# How dog friendly is Sanibel Island?



## Wonka (Oct 15, 2008)

I'm thinking of a day road trip to Sanibel island tomorrow, and wondering if my leashed dog will be welcomed or condemned.  Does anyone know?

I'd like to visit the state park, beaches, have a late lunch and return home.


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## Sea Six (Oct 15, 2008)

Dogs are not allowed on the beaches or in restaurants, but they are usually allowed in stores only because they can not be left in cars.  There is a dog beach in Bonita you may want to check out.  It's in the vicinity of Lover's Key, but I can't describe exactly where it is.  You park your car near one of the bridges and walk back to the water.  We took our dog there once for the fun of it, but we were not happy about the people not cleaning up after their dogs.  They make it tough to get public places to take dogs for the exact reason that people just don't bother to clean up the mess.

DOG BEACH!


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## urple2 (Oct 15, 2008)

All I can tell you is I saw plenty of people with pets at the beach on a recent trip to Sanibel.

This may help.  http://www.bringfido.com/destination/FL/Sanibel/


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## Bwolf (Oct 15, 2008)

We recently returned from Sanibel.  We didn't see that many dogs, but we did see a few leashed dogs on the beach.

HTH


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## Wonka (Oct 15, 2008)

Sea Six said:


> Dogs are not allowed on the beaches or in restaurants, but they are usually allowed in stores only because they can not be left in cars.  There is a dog beach in Bonita you may want to check out.  It's in the vicinity of Lover's Key, but I can't describe exactly where it is.  You park your car near one of the bridges and walk back to the water.  We took our dog there once for the fun of it, but we were not happy about the people not cleaning up after their dogs.  They make it tough to get public places to take dogs for the exact reason that people just don't bother to clean up the mess.
> 
> DOG BEACH!



I'm a little confused.  The post after yours has a link that indicates leashed dogs are allowed on the Sanibel beaches.

"Bowman's Beach - Sanibel, FL
Leashed dogs are allowed on all Sanibel beaches, but Bowman's Beach is definitely our favorite".

I would keep her leashed.  Also, in Florida many outdoor restaurants welcome dogs.  Aren't there any on Sanibel that welcome a dog outside?


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## sandcastles (Oct 15, 2008)

Dogs can be on the beach on Sanibel as long as they are on leashes.  I'm not sure about Captiva.  I see a lot of dogs without leashes on the beach on Sanibel but it is strictly against rules.


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## rapmarks (Oct 16, 2008)

Wonka, which state park are you referring to?  Ding Darling is a National Wildlife Refuge, and you can use the National Parks golden age pass to get in free if you happen to; be 62 or older.


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## The Conch Man (Oct 16, 2008)

Its the 1st beach on your left going North on Hickory Road, it then becomes Estero Blvd. or going South from Diamondhead, its the last beach on your right, just before the last bridge going to Bonita Springs or Bonita Beach. You can park right there, don't need to park at the bridge but ya can ifin ya want.





Sea Six said:


> There is a dog beach in Bonita you may want to check out. It's in the vicinity of Lover's Key, but I can't describe exactly where it is. You park your car near one of the bridges and walk back to the water.


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## Laurie (Oct 16, 2008)

Even if it's allowed (which I doubt) I wouldn't recommend bringing a dog into Ding Darling! It could startle and scare away the wildlife that some folks have traveled thousands of miles to view, and often photograph. And I wouldn't miss Ding Darling. 

Today's the day you were planning your trip, so this is late advice! So if you already went to Sanibel and skipped Ding Darling, hopefully you can get back over sometime.


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## spiceycat (Oct 16, 2008)

here is list of dog friendly parks in flor

http://www.floridapets.net/dogparks.htm


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## spiceycat (Oct 16, 2008)

this might help a little more

http://www.leeparks.org/dog-friendly/index.html


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## silvib (Oct 16, 2008)

I don't recall seeing any dogs on the beach when we were there 1st week of September and to be quite honest, don't recall seeing dogs period.


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## Wonka (Oct 19, 2008)

*Dogs are allowed most places*

We just returned from our day trip to Sanibel and Captiva.  Both allowed leased dogs on the beaches, we only saw one other (but this isn't tourist season).  We also drove through the nature preserve with the dog in the back seat of our convertible, and made a few stops.  We didn't see much wildlife, except birds.  People were allowed to net Blue crabs, and they were plentiful.  We also found a couple of outdoor restaurants that welcomed dogs on Sanibel and were told there are a couple of dog-friendly resorts (probably cottages).


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## silvib (Oct 20, 2008)

Pleased you had a good time.  It's a great place.


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