The Naples Beaches, Ranked by What You Actually Want From a Beach

The sand in Naples is fine, pale, and cool enough to walk on barefoot at midday most of the year, which is not true of most Florida beaches. The water is shallow for a long way out and generally calm, because the Gulf here has no significant swell and the barrier islands to the south break up what little there is.

So all the beaches are good. The differences are logistical and social, and those differences matter enormously depending on who you are travelling with.

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park — the best beach

If someone asks for one recommendation, this is it. A mile of protected barrier-island sand at the northern end of Naples, backed by dune and Australian pine rather than condominium, with five parking lots spread along its length so you can choose your crowd density.

• Best for: shelling, quiet, actual nature, the sunset at the north end.
• Parking: state park entrance fee per vehicle; the lots fill by mid-morning January through March.
• Facilities: restrooms, showers, picnic pavilions, a boat ramp on the pass side.
• Note: the park closes at sundown, so it is not the spot for a long after-dark evening.

Vanderbilt Beach — the easy one

North Naples, wide, social, and blessed with a multi-storey parking garage on Vanderbilt Beach Road, which quietly makes it the least stressful beach in the city between December and April. Hotels and restaurants sit directly behind it, so you can get a drink without a twenty-minute round trip.

• Best for: convenience, a full beach day with food and drink nearby, families who need a bathroom within sight.
• Parking: paid garage, plus metered spaces that disappear early.
• Trade-off: it is the busiest beach in the county in season.

Clam Pass Park — the one with the boardwalk

A three-quarter-mile boardwalk through mangrove forest separates the parking lot from the sand, with a tram for anyone who would rather not walk it. The result is a beach that filters out casual traffic simply by making you commit.

• Best for: birdwatching on the way in, a quieter stretch of sand, kayaking the pass at high tide.
• Parking: county lot, paid, and it fills.
• Note: check tram hours before you go if walking a mile round trip is not on the agenda.

Lowdermilk Park — the practical one

Just north of Old Naples with the fullest set of facilities of any beach in the city: playground, volleyball, restrooms, showers, a snack bar and a lawn with shade. It is not the most beautiful beach here. It is far and away the most useful one if you have children under ten.

Naples Pier and the Old Naples beach ends

This is the beach you have seen in photographs, and it is also a residential neighbourhood. Access is via the numbered avenues off Gulf Shore Boulevard South, most of which have a handful of metered spaces and nothing else. The stretch immediately around the pier is busy; walk five minutes in either direction and it thins out dramatically.

Barefoot Beach Preserve — the wild one

The northern boundary of the county, past Bonita, and the closest thing to an undeveloped mainland beach in the area. Gopher tortoises in the dune scrub, a nature centre, and a long walk south along the sand that gets emptier the further you go. Worth the drive if what you want is not to see anybody.

Keewaydin and the island beaches

The barrier islands south of Gordon Pass have no road access at all, which is why the shelling is better and the footprints are fewer. Keewaydin is the main one and it is a boat trip; the full breakdown of tides, access and what you will find is in the Keewaydin shelling guide.

Practical notes that apply everywhere

• Beach parking is the real constraint from January to April. Arrive before 10 a.m. or after 3 p.m. and the problem largely evaporates.
• The Gulf here is shallow and calm, but shuffle your feet in the shallows — stingrays rest on the bottom and a shuffle moves them off harmlessly.
• Sea turtles nest from May through October. Marked nests are protected, lights facing the beach are restricted at night, and holes dug in the sand should be filled in before you leave.
• Afternoon storms in summer arrive fast and produce lightning. The beach is the worst place to be; leave when you hear thunder rather than when you see rain.
• There is very little natural shade on most of these beaches. Bring an umbrella or accept the consequences.