Southern Tier – 3 Day Trip - Day 2 – Sanibel Island

The Sanibel Island ride is the second day of the Southern Tier – 3 Day Trip in April. This is the big ride of the trip, both from a mileage perspective (up to 30 miles) and the beauty of the barrier islands. We will again meet at the Ding Darling Visitor & Education Center at 9:00 am to start our ride promptly at 9:15 am.

Sanibel Island is a biker’s paradise with over 25 miles of paved bike / walking paths that cover the entire island. It is complemented by many miles of both paved and hard-pack paths that run through the JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Although Sanibel was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022 and subsequent storms, it continues on the long road to recovery.

Our initial 21-mile ride on Sanibel will start from the Ding Darling Visitor & Education Center and we will proceed on the Sanibel bike paths and some small roads for a beautiful 9-mile ride to the Sanibel Lighthouse on the south end of the island. We will then continue on the Sanibel bike paths and some limited hard-pack paths through some conservation areas back to the middle of the island. Next, we will ride the hard-pack Bailey Tract, a short 1+ mile ride through freshwater marshes, brackish impoundments and mangrove islands, which most often includes various bird species, including Osprey, and alligators. After completing approximately 15 miles we will stop for lunch at the wonderful Doc Ford’s restaurant.

After lunch, we will ride back on the bike path to the Ding Darling Visitor & Education Center to complete the initial ride of 21 miles, and you can stop at this point if you choose. We encourage all riders to continue with us on the final 9-mile ride, where we will ride the beautiful 4-mile Wildlife Drive through the main Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge (cost of entry $1 / person). Ding Darling is home to 245 bird species and other animals. At the end of the Wildlife Drive we will return to the Visitor and Education Center by the Sanibel bike path and completing the 30-mile.

Note - please park in the parking lot to the left of the main parking lot in front of the Wildlife Center.