Tigertail Beach Park & Lagoon

The most northerly beach access point, Tigertail Beach can be reached by taking either Tigertail or Kendall Dr from North Collier Blvd and then turning left onto Hernando. There is parking for over 225 vehicles and it is free for Collier County residents who display a permit and for all other visitors it’s $3 for 2 hours and $10 for all day Ask gate staff for an hourly rate too. It is best to consider Tigertail Beach as two quite distinct areas, the Lagoon and Sand Dollar Spit. You approach the lagoon from the parking lot via one of six recently renovated walkways. Once on the sand you will be looking west towards Sand Dollar spit and beyond to the Gulf of Mexico, which is hidden from there by seaoats, shrubs and even some small trees. The lagoon is a great place for families with younger kids to spend the day since it is normally very calm. One really neat trip is to kayak or paddle board along the lagoon and access many of the small mangrove inlets and then beach the kayak on sand dollar spit for some wonderful shelling. It’s best to go a couple of hours before high tide for maximum access. If you are an avid photographer, you can also sneak up really close to the herons and ibis, as they rest in the mangroves or feed in the shallows. The lagoon is also a great place to fish (either spinning or fly) with many secluded areas around mangroves or shallow water towards the Big Marco Pass. Over the years it has become an important rest area for migrating birds and also a major nesting site in spring and summer for several endangered species and is listed as Site # 73 on the Great Florida Birding Trail. At different times of year, you can expect to see many types of heron, ibis, egret, least terns, black skimmers, plovers, sandpipers, willets, pelican, osprey and even a bald eagle. There are always mullet jumping and you should also see fiddler, horseshoe and ghost crabs and maybe three kinds of sea stars depending on how far you walk! The great benefit to this part of Tigertail Beach is that you are also close to all of the facilities – restrooms, cafe, showers, BBQs, beach chair, cabana, umbrella, kayak rental and a great kids’ playground. Check out the observation tower which looks over the lagoon out towards the Gulf of Mexico.