Lovers Key State Park

In fact, the park consists of a group of four barrier islands - along with Black Island, Inner Key, and Long Key - the original Lovers Key earned its name by being so out-of-the-way that it was claimed only couples in love had set out on the journey. Not even a road led to the area until 1965, so that until then the islands could only be reached by boat.

Black Island, where the entrance is located, was said to be the home of pirate Black Augustus, who made the island his home after escaping from prison. It housed several fish stocks, which began in the early 1900s, until this island chain was to be converted in the 60s in a housing estate on the water.

Lovers Key State Park is part of Bonita Springs, but located so far north of Bonita Beach that it is just a stone's throw from Estero Island.

Activities and amenities include shelling, swimming, picnicking, boating and sunbathing, canoeing / kayaking, hiking, biking and wildlife viewing. Manatee (West Indian manatees), porpoises, marsh rabbits and more than 40 species of birds, including spoonbills, ospreys, egrets, bald eagles and kestrels, as well as woodpeckers, hawks, owls and warblers are among the park's wildlife.

Dredging destroyed the mangrove swamps on these islands, but development never progressed. Instead, the country went to the state that acquired the islands in 1983. Florida joined them in 1996 with the adjoining Carl E. Johnson County Park to make it to today's State Park. There's a small resort on the northeastern tip of Black Island with a private beach.

Now the 1,600-hectare park is a lovely destination for locals and tourists with more than 8 km of trails and 3 km of unspoiled beach. It is also a popular wedding destination, not least because of its romantic name.