Bonita Beach Is Still Open. The Free Lots on Hickory Boulevard Are Now the Main Way In.

As of September 8, 2026, Bonita Beach Park at 27954 Hickory Blvd. has no public parking and no amenities, and neither does Little Hickory Island Beach Park at 26082 Hickory Blvd. Beach Access #1, the $2-an-hour lot just north of the park, is next. Lee County's page for that access says its lot closes to the public starting November 1, 2026. The sand stays open the whole time.

The closures land on the paid, full-amenity lots at the south end of Hickory Boulevard, the ones that anchored a typical Bonita beach day. What remains is a row of eight small, free, unstaffed accesses between those two parks. This season they become the main way onto the beach. A Bonita beach day works differently this winter, and the restroom, the parking meter and the lunch stop all move.

What Closed, What's Closing, and Why the Dates Disagree

Lee County announced the work on September 2 as Hurricane Ian restoration. It said most of the projects will take about 11 months, and the delay followed a long process of securing federal funding reimbursement. The county's project tracker estimates the Bonita parks will be finished in late summer 2027, weather permitting.

The county's own websites disagree about Access #1. Its general parking page lists the lot as closed starting September 8, 2026. The page for Access #1 itself, and the county's September 2 release, put the closure in November, with the facility page naming November 1. If you're planning a late-October trip around that lot, check Lee County Parks the morning you go.

The repairs cover boardwalks, pavilions, showers, landscaping and parking lots. At Bonita Beach Park, crews will repair the existing restroom and county office building. At Little Hickory Island, the restroom buildings will be replaced. The records reviewed for that coverage don't show the project adding parking spaces or showers. It puts back what was there before.

The Eight Free Accesses Now Do the Heavy Lifting

Between the two closed parks, Lee County runs a string of numbered beach accesses. Its page lists them by address:

• Access #2, 27720 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #3, 27494 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #4, 27260 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #5, 27010 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #6, 26786 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #7, 26590 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #8, 26410 Hickory Blvd.
• Access #9, 26220 Hickory Blvd.

The county says all eight are free to park, open dawn to dusk, and show no scheduled closures. Under amenities, the county lists one item: beach access. Pets, fires and grilling are all prohibited on the beach. Anyone fishing from shore needs a saltwater fishing license, though the Resident Annual Saltwater Shoreline Fishing License is free.

The county page doesn't give space counts for these lots. What it does carry is a standing advisory. The beaches and beach parks haven't been restored to their pre-Ian condition, debris still washes ashore and can quickly get buried in the sand, and beach shoes should be worn at all times. On a walk-in-only stretch with no lifeguard stand or park office nearby, that advice matters more.

The bigger change is restrooms. The Access #1 page tells visitors there are no restrooms at that site and that the nearest ones are at Bonita Beach Park. Those restrooms are now behind construction fencing for repair. At the other end of the strip, the portable toilets at Little Hickory Island were moved outside the fence near the road. If you're bringing kids or staying past lunch, plan for that.

If you bought a Lee County annual parking pass for Access #1, it covers fewer lots this season. The pass costs $60 for 12 months and is digital, with no physical sticker. Access #1 is one of the places it's valid. Accesses #2 through #9 never needed it.

No Parking Spot at All: The US 41 Park-and-Ride

For days when the small free lots are full, or when nobody wants to drive Hickory Boulevard, Lee County recommends a park-and-ride on the mainland at US 41. Here's how it works, per the county's guidance as summarized in September coverage:

1. Park for free at 3300 Bonita Beach Road SW, the shopping-center lot at the northwest corner of US 41 and Bonita Beach Road.
2. Book a ride through the ULTRA On-Demand Transit app, available through LeeTran's ULTRA page, or call 239-533-8726, option 7. Rides are first-come, first-served.
3. Confirm the drop-off that serves the open walkway to the beach.
4. Book the return trip the same way. Bonita service runs 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and the last ride request is taken at 7:30 p.m.

A ride costs $3, or $6 round trip per paying passenger. You can pay in the app, by phone, or in cash on board. At the time of that coverage, LeeTran was advertising the code BONITARIDE for a single $1.50 ride. Each rider can bring two carry-on-sized bags, so ask before showing up with a wagon and a canopy. Children under 5 need a child seat provided by an adult. One child age 6 or younger rides free with each paying adult. If your home is already inside the ULTRA service zone, you can request a pickup there and skip the shopping center.

The 7:30 p.m. last request matters for sunset. On an early-winter evening it leaves time for the ride back. Over a long weekend, check holiday exceptions before you count on it.

When You Want a Gate and a Fee: Barefoot Beach Preserve

At the south end of the same barrier island, across the county line, Barefoot Beach Preserve is unaffected by the Lee County work. Collier County lists it at 505 Barefoot Beach Boulevard, reached from Bonita Beach Road by Lely Barefoot Boulevard. It's open year-round from 8 a.m. to sunset.

For Bonita Springs residents the cost is fixed. Collier charges $10 a day to anyone without a Collier County Resident Beach Parking Permit, and Lee County residents can't get that permit. You pay by phone without an app: text the posted code or scan the QR sign, then enter your plate and card details. Compared with the free accesses on Hickory Boulevard, you pay $10 and can't arrive before 8 a.m. In return you get a staffed preserve.

What's Still Open Along the Strip

The county's description of Access #1 mentions one business by location: a restaurant between that access and Bonita Beach Park. That's Doc's Beach House at 27908 Hickory Blvd. A March 2026 News-Press feature on long-running Southwest Florida restaurants included it, noting that breakfast is served daily until 11 a.m. and the restaurant is cash only. The county's September announcements say nothing about the restaurant's own parking, so call Doc's directly rather than assuming the county closures apply to it.

Farther inland, the route home has changed too. The owners of Doug's Seafood at 3411 Bonita Beach Road announced on August 31, 2026, that it had closed for good, the News-Press reported in early September. North of the strip, Big Hickory Waterfront Grille's owners sold the restaurant's former Hickory Boulevard property to Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue and bought a separate waterfront site on Bonita Beach Road for a replacement, Gulfshore Business reported. The business's own site still lists the new location as coming soon. The latest dated progress update found is from September 2025. SWFL.life reported a 7-0 city approval of zoning deviations and said the project still needed a development order and state water-management approval.

One more date applies to early-morning and evening walks. The City of Bonita Springs' sea turtle guidance lists nesting season as May 1 through October 31, with protections in effect from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. That page was posted in 2025, so check the city's current notice before you assume the season has ended.

This shift is a good time to rethink your beach routine, and the same goes for any plans tied to the waterfront. If you're weighing how access, amenities and the 2027 reopening fit into a decision along Hickory Boulevard or elsewhere in Bonita Springs, Laurel McGarel Group can walk you through it. Schedule a private consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.