Hi there!
So there are many shelling beaches on Sanibel Island.
One of them that is often listed as one of the best shelling beaches on Sanibel Island is Lighthouse Beach.
Now, I did like another Sanibel Island beach for shelling better than Lighthouse Beach.
But I should also say that I went to almost all of the public Sanibel Island shelling beaches, and Lighthouse Beach Park was the last place I went to before I left Sanibel Island for good. (Then it was off to more places along the gulf coast including more Southwest Florida beaches!)
So having been to other Sanibel Island beaches with lots of shells, Lighthouse Beach was more of a quick visit to see what it’s like.
And so, of course, *asterisk, your experience may vary!
In any case, Lighthouse Beach is known as a good beach for shelling on Sanibel Island. (And really, you can go to any beach on Sanibel Island and look for shells!)
Lighthouse Beach shells
Yes, Lighthouse Beach is good for shelling!
There is shelling at Lighthouse Beach, so you can make your time at Lighthouse Beach all about shelling.
You can find a lot of seashells on the shores of Lighthouse Beach.
👆 Sanibel Island beaches, including Lighthouse Beach, are some of the best shelling beaches in Florida.
Sanibel Island shell identification guide
You have a chance to find lots of different types of shells at Lighthouse Beach!
You may also be interested in visiting the National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island.
You might want to go to the National Shell Museum before you go to Lighthouse Beach to give you an intro to shelling! (map)
According to Lee County, live shelling is not allowed on Sanibel Island. This means that you can’t take home anything you find that is alive. Otherwise, you can take home shells you find at Lighthouse Beach and other Sanibel Island beaches.
Sanibel Island seaweed
You might also see seaweed washed up on the shore at Lighthouse Beach with shells!
Seaweed and sea grass are considered to be an important part of the coastal ecosystem. If you see seaweed while shelling at Lighthouse Beach, you can just consider it a part of your Sanibel Island experience!
Sanibel Island visitor center
Since shelling is your goal (and even if it’s not), be sure to stop by the Sanibel Island visitor center!
You’ll look for signs for the visitor center right after you get on Sanibel Island.
Most importantly, you can pick up a shell identification guide!
You can also pick up a map of the shelling beaches of Sanibel Island and Captiva Island.
Cost to go shelling at Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel Island
In order to go shelling on Sanibel Island, you’ll need to drive across the Sanibel causeway bridge.
There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island.
If you have a Lee County pass, a Florida SunPass, or any other kind of compatible pass, you can drive straight through and you will automatically be charged.
The cost of the Sanibel Island toll is $6 per car if you have a pass. If you don’t have a pass, it’s $9 per car. See current fees under Sanibel toll plaza.
There is also a Sanibel Island beach parking fee, and this includes at the Lighthouse Beach parking lot.
It is an hourly fee, and you can expect to pay around $5 an hour for parking. See current fees.
So the starting cost to go shelling at Lighthouse Beach is $11! ($6 toll + $5 for one hour)
But since you will probably be shelling at Lighthouse Beach for more than an hour, it will likely cost you minimum $16 for the Sanibel toll and Sanibel Island beach parking.
👆 In 2022, the cost of Lighthouse Beach parking was $5 per hour.
More for your Southwest Florida road trip and beyond
- What to pack for shelling in Florida
- Sanibel Island shelling
- More Sanibel shelling: Bowmans Beach
- More Sanibel shelling: Blind Pass Beach
- More Sanibel shelling: Tarpon Bay Beach
- More Sanibel and Captiva shelling: Turner Beach
- Best shelling beaches in Florida
- Captiva Island beaches
- Marco Island shelling
- Honeymoon Island shelling
- Cayo Costa State Park shelling
- Lido Key shelling
- Siesta Key shelling
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
- Sanibel Island to Miami
- Sanibel Island to Key West
- Miami to Key West
- Tampa to Marco Island
- Best snorkeling in Florida
See below for pictures of shelling at Lighthouse Beach!
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Sanibel Island shells at Lighthouse Beach
My Lighthouse Beach shelling trip was in April 2022. Your experience may vary!
Lighthouse Beach is a part of Lighthouse Beach Park.
Lighthouse Beach Park is on google maps, so you can use that to get you there. (map)
👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Lighthouse Beach.
Once you get on Sanibel Island, it will be about a 5+ minute drive to get to Lighthouse Beach.
At the first main intersection you’ll see once you get on Sanibel Island, you will follow the sign towards the lighthouse! (The other direction is for all of the other Sanibel Island beaches, as well as Captiva Island beaches.)
Then you basically just follow the road to Lighthouse Beach Park.
There are several parking lots for Lighthouse Beach Park.
The main parking lot is for the popular Lighthouse Beach.
The Lighthouse Beach parking lot is not small, but it’s also not huge. Because it’s popular, it’s possible that you might arrive to find a full Lighthouse Beach parking lot. You can wait around and hope that someone will leave soon.
You can also drive around to go to the other parking lots, including the parking lot near the Sanibel City Pier. This is a small pier with beach on both sides of the pier that you can also give a try to look for shells. You might want to go here also for the views!
If you don’t mind walking a little bit, you can always walk from the Sanibel City Pier parking lot to Lighthouse Beach. Once you get there, you can judge whether or not you want to walk that far. Maybe you’ll walk 5 to 10 minutes.
You can also drive around to see the Sanibel Island lighthouse! Even just driving to get a closer view will give you a scenic drive along the water, although it’s just a short part that is the scenic drive!
👆 Sanibel Island Lighthouse Beach Park map: The main Sanibel Lighthouse Beach shelling (and parking) is at the top. The Sanibel Pier beach shelling is at the bottom left.
So once you park at the main Lighthouse Beach parking lot, you’ll look for the payment station so that you can pay for parking.
Near the Lighthouse Beach parking lot is where you’ll find the bathroom and outdoor showers.
Then, you can look for the path to the beach!
And then you’ll arrive at Lighthouse Beach!
And then you can start looking for shells at Lighthouse Beach!
You can start your Lighthouse Beach shelling walk in either direction!
Although, if you want to make it a long walk, you’ll want to go to to the right.
As you will see, to the left will go around the bend (island).
Whichever direction you go, you can find shells scattered on Lighthouse Beach.
You can find shells in the water too, so you might want to wear water shoes when you go shelling!
More Sanibel Island shells at Lighthouse Beach!
And that’s a bit about shelling at Lighthouse Beach!
More for your Southwest Florida road trip and beyond:
- What to pack for shelling in Florida
- Best shelling beaches in Florida
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
HAPPY SHELLING AT LIGHTHOUSE BEACH ON SANIBEL ISLAND!
FLORIDA TRAVEL TIPS
Here's some info on Florida trip prep!
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
- Best shelling in Florida
- Tampa to Miami drive
- Things to do in Everglades National Park