Keewaydin Island: The Beach You Cannot Drive To

Keewaydin Island sits directly south of Gordon Pass, an eight-mile ribbon of barrier island between the Gulf and the mangroves of Rookery Bay. Most of it is protected, part of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. There is no bridge to it, no road on it, no concession stand, no restroom, no lifeguard and no shade beyond what the sea grape and Australian pine give you.

The result is the least developed accessible beach in Collier County and the one that most resembles what all of Naples looked like eighty years ago.

Getting there

By boat, and only by boat. There are three realistic versions:

• A scheduled shuttle or drop-off service — the cheapest option, but you are on somebody else's clock and the drop point is fixed.
• A private charter — a captain runs you out, and you agree when to be collected, or the boat stays. This is what most people actually want, because Keewaydin is a place you want to leave when the light is good rather than when the schedule says.
• Kayak or paddleboard from the Bayview Park launch — genuinely doable for strong paddlers on the right tide, genuinely miserable against an outgoing tide through the pass. Do not attempt it casually.

The shelling

Southwest Florida is one of the best shelling coastlines in North America, and Keewaydin benefits from having so few people walking it. Common finds include fighting conch, lightning whelk, banded tulip, olive shells, apple murex, and pen shells. Sand dollars turn up on the flats at low tide. The real prize on this coast is the junonia, and if you find one you will be told, correctly, that people live here for decades without ever finding one.

Rules to know: taking live shells is prohibited in Collier County, and Rookery Bay reserve land has its own protections. If there is an animal inside, put it back in the water. Check hermit crabs before you pocket anything — the shell may be occupied.

When to walk

Low tide, always, and the lower the better. The hour after a strong winter cold front is legendary among local shellers, because the wind pushes new material onto the beach. First light after a windy night is the serious shell hunter's window; by 10am the good stuff has been picked over.

What to bring

• All your water. There is none on the island.
• Shade — a beach umbrella or pop-up. This matters more than anything else on the list.
• Bug spray for late afternoon. No-see-ums come off the mangroves at dusk and they are ferocious.
• A bag for trash. Everything you bring comes back with you; there are no bins.
• Shoes you can walk in. The shell beds are sharp in places.

Wildlife

Keewaydin is a nesting beach. Loggerhead sea turtles nest from roughly May through October, and marked nests will be staked and roped — give them a wide berth and never use white lights on the beach at night in season. Shorebirds including black skimmers and least terns nest on the sand as well; posted areas exist for a reason. Gopher tortoises and the occasional raccoon are the terrestrial residents.

Is it worth it?

If your ideal beach day includes a bathroom, a rental chair and a frozen drink brought to you, no — go to Vanderbilt Beach and have a very good time. If the phrase "a mile of beach with nobody on it" does something to you, Keewaydin is the best half-day in Naples, and the boat ride there is half the pleasure.