Lee County is located in southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2010 census, the population was 618,754. The county seat is Fort Myers, and the largest city is Cape Coral with an estimated 2018 population of 189,343. Lee County comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Captiva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2010 census the population was 583, up from 379 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Sanibel is an island and city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,469 at the 2010 census, with an estimated 2018 population of 7,402. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The island, also known as Sanibel Island, constitutes the entire city. It is a barrier island – a collection of sand on the leeward side of the more solid coral-rock of Pine Island.
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and some year-round residents, is entirely in the Lee County portion of the island. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Boca Grande is known for its historic downtown, sugar sand beaches, blue water and world class fishing.
The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans the San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in Punta Rassa. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two-man-made causeway islands between them. The entire causeway facility is owned by Lee County and operated by the Lee County Department of Transportation. The entire causeway is three miles long from end to end, and currently has a $6 toll in effect for island-bound vehicles only. The bridges are not individually named, and are simply referred to as bridges A, B, and C. The islands are also named A and B. Both series begin from the mainland side.
José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla, is an apocryphal Spanish pirate, the "Last of the Buccaneers," who is claimed to have roamed and plundered across the Gulf of Mexico and the Spanish Main from his base in southwest Florida. Details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in different tellings. However, the various versions agree that he was a remarkably active pirate during Florida's second Spanish period, that he amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages, and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind an enormous and as-yet undiscovered treasure.
The Charlotte Harbor Light was placed at a bend in the deeper part of Charlotte Harbor to guide ships to the railroad docks in Punta Gorda, Florida. Punta Gorda lost importance as a port when railroad lines reached Boca Grande on the southern end of Gasparilla Island at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor in 1906. The lighthouse steadily deteriorated and had to be demolished in 1943. The iron pilings were removed in 1975.
Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee Counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an important part of Florida folklore due to its connection to the pirate Gasparilla, and has been a significant tourist destination since the early 20th century.
Gasparilla Island State Park is a Florida State Park located south of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island off Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. Activities include swimming and fishing along with shelling, picnicking, and viewing the Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. Visitors can also enjoy snorkeling, and nature study.
The Gasparilla Island Lights are on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Florida. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, and marked the Boca Grande Pass entrance to Charlotte Harbor.
Charlotte Harbor Estuary, the second largest bay in Florida, is located on the Gulf of Mexico coast of west Florida, mostly (2/3) in Charlotte County, Florida with the remaining 1/3 in Lee County. The harbor's mouth is located behind Gasparilla Island, one of the many coastal barrier islands on the southwest coast of Florida, with access from the Gulf of Mexico through the Boca Grande Pass between Gasparilla Island on the north and Lacosta Island on the south. Charlotte Harbor covers about 270 sq mi (700 km2)
The Matanzas Pass Bridge is a bridge located in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. It carries State Road 865 between the Florida mainland and Estero Island, which is a major tourist destination. The bridge is one of the island's two connections to the mainland. The other is the Bonita Beach Causeway on the south end of the island.
The Matlacha Pass Bridge is a small single-leaf drawbridge located in Matlacha, Florida. It carries County Road 78 over Matlacha Pass, connecting Pine Island with the mainland in Cape Coral.
The Jewfish Creek Bridge is a beam bridge in the Florida Keys. Spanning both Jewfish Creek and Lake Surprise, it carries the Overseas Highway between the Florida Keys and the Florida mainland. The bridge is 65 feet (20 m) tall and opened in 2008, replacing a small drawbridge.
The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's principal purpose was to transport phosphate mined along the Peace River and in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida to the port to be shipped. It also brought passengers to the island community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, and is largely responsible for making Boca Grande the popular tourist destination it is today. Part of the line remains in service today between Mulberry and Arcadia, which is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation. Today, it makes up CSX's Achan Subdivision and part of their Brewster Subdivision.
The Boca Grande Bike Path is a 6.5 mile multi-use path in Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island. The northern portion of the path runs on the former right of way of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway, which operated on Gasparilla Island from 1907 to 1981. As Florida's first rail trail, it was principally built for bicycles, but pedestrians also use it. Golf carts are also permitted on the path. Another trail exists on the mainland portion of the railroad line known as the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail.
The Cape Haze Pioneer Trail is an 8-mile (13 km) rail trail in Charlotte County, Florida on the Cape Haze peninsula running from western Port Charlotte to Placida. A vast majority of the trail runs along the right of way of the former Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway.
Coral Creek Airport is a private-use airport located 2 miles northeast of Boca Grande, a community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida, United States. The airport itself is located in Placida in Charlotte County, about a mile north of the separately-owned Coral Creek Club. The airport is privately owned by BK IV AS, L.L.C.
