While most vacationers are drawn to Sanibel Beach Florida for it's famous shelling opportunities, there's plenty more to see and do once you tear yourself away from the beach.
Start with the J.N . "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge, one of the premier refuges in the US Fish and Wildlife Service's System. World famous for its winter migrating bird population, the Refuge welcomes visitors with an exciting Visitor's Center. Here, you will find interactive exhibits that entertain and inform, a gallery of refuge photography, a short video explaining the origin of the Refuge and its importance in the area ecosystem and much more.
A 2.6 mile road winds through its acres of mangrove forests, and brackish impoundments where herons, egrets, ibises, sandpipers and many other birds feed and roost. The Refuge is home to more than 220 different species of birds. Drive your car, take the naturalist-operated tram, or bike through, making as many stops as you wish to enjoy the surprises this sanctuary offers.
And there's more conservation land to be enjoyed. Inland, in the central part of the Sanibel Beach Florida, the Bailey Tract provides another birding opportunity. Here the water is all fresh, bordered by the Sanibel River on two sides and dotted with a series of small ponds. Armed with binoculars, you'll spy ospery on their nests, red shouldered hawks, and sometimes an alligator or two, in addition to ducks and songbirds. You'll walk through sawgrass meadows as tall as your shoulder and get a feel for what the Everglades were like - and can be again.
Conservation is high on the list of Sanibel Beach Florida residents' concerns. In fact, more than 50 per cent of the Island is conservation and sanctuary land, unavailable for development.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation owns significant tracts of land. Lot by lot, acre by acre, SCCF has raised funds, purchased and restored significant. Their headquarters off the San-Cap Road is the starting point for a range of interesting walking trails. You'll also find gift shop and native plant nursery.
Further along the road the Clinic for Rehabilitation of Wildlife, (CROW) offers a look at an animal hospital where walking and flying creatures are brought to be healed and returned to the wild. Recognized as one of the nation's leading rescue clinics, CROW has treated more the 45,000 patients since opening in 1968. Staffed by two full time veterinarians and a veterinary assistant, CROW offers a daily presentation at the headquarters on its rehabilitation and care procedures.
Sanibel beach Florida's obsession with shelling is also manifested off the beach. Several years ago, with the financial backing of actor Raymond Burr and others, the construction of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum was completed. Homage to the island's obsession, the Museum showcases more than thirty exhibits of mollusks from around the world. You'll see how shells played a part in history and art, gaze at shell rarities, fossilized shells, an the common shells found on Sanibel Beach Florida shores. A live touch tank offers up close and personal acquaintance with the animals of the tidepools and a great experience for children of all ages.
Fans of history won't want to miss the Sanibel Historical Village and Museum. Sanibel beach Florida residents have gathered here and lovingly preserved some of the original structures on the island. You'll explore a 1900s store as run by the Bailey family, the original provisioner for island families when Sanibel beach Florida was just a tiny farming community. Stop in the 1925 post office and count the few mailboxes. View the 1913 Cracker-style Rutland house designed for comfort in the heat and demonstrating four different ways to combat mosquitoes.
Also collected are a 1925 Sears Roebuck catalog cottage, Miss Charlotte's Tearoom (Charlotte Matthews, of the Museums family fame), and Sanibel's original one-room Schoolhouse.
Just down the street from the Village is the Sanibel Library. On those rare days when inclement weather makes being outside unattractive, this is your place of retreat. The welcoming lobby holds a case of fossilized shells discovered in the fill sand hauled in to level the land on which the library sits. Upstairs (the ground level is parking), a spacious children's area includes a story telling room and copious books for kids of all ages. Adults will be stunned by the vast newspapers and magazines available, testimony to the broad interests of Sanibel beach Florida residents and her returning visitors. You'll also find a welcoming reading porch facing one of the refuge ponds and outfitted in rocking chairs. What better way to spend a few hours than with a leisurely read in a rocker. You can also receive email here and surf the Internet by registering to use one of the many terminals in the computer lab.
Yes, there's more than shelling to explore on Sanibel beach Florida. Pack your casual clothes and come on down.
