Hurricane Wilma Update Campsite Directory Northern Campsites Central Campsites Southern Campsites Florida Bay Campsites Planning Your Trip Preparation Gear Safety Tides and Weather Food and Water Making the Trip The Trip Diaries Sweetwater Loop Chatham River Loop Lostman's River Loop Cape Sable Loop Camp Lonesome Loop 2004 Through Trip Links and Other Resources Contact Home	Please note: GPS waypoints were initially taken from the Waterproof Chart No. 39, and positions should be considered approximate. I'm currently taking my own GPS survey of all campsites, and these positions can be distinguished by the seconds coordinate, which is accurate to 3 digits, instead of the 2 provided by the nautical chart. Southern Campsites Northwest Cape Middle Cape East Cape Oyster Bay Chickee Joe River Chickee South Joe Chickee Watson River Chickee North River Chickee Roberts River Chickee Lane Bay Chickee Pearl Bay Chickee Hell's Bay Chickee Lard Can Flamingo Home Northwest Cape Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Beach (fires allowed) Toilet Facilities:   No Number of people:   36 Number of parties:   9 Number of nights:   7 Dock:   No Nearest to:   Graveyard Creek - 11 miles; Middle Cape - 5 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2513.25   W8110.15 Northwest Cape begins the long stretch of pristine white sand beach that runs for most of the length of Cape Sable on the southwest Florida peninsula. I've passed by Northwest Cape several times but I've never had the chance to camp there. I can say that you will find an open stretch of beach with no shade of any kind, so don't plan on spending much time in your tent during the day unless it's very cool. On the other hand, why would you? There are many fine beaches along the Florida coast, but few of them can compare to the beaches of Cape Sable, and I would much rather walk these sands and swim in the clear Gulf waters than sit in my tent. Behind the beach is the beginning of an open salt prairie that extends inland for about a half-mile at it's widest point before it turns to a forest of black mangroves. Because of the easy approach for motor boats, expect to share this site with weekend boaters. If you're leaving Northwest Cape and heading south, try backtracking a bit and paddle south via Little Sable Creek, which runs inland starting about a mile north of the beach, and takes you to the north end of Lake Ingraham. Back to Top Middle Cape Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Beach (fires allowed) Toilet Facilities:   No Number of people:   60 Number of parties:   15 Number of nights:   7 Dock:   No Nearest to:   NW Cape - 5 miles; East Cape - 4.5 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2509.58   W8108.34 As you can see by the photo, the deep water approach to Middle Cape makes it a popular campsite for the weekend motorboat crowd. This isn't always the case, however, and for the one night I spent at Middle Cape I had the entire point to myself. Unlike Northwest Cape, there are areas at the north end of the Middle Cape beach where you can find some shade, and a bit of privacy can be had there during busy weekends. This part of the Florida coast has a long and rich history of settlement. Fort Cross was established there during the Third Seminole War in 1856, and the spot was originally called Palm Point for the stand of tall palms that used to grow there, and were it's distinguishing feature until they were reportedly cut down by vandals. In 1898, there was an abortive attempt by the Langfords of Ft. Myers to raise cattle on the prairie behind Lake Ingraham, and the reasons given for it's failure range from a plague of mosquitos to the poor salt grass that grows there. In the early 1880s, the Waddell family estabished on Middle Cape a 1,200 acre plantation of about 8,000 coconut palms that were cared for by a series of loosely defined "caretakers", many of them little more than squatters, up until the late 1920s. A survey of the area taken in 1933 for the coming National Park reported that there was little left of the grove, and the plantation and all of it's buildings were finally destroyed and washed away in the hurricane of 1935. You can still see a few traces of the settlement scattered around the scrub behind the beach south of the Middle Cape point. Back to Top East Cape Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Beach (fires allowed) Toilet Facilities:   No Number of people:   60 Number of parties:   15 Number of nights:   7 Dock:   No Nearest to:   Middle Cape - 5 miles; Clubhouse Beach - 3 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2507.00   W8105.10 The point at East Cape Sable bears the distinction of being the southernmost point of land on the United States mainland. The beach here is high and sloping, and is backed by stands of mangrove and sea grape trees among which there is ample room for camping. Farther north, the trees thin out and disappear, leaving a wide stretch of beach backed by open salt prairie. Along the north end of the beach, the pilings of an old cattle dock can still be seen. Like Middle Cape, the area is rich with history. Fort Poinsett was established here by Surgeon General Thomas Lawson in 1838 during the Second Seminole War, and the fort was alternately abandoned and reoccupied as late as 1856 during the Third Seminole War. The foundation lines of the old fort could still be seen up until 1935, when all traces were finally wiped out by the great hurricane that occurred in that year. East Cape was also the burial site of America's first Audubon game warden, Guy Bradley, who was murdered in 1905 by plume hunter Walter Smith. Bradley's grave marker was also washed away by the 1935 hurricane and no trace remains of the final resting place of the first real hero and martyr of the growing conservation movement that led to the dedication in 1947 of Everglades National Park. A memorial to Guy Bradley can be found in the lower breezeway of the Flamingo Visitor's Center, and an island just offshore from Flamingo bears his name. Back to Top Oyster Bay Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6/6 Number of parties:   1/1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Shark River - 5 miles; Joe River - 4 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2519.50   W8103.80 .... Back to Top Joe River Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6/6 Number of parties:   1/1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Oyster Bay - 4 miles; South Joe - 6.5 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2516.84   W8104.11 .... Back to Top South Joe River Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6/6 Number of parties:   1/1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Joe River - 6.5 miles; Flamingo - 11 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2513.20   W8101.13 .... Back to Top Watson River Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Single chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6 Number of parties:   1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Oyster Bay - 8 miles; North River - 3 mile GPS Waypoint:   N2520.08   W8058.86 .... Back to Top North River Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Single chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6 Number of parties:   1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Watson River - 3 mile; Roberts River - 3 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2519.90   W8056.25 .... Back to Top Roberts River Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   6/6 Number of people:   1/1 Number of parties:   2 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   North River - 3 miles; Lane Bay - 5.5 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2519.00   W8054.50 .... Back to Top Lane Bay Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Single chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6 Number of parties:   1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Lane Bay - 5.5 miles; Hell's Bay - 2.5 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2517.00   W8053.54 .... Back to Top Pearl Bay Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6/6 Number of parties:   1/1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Hell's Bay - 2 miles; Lard Can - 1 mile GPS Waypoint:   N2515.55   W8051.36 .... Back to Top Hell's Bay Chickee Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Double chickee Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   6/6 Number of parties:   1/1 Number of nights:   1 Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   Lane Bay - 2.5 miles; Pearl Bay - 2 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2515.20   W8052.72 .... Back to Top Lard Can Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Ground ( no fires) Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   10 Number of parties:   4 Number of nights:   2 Dock:   No Nearest to:   Hell's Bay - 2 miles; Pearl Bay - 1 miles GPS Waypoint:   N2514.74   W8050.75 .... Back to Top Flamingo Status following Hurricane Wilma:   Open. Type of Site:   Ground (no fires) Toilet Facilities:   Yes Number of people:   n/a Number of parties:   n/a Number of nights:   n/a Dock:   Yes Nearest to:   East Clubhouse - 4 miles; Shark Point - 8 miles .... Back to Top