Cayo Costa State Park is located on one of Florida’s largest unspoiled barrier islands. Accessible only by boat, Cayo Costa is located 12 miles west of Cape Coral in Lee County and is part of a chain of barrier islands that shelter Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. The island, consisting of 2,506 acres, contains unique tropical vegetation and it looks much as it did 500 years ago when the first Europeans arrived here. Because it occurs in the area of transition between the temperate southeastern coastal plain and tropical south Florida, the vegetative composition of Cayo Costa is unique among barrier islands.

A prominent feature of the area includes an extensive beach and dune system fronting the Gulf of Mexico. The interior of the island contains a mixture of pine flatwoods, oak-palm hammocks and grassy areas interspersed with palms. Mangroves dominate the park’s shoreline along Pine Island Sound.