Bicycling at the Island Inn
Biking on Sanibel Island
Sanibel and Captiva islands are a great place to give your car a rest and go for a relaxing bike ride along the trails.
Sanibel Island’s 23-mile bike path takes you just about anywhere you want to go. With an average elevation of four feet, the island’s geography makes biking practically effortless.
Isn’t it time to saddle up into island mode? Take your explorations to the trails and paths for the quintessential island experience. It’s the ultimate green way to get around.
Island Inn Bike Rental Information
Island Inn offers bikes rentals for adults and children. Adult bikes can be outfitted with child trailers, child tandems and baby seats. Youth helmets are available at no additional charge. Choose from our great selection and start exploring the island.
Sanibel Island Safe Biking Video
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Sanibel is a beautiful, sub-tropical barrier island in the Gulf of America, blessed with sunshine, beaches, lush vegetation, abundant wildlife, quiet streets and 25 miles of paved shared use paths and over 8 miles of natural surface paths.
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Sanibel has been designated a “Bike Friendly Community” at the Silver Level by the League of American Bicyclists. Only three other Florida communities enjoy the “Silver” designation.
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Watch this new educational video designed to promote safer cycling and to educate visitors about the ins and outs of riding the Sanibel Shared Use Path.
Tips For Biking Routes on Sanibel
Explore Sanibel Bike Trails on Google Maps“Ding” Darling Refuge, try two-wheeling for a close-up encounter.
The entire loop from the Education Center, through the Refuge and back to the center via the Sanibel-Captiva Road (a.k.a. San-Cap Road) bike path, is about 8 miles, all paved. Or you may want to follow the unpaved shortcut on the Cross-Dike Trail near the Refuge’s entrance.
Nature-lovers bike the “conservation corridor” path paralleling San-Cap Road, which leads to “Ding” Darling, SCCF and other environmental attractions. Here there are few cyclists and driveways, which makes biking more pleasurable than on some of the well-traveled path sections along Periwinkle Way. Try the loop off Sanibel-Captiva Road that runs parallel to Rabbit Road on the backside of its homes, ending at West Gulf Drive. From there you can turn left and circle around on Tarpon Bay Road, past the beach and Bailey Tract (where bikes are allowed, but must be walked in parts), then back to San-Cap Road.
Another favorite by-bike destination along San-Cap Road is Bowman’s Beach, north of the Refuge. At the Blind Pass Bridge to Captiva Island, the bike path ends and pedaling can become a bit treacherous on Captiva’s twisty road, especially in the busy winter season. But if you’re staying in Captiva Island’s “downtown” area, by all means rent a bike to explore the nearby sights and shopping.
Visitor Reviews
Great Beach, spacious rooms, lovely place to be. What an amazing place to stay. I wish we were there for longer to better enjoy all the amenities. The hotel is really a series of little suites. There is a full kitchen, a living room area, and a bedroom area. Spacious and lovely. Plus there is a screened porch area where you can be cooked by a fan and watch the ocean. There are hammocks, beach chairs, and umbrellas ready for guests. We did do this but there were paddleboards and kanaks to rent. But what we spent our time on was shelling. This has an amazing Sanibel beach access to terrific shelling. We didn’t even hit a low tide which better but still came home with 40 shells of various types. Even meet friendly people while shelling. You could cook at your room, but you are only a few minutes by car to a lot of restaurants. The hotel provides you with information about what is open and closed as well. Good people and a great place. Several people we meet come here every year and that says a lot. Oh, and they even provide a shell cleaning tub. 
You MUST try the Island Inn at Sanibel--you won't be disappointed-!! This was our first time staying at the Island Inn at Sanibel. Everything exceeded our expectations! From the beginning, we spoke with Ken and then we were greeted by him upon our arrival. So welcoming, warm and knowledgeable about things to do and places to visit. We stayed in the Matthews Lodge Gulfview Luxury Suite of the Inn and our suite was AWESOME. The private beach had chairs, umbrellas, grills, cornhole and yes--PRIVACY. Perhaps it was the time of year (Sept 12-14), but there were no crowds and quiet surroundings. We are traveling construction superintendents working in Venice FL, just less than 2 hours from Sanibel. We hope to visit again before our work sends us to another place.
Excellent Experience! Absolutely loved the Island Inn. The front desk team was exceptional from check-in to check-out and even provided a helpful folder with all the information needed. The room was spotless and well-equipped with everything you could ask for - living room area, full kitchen, two TVs, balcony, and more. A big plus: no fee for umbrellas and chairs at the beach! While there isn't a restaurant or pool on site, they do have grills and it's just a short trip to grocery stores and plenty of nearby restaurants.
What a wonderful stay - highly recommend!
Enjoy
