Bowditch Point Park
Bowditch Point Park is a 17-acre natural gem managed by Lee County Parks & Recreation at 50 Estero Boulevard that is the very northernmost tip of Fort Myers Beach. Lee County purchased the site in 1987, with the park’s grand opening in February 1994. It was the last remaining undeveloped large tract on Estero Island with shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico and the Back Bay.
Bowditch Point is the highest elevation on Fort Myers Beach at 22 feet above sea level
Bowditch Point is home to dredging spoil piles from Matanzas Pass that make it the highest elevation on Fort Myers Beach at 22 feet above sea level. Seven acres of Bowditch Point feature manmade developments like the pavilion and restrooms, with the remaining ten in its natural state. The park’s namesake is Nathanial Bowditch, an early American mathematician who lived from 1773 to 1838. His acclaimed book, “The New American Practical Navigator,” first published in 1802, is still aboard every commissioned United States vessel! He almost certainly never visited Florida, much less Fort Myers Beach, but points of land that stick out into the water often carry his name.Bowditch Point Park's Namesake
The park’s namesake is Nathanial Bowditch, an early American mathematician who lived from 1773 to 1838. His acclaimed book, “The New American Practical Navigator,” first published in 1802, is still aboard every commissioned United States vessel! He almost certainly never visited Florida, much less Fort Myers Beach, but points of land that stick out into the water often carry his name.
Bowditch Point features gumbo limbo trees, Osprey, gopher tortoises, Sabal palms (Florida’s state tree), sea grapes, and three varieties of mangroves. With its proximity to the Gulf and Back Bay, it is an excellent feeding ground for birds, fish, and other wildlife. Other natural sights are the maritime hammock environment, sea oats with deep roots that help keep the beach intact, railroad vines, morning glories, the butterfly garden, nickerbeans, an array of birds and small animals, and of course the beautiful beach. In “season”, Lee County Parks & Recreation offers the free naturalist-led “Barrier Island Ramble”, and “Exploring the Five Natural Communities of Bowditch Point Park” programs.