On Sunday, November 1, Lee County closes the parking lot at Bonita Beach Access #1 for Hurricane Ian restoration. Bonita Beach Park and Little Hickory Island Beach Park went behind construction fencing on September 8. Once Access #1 closes, all three of the county's larger Bonita sites will be out of service at once, just as season picks up. The sand stays open the whole time. What changes is how you get onto it, and what your annual parking pass is still good for.
Here is where each Hickory Boulevard site stands as of November 1, based on Lee County's September 2 announcement and the county's facility pages.
| Site | Address | Parking from November 1 | Beach access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Hickory Island Beach Park, Access #10 | 26082 Hickory Blvd. | Closed since Sept. 8 | Open, with portable restrooms moved outside the fence |
| Bonita Beach Park | 27954 Hickory Blvd. | Closed since Sept. 8 | Pedestrian access shifted to Access #1 |
| Bonita Beach Access #1 | 27890 Hickory Blvd. | Closed starting Nov. 1 | Pedestrian access stays open |
| Accesses #2 through #9 | 26220 to 27720 Hickory Blvd. | Free, not named in the closure notice | Open |
The Pass the City Helped You Buy Now Covers One Bonita Spot
This summer the City of Bonita Springs ran a pilot program that reimbursed $50 of the $60 Lee County annual beach parking pass. It was open to the first 300 full-time residents or taxpayers who bought a pass between June 1 and September 30, 2026. District 1 Council Member Jamie Bogacz brought the idea to City Council in March, and the City posted the authorized memorandum of understanding on July 30.
The City's own program sheet lists three places in Bonita Springs where the pass gets you parking: Bonita Beach Access #1, Little Hickory Island Beach Park at Access #10, and the Imperial Boat Ramp. Little Hickory closed in September. Access #1 closes November 1. For the rest of the season, the Imperial Boat Ramp is the only Bonita location on that list with a working lot.
The county pass is digital, tied to a license plate, and runs for 12 months. Lee County says most of these restoration projects should take about 11 months. If you count from the start dates, Little Hickory would reopen around August 2027 and Access #1 around October 2027. The county hasn't announced either date. Those are estimates worked out from its general timeline. A pass bought in the June-to-September window expires between June and September 2027, so many of these passes will run out before the Bonita lots they were bought for reopen.
The pass is still good at the other Lee County facilities on the county's annual pass page. The Bonita pieces of it are mostly on hold.
Eight Free Lots Carry the Season
With the larger lots closed, most beach parking in Bonita now falls to the numbered accesses between Access #1 and Little Hickory. Lee County lists Accesses #2 through #9 as free to park, and none of them appear in the September closure notice:
- 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.
They're free because they're small. Beach-access directories count only a handful of spaces at each one. The county doesn't post live status for these lots, so the practical plan is to drive the strip and take the first open space, not to count on one particular number.
The county's notice for this stretch is still up. The beaches have not been restored to pre-Ian conditions, debris keeps washing ashore and can get buried in the sand, and beach shoes should be worn at all times. The same page lists the house rules: no pets, no fires, and no grilling on the beach.
Restrooms are thin along this stretch too. Access #1 has no restrooms of its own. Visitors there used the ones at Bonita Beach Park, which is now fenced off. The nearest county option is the portable restrooms at Little Hickory, which the county moved outside the construction fence and closer to the road.
The County's Answer Is an On-Demand Van From U.S. 41
Lee County is pointing beachgoers to LeeTran's ULTRA On Demand, and the Access #1 facility page says so directly. ULTRA connects central Bonita Springs with Bonita Beach Park and also does pickups and drop-offs anywhere in its service zone. Here's how it works:
- Download the ULTRA app or start at LeeTran's ULTRA page. Rides are by reservation.
- Park free in the shopping center lot at 3300 Bonita Beach Road SW. The designated pickup spot is in the lot at the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Bonita Beach Road.
- Ride between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., any day of the week. Every ULTRA ride costs the same standard fare, according to the Bonita ULTRA brochure.
- Try the code BONITARIDE. LeeTran advertises it for one ride at $1.50 but doesn't list an expiration date, so check that it still works in the app.
Before November 1, Access #1 charged $2 an hour per car. ULTRA charges per rider, so check the current fare in the app and compare it with that meter rate for your group before you choose between the van and circling for a free space. ULTRA's last ride at 8 p.m. falls after sunset this time of year, which makes an evening walk on the beach doable without a car.
Barefoot Beach Is the Paid Option Next Door
At the south end of Hickory Boulevard, Barefoot Beach Preserve sits across the county line in Collier County. It runs on its own rules. The preserve is open year-round from 8 a.m. to sunset, and Collier County charges $10 to park for visitors without a Collier County resident beach permit. Lee County residents who don't qualify for a Collier permit pay the $10 a day through Collier's mobile pay-to-park system.
One exception matters to Bonita households. Collier's beach parking rules extend the free permit to part-time property owners who have qualifying Collier County property documents. If you also own property south of the county line, check whether you qualify before you pay the daily rate.
What the Fencing Is Buying
The county started these projects in September for a specific reason. Federal reimbursement for the Ian repairs had finally come through, so the work doesn't have to be paid for with local tax dollars. At Little Hickory, crews are restoring structures, wooden boardwalks, and pavilions, and replacing the restroom building the hurricane destroyed. At Bonita Beach Park, they're repairing a county office building, the restroom, boardwalks, and pavilions. When the fences come down, those two parks get back restored restrooms, boardwalks, and pavilions.
The county posts progress through the Parks Project Information Tool at leegov.com/parks. That page is where an actual reopening date will show up first. Until it does, the season runs on Accesses #2 through #9, the van from 3300 Bonita Beach Road SW, and the $10 lot at Barefoot Beach.
If you're working out how this season's beach access fits a home search, a seasonal stay, or a move along Hickory Boulevard, The Doyle Group can walk the strip with you and tell you what's open on the day you call. Work With Us.
