Sanibel Map

Description: This map shows neighborhoods, streets, roads, beaches, golf courses, lakes, rivers, buildings, piers, and parks on Sanibel Island.

Description: This map shows where Sanibel is located on the Florida Map.

Sanibel Island is a barrier island located in Lee County, Florida, United States, situated in the Gulf of Mexico off the southwestern coast of the state. The island spans approximately 16 square miles (42 km²) and runs roughly in an east–west direction, an orientation uncommon among barrier islands along the Florida coast.

The island is connected to the mainland near Punta Rassa by the Sanibel Causeway, a toll road that was originally opened in 1963. Sanibel was incorporated as a city in 1974.

Sanibel is widely recognized as one of the premier shelling destinations in the world. Its unusual east–west alignment causes shells carried by Gulf currents to accumulate along the shoreline in unusually high concentrations. The act of bending down to collect shells on the beach is locally referred to as the "Sanibel stoop."

Approximately one-third of the island is occupied by the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1945 and named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and conservationist Jay Norwood Darling. The refuge covers over 6,300 acres and serves as habitat for more than 245 bird species.

The Sanibel Lighthouse, located at the eastern tip of the island, was completed in 1884 and remains an active navigational aid.

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall near Sanibel as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage to the island's infrastructure, including the destruction of a large section of the Sanibel Causeway.

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