Calusa Blueway Trip
Great Calusa Blueway
6 days. November ~ March/April
Note: Cayo Costa State Park, destroyed by Hurricane Ian in Sept. 2022, is the highlight of our itinerary, so we will begin offering it as soon as camping re-opens.
Paddle with dolphins, manatees and wading birds on Florida's southwest coast. Pass the famed beaches of Sanibel and Captiva, enjoy hiking, biking and swimming on Cayo Costa, Florida's least-visited state park accessible only by boat, and delve into Sanibel Island's Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Our 6-day trip is a complete circumnavigation of Pine Island that takes in the island chain: Sanibel, Captiva and Cayo Costa. For more experienced paddlers, confident in potentially rough, open water, and able to do a wet exit and assisted re-entry. We average 10 to 17 miles daily, 70 miles in all.
We launch and land from Bokeelia on the north end of Pine Island. We camp in a commercial campground in Matlacha, a primitive island near the Sanibel causeway, stay in quaint cottages in Captiva, and camp two nights on Cayo Costa. The layover day is for rest, exploring the trails by foot and bike, day paddling, swimming and walking miles of pristine white sand beach.