ABOUT BAREFOOT BEACH PRESERVE
Barefoot Beach Preserve is a 342 acre Collier County park and Florida State Preserve containing a nationally recognized beach and one of the largest gopher tortoise preserves in Southwest Florida. Please help us in protecting the animals and plants that reside on this barrier island.
HOURS ~ The park is open from 8:00am to sunset, year round. The Learning Center is open all year. It is staffed by docent volunteers, seven days a week 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, during season.
PARKING ~ There are 356 parking spaces in the park. The parking fee is $8.00 per day. Parking is free to vehicles bearing a Collier County beach parking sticker. There are three (3) lots available at the Preserve. Click here for County beach parking permit information.
FACILITIES ~ There is a Ranger Station located at parking lot #1. There are restrooms available at parking lots #1 and #3, as well as at the 1/2 mile marker on the west Saylor Trail. Food concession is available near the Park Ranger Station. Please check with the concession for days/times. Beach chairs, umbrellas and kayaks are available for rent during the season at the end of the boardwalk off the first parking lot. A Park Ranger guided canoe trip through the estuary operates January through April each Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30am - 11:00 am, weather permitting. Reservations are required. Call the Collier County Parks and Recreation office at 239-252-4024 or 239-252-4060. Fee: $10.00 per person.
AMENITIES ~ The Learning Center is located at parking lot #1. It contains displays of Barefoot Beach animal and marine life. Educational hand-outs about tortoises, shells and birds are available. During season, trained docents are on hand to answer questions and provide information. There is a butterfly garden and a cactus garden adjacent to the Learning Center. The Saylor Nature Trail is a 1-1/2 mile looped hiking trail through Barefoot Beach Preserve. The trail is accessible at the south end of parking lot #3 or off the northern path to the beach in parking lot #3, where a hiker can experience many of the native plants and animals of the Preserve. Many of the plant signs have a QR code marker which links to additional information.
COLLIER COUNTY REGULATIONS ~ Visitors are not permitted to bring the following into the Preserve: Barbeque grills, fireworks, alcohol, glass or pets.
Campers longer than 20 feet or trailers are not permitted in the Preserve.
LOCATION ~ The park entrance is near the west end of Bonita Beach Road--turn onto Barefoot Beach Blvd. and go south
1-1/2 miles.