OUT & ABOUT
A natural way to experience Cayo Costa
Camping Island Style
Teddy Roosevelt said it best: “You don’t know someone till you camp with them.” Camping may not be for everyone, but if it appeals to you, there is an island waiting for you off the Southwest Florida coast filled with history, mysteries, solitude, wildlife, seashells and a starry night sky.
Southwest Florida has many hidden gems when it comes to experiencing pockets of nature, but for getting away from it all, the island of Cayo Costa has exactly what you need. This island has attracted campers for thousands of years. Some of the first people to spend the night under a sea of stars were the Native Americans known as the Calusa. They were known to be star watchers, as well as fisher people. The next “campers” on the island were the Cubans who maintained seasonal fish camps on the island. They would fish the waters around Cayo Costa for mullet, salt their catch and take it back to Cuba in the spring. The early homesteaders on Cayo Costa also were fishermen and women. Today people come from all over the world to enjoy camping on this island as so many have for centuries.
Cayo Costa is the largest undeveloped barrier island off the west coast of Florida. The island is nine miles long and about 3,000 acres, of which 95 percent is a state park. It is situated six miles north of Captiva Island and five miles west of Pine Island.
Cayo Costa’s campground and ranger station, part of the Florida State Park system, are on the northern end of the island. The campground has 12 cabins and 30 tent sites. Just beyond the campsites are more than six miles of walking trails, running through many different ecosystems. You can walk through a beautiful Florida slash pine forest and observe many different plant communities along the way. One thing you will find in abundance on these trails is solitude.
Here are a few pointers to help make your island camping experience a success.
WHAT TO BRING
• Flashlights. I prefer a headlamp for hands-free lighting. Be sure to test flashlights and put in new batteries if needed beforehand. I know this sounds basic, but when your light doesn’t work in the middle of the night and there are no batteries to be found, it can diminish the fun factor. • Newspaper in a dry bag. This is beneficial for starting a fire
and hard to obtain on the island. • Bug spray. This can come in handy especially in the warmer months if there is no breeze. I like anything that is citronella based. Citronella candles are also in my camping kit.
For getting away from it all, the island of Cayo Costa has exactly what you need.
POINTERS FOR TENT CAMPING
• Set up your tent before you leave home. Sounds simple enough, but this little exercise will save time and help save your patience with setup once at your campsite. It will also make you realize that the bag the tent came out of will not fit the same way when it goes back in. • Look for ants before you set up the tent, then look closely again from another angle. This is very important. There is nothing quite as alarming as fire ants in your sleeping bag at 2:30 in the morning. • Set up camp before dark if possible. This helps you get everything in your tent organized, flashlights laid out and bedding all set. Having supplies organized is key when it is pitch black. The darkness at Cayo Costa will have you feeling your way around (there is not a lot of ambient light, which is a bonus for stargazing).
FAVORITE THINGS TO DO
• Cook and tell stories around the campfire. You can’t go wrong with either one—both activities go back to the time the first natives were on Cayo Costa centuries ago. • Watch the stars. Because Cayo Costa is farther off the coast and away from the lights of the city, the night sky comes alive. • Walk the trails. The plant and animal life is diverse, and the quietude will fill your mind. • Collect seashells or just observe many of the more than 150 different kinds of marine mollusks lining the nine-mile stretch of beach. Cayo Costa is a unique and beautiful barrier island. Get out there and experience this little bit of Florida for yourself. Smell the campfire, listen to the osprey, look at the stars, feel the sand and seashells under your feet and experience what the area has to teach while camping island style. Capt. Brian Holaway is a Florida master naturalist and has been a Southwest Florida shelling and eco-tour guide since 1995. His boat charters visit the islands of Pine Island Sound, including Cayo Costa State Park, Cabbage Key, Pine Island and North Captiva.