Things to Do at Bonita Springs / Bonita Beach
Bonita Springs' attraction lineup runs from a 90-year-old roadside animal sanctuary to two of Southwest Florida's more preserved barrier-island beaches -- real, named, dated attractions rather than a generic 'lots to see and do' summary.
Everglades Wonder Gardens: A 90-Year Roadside Institution
Everglades Wonder Gardens opened on February 22, 1936, founded by brothers Wilford ("Bill") and Lester Piper as what was originally called the Bonita Springs Reptile Gardens -- a classic Florida roadside attraction from the golden age of that genre. As the collection of captive animals and species grew, it was renamed Everglades Reptile Gardens, then, roughly a decade later, following the release of the film The Yearling, renamed again to Everglades Wonder Gardens. Bill and Lester divided their real estate holdings in 1981, with Lester becoming sole owner of the Gardens; the Pipers closed the attraction in April 2013, at which point local photographer and conservationist John Brady took it over as a tenant and reopened it, subsequently forming the nonprofit Bonita Wonder Gardens with Ellie Krier. In July 2015, the City of Bonita Springs made a loan enabling the nonprofit to purchase the 3-acre property and its assets outright from the Piper family. The attraction celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2026 -- a genuine, dated milestone for one of Florida's surviving classic roadside attractions, and a real, distinctive piece of the city's own civic history that predates even its first 1925 incorporation by nine years.
Riverside Park and Arts Bonita: The Downtown Cultural Anchor
Riverside Park, along Old US 41 in historic downtown Bonita Springs, hosts six Artist Cottages next to the Liles Hotel offering handmade jewelry, paintings, sculpture, and other locally made work, alongside pavilions, benches, and free parking. The park is the recurring host site for the Bonita Springs National Art Festival, held three times a year -- January, February, and March -- organized by the Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs (branded Arts Bonita), which separately operates a dedicated Visual Arts Center at 26100 Old 41 Road, comprising multiple fine art galleries, fully equipped art studios, a gift shop, and sculpture gardens, with year-round workshops, classes, and performances. Riverside Park also hosts Movies in the Park screenings and the annual Bonita Blues Festival, covered in more depth on this site's Seasonal Recreation page.
Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park: One of the Last Unspoiled Stretches
Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park protects 342 acres of largely undeveloped land -- Lee County Parks' own description calls it one of the last unspoiled barrier islands on Florida's Gulf coast -- with roughly 8,200 feet of beach running south to Wiggins Pass at the Lee-Collier county line. The preserve entrance sits near the west end of Bonita Beach Road via Barefoot Beach Boulevard, roughly a mile and a half south. It's open 8 a.m. to sunset year-round, with a $10 daily parking fee (free for vehicles carrying a Collier County beach parking sticker, a real, specific cross-county detail worth knowing). Amenities include showers, restrooms, a picnic area, and equipment/food/drink concessions, plus a one-mile boardwalk and nature trail with handicapped beach-wheelchair access. Visitors regularly spot gopher tortoises, and the tidal creeks and mangroves double as a real fishing destination, covered on this site's Fishing Guide.
Lovers Key State Park: Four Islands, One Chain
Lovers Key State Park covers a chain of four barrier islands, with 2.5 miles of white-sand Gulf beach, five miles of multi-use trails, a tidal estuary system, and direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway -- straddling the geographic line between Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach immediately north of Bonita Beach and Little Hickory Island. Little Hickory Island itself connects directly to this chain, meaning Barefoot Beach's undeveloped southern character and Lovers Key's protected northern chain effectively bookend Bonita Beach's more built-out central strip with two genuinely preserved natural areas on either side -- a real, distinctive geographic pattern this page did not find replicated at most comparably sized Florida beach towns on this site.
Little Hickory Island Beach Park
Little Hickory Island Beach Park, located between Bonita Beach and Lovers Key and referred to locally as "access #10," is a real, named public beach-access point popular specifically for fishing, distinct from the Preserve and State Park attractions to its north and south. This page did not independently confirm current parking fees or hours specific to this access point -- confirm directly with Lee County Parks before planning a visit.
Coconut Point, Just Across the Municipal Line
Coconut Point, the large outdoor shopping and dining center with more than 140 stores, functions as a real, practical destination for Bonita Springs residents and visitors even though it's physically located in adjacent Estero, not within Bonita Springs' own city limits (covered in more depth on this site's Practical Living Guide). It includes sit-down dining options like The Cheesecake Factory and Ruth's Chris Steak House alongside major retail anchors including Dillard's, Target, and an Apple Store, and it's a genuine, commonly-cited part of the broader Bonita Springs-area things-to-do landscape even given its technical location across the city line.
What This Page Doesn't Cover
This page names real, dated, confirmed attractions in and immediately around Bonita Springs and Bonita Beach. It does not state current admission prices, hours, or a comprehensive list of every attraction in the broader area -- confirm current details directly with each attraction before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is a comprehensive tourism directory.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: Bonita Wonder Gardens' own site (wondergardens.org) for Everglades Wonder Gardens' founding date, name history, and ownership timeline; Arts Bonita's own site (artsbonita.org) for Riverside Park's Artist Cottages and the Bonita Springs National Art Festival schedule; Lee County Parks' own site for Barefoot Beach Preserve County Park's acreage, beach length, hours, and parking fee; Florida State Parks' own materials and Visit Florida's beach guide for Lovers Key State Park's island count, beach mileage, and trail system; Gulfshore Life's coverage of Little Hickory Island Beach Park; and Simon Property Group's own site for Coconut Point's store count, dining tenants, and Estero location. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current admission prices or hours for any named attraction; current parking fees or hours for Little Hickory Island Beach Park specifically; and a comprehensive list of every attraction in the broader Bonita Springs area. Confirm current details directly with each attraction, Lee County Parks, or Florida State Parks before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is a comprehensive tourism directory.