Captiva Island Shelling

North Captiva Island, also called Upper Captiva Island, has some of the best shelling in SW Florida. Though Sanibel always seems to be in the shelling limelight thanks to many dollars spent every year on advertising, some of the other barrier islands have equal or better shelling opportunities - and with less people around to compete for the best shells. My favorite spot is on the state preserve land on North Captiva. On this magical stretch of beach, you can walk for almost two miles without seeing a house. There is a little pass down toward the south end that was created from Hurricane Charlie in Aug 2004 ( visit this site for pictures http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/charley/ ). At low tide, you can find hundreds of sand dollars, various conch shells, olives, etc. The only place that rivals this area on North Captiva, is the mostly state owned island of Cayo Costa - which is located one island north of North Captiva. There is great shelling there, too. Perhaps I will touch on Cayo Costa on a future post.