. 1, more drivers will be competing for the same short stretch of free spots, and the busiest hours will feel that first. If you fish from shore at any of them, you still need a saltwater fishing license. Florida residents can get the shoreline license for free.
The ride that skips the hunt for a space
Lee County is pointing beachgoers to LeeTran's ULTRA On Demand service. It connects central Bonita Springs with Bonita Beach Park and also picks up and drops off anywhere else in its service zone. The Access 1 page now carries the same recommendation.
How it works:
- Where to leave the car. Free parking is in the shopping-center lot at 3300 Bonita Beach Road SW. The pickup point is in the lot at the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road.
- When it runs. Every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The last ride request is accepted at 7:30 p.m.
- What it costs. LeeTran's Bonita brochure lists a $3 fare. The ULTRA page currently offers promo code BONITARIDE for one ride at $1.50.
- How to book. Use the ULTRA On-Demand app or call LeeTran at 239-533-8726, option 7. You can pay in the app, by phone, or in cash when you board.
The 7:30 p.m. cutoff is the detail to plan around. A late-afternoon beach session works fine. If you want to stay for the last of the light and ride home after dark, you'll need a backup plan.
When you'd rather have a lot with a gate
Two parks just past either end of Bonita Beach have their own parking, and both are open this season. Each comes with a few conditions.
| Barefoot Beach Preserve | Lovers Key State Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Address or access | 505 Barefoot Beach Blvd., via Lely Barefoot Blvd. off Bonita Beach Road | North of Bonita Beach |
| Hours | 8 a.m. to sunset, year-round | 8 a.m. to sunset, daily |
| Parking | $10 for vehicles from outside Collier County; free with a Collier resident permit; credit card only | $8 per vehicle |
| Walk to the sand | Not specified | 1,000 feet or half a mile from parking lot 1, across two bridges; tram discontinued |
| Rentals | Beach rentals and sundries vendor open daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Beach, paddling and fishing equipment rentals available daily |
| Food | Listed as "coming soon" | None |
| Current caveat | Kayak and paddleboard rentals listed as "coming soon" | Boat ramp partially closed for improvements since July 2026, with limited parking during the work |
Which county you live in decides a lot here. Barefoot Beach Preserve is a Collier County park on Bonita Beach's southern edge. A North Naples household with a Collier permit parks there for free, while a household on the Lee County side of Bonita Beach Road pays $10 a visit. At Lovers Key, the long walk and the lack of a tram are the bigger factors on a day with coolers and chairs. Since neither park sells food right now, pack a full lunch.
The pass discount that ran out just as the lots closed
This summer the City of Bonita Springs ran a pilot that reimbursed $50 of the $60 Lee County annual beach parking pass, which brought the cost down to $10 for eligible full-time residents or taxpayers. The pass is good for 12 months from the date it's issued. Reimbursements were capped at the first 300 applicants and handled in person at the Bonita Springs Recreation Center, 26740 Pine Ave. The purchase and reimbursement window ran from June 1 through Sept. 30, 2026.
As of Oct. 4, the published window has closed. The timing is awkward. If you bought a pass this summer, most of its 12 months overlap with construction at the Bonita lots, and Access 1, the paid lot nearby where the county lists the pass as valid, closes Nov. 1. The free accesses never needed a pass at all.
Planning a Saturday around the closures
If you're building a Saturday around Bonita Beach this fall, the Local Roots farmers market at the Promenade at Bonita Bay runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, Oct. 3, 2026 through May 29, 2027. It's on the way to Bonita Beach Road, so a morning stop there leaves the afternoon for the beach. Riverside Park downtown is closed for Phase 2 renovations, and the city's target for finishing is winter 2026. That's a goal, not a confirmed reopening date.
Until the county fences come down, a Bonita Beach day mostly comes down to three things: which free access you pull into, where the nearest restroom is, and whether you're back to the ULTRA pickup before the 7:30 p.m. cutoff. For the latest on each closure, check Lee County's Parks Project Information Tool at leegov.com/parks.
If you're thinking about how close you want to live to the Gulf, or whether a community with its own beach access is worth it to you, Tricia Kowaleski can walk you through how access works street by street along this stretch of coast. Request a Free Consultation & Home Valuation whenever you're ready to talk it through.
