The beach is part of a city park. The address to the entrance gate is:
430 Hernando Dr, Marco Island, FL 34145
$8 to park all day.
There are several parking spaces right beyond the gate, as well as a café, restrooms, a playground, etc. There are additional parking spaces behind the café to the left, as well as restrooms and showers at the end of the parking lot. Several walkways will take you to the lagoon, where there is a rental place for kayaks, beach umbrellas and chairs. A great place for bird sightings and quiet fishing; the sand is dark and the water is very quiet.
The gulf of Mexico and its powdery white beach is on the other side of the lagoon. If you are the adventurous type, you can cross the lagoon to get to the beach (The water is murky, the bottom is swampy, there are creatures milling around, the water is waist high and there are a lot of mosquitoes). Otherwise you will have to walk about 15-20 minutes to the left, toward the 4 tall buildings. The sand is packed hard but if you take a lot of stuff with you (coolers, chairs, umbrellas, etc.) the walk will be long and strenuous. Either way it's worth the effort!
The beach is very good, the sand is fine and white, lots of shells and wildlife. Due to the fact that it's not the easiest beach to get to, it's often very quiet.
