Lee County beach access reopens across Gasparilla Island

Lee County has announced that a number of beach access points have officially reopened on Gasparilla Island. The beach access points, part of Lee County Parks & Recreation, were closed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The streets have needed extensive stabilization and road repairs, as in most cases the sand was either washed out completely, or the streets were turned into dunes.

The street access points that are now open are at 1st Street, 10th Street, 11th Street, 12th Street, 14th Street, 17th Street and 19th Street. At 1st Street, for instance, they not only rebuilt the street but re-capped an old bulkhead at the end of the street.

Lee County will continue to work to reopen the additional access sites. Currently closed are other areas in town, including the major 5th Street access, which offers parking for the beach and abuts The Gasparilla Island Beach Club. Already, Florida State Parks has reopened a number of beach access parking areas, including the area around the Range Light. 

On Wheeler Road, where Lee County is continuing to stage debris collection, they are continuing to clear out debris at the county-run park.

“The contractor will haul out materials this week and then remediate the site to bring it back to its pre-storm conditions in the coming weeks,” said Communications Director Betsy Clayton, in a statement.

Updates on the parks are available at the Parks Progress Information Tool at leegov.com/Parks.