Pine Island’s sparse traffic–and the bike path running from one end to the other–makes it ideal for cycling. Hikers take the Calusa Heritage Trail, which winds among ancient shell mounds and the remnants of an impressive cross-island canal built by the Calusa Indians, who settled here around A.D. 1. Trail signs illustrate the thriving seaside village that greeted Spanish explorers in the early 1500’s.
A trip to Southwest Florida’s outer islands shows us it really is possible to live without TV and WiFi
It’s one of those Florida days in early summer when mornings are gloriously hot with crisp blue skies and evenings take a mysterious turn, morphing into a spectacle of thunderbolts. Eager to reach my destination — Tarpon Lodge on Pine Island — before the heavens dump buckets of rain, I leave North Fort Myers behind, whizzing across causeways and bridges and cutting through Matlacha, a fishing-village-turned-artist-colony where brightly colored shacks blur into a rainbow as I speed along. The final leg before arriving on the 17-mile-long Pine Island is a stretch of wetlands where telephone poles serve as canvases for local artists who paint decorative fish, hibiscus and manatees on them. I like this place already.
Our staff is standing by to help you book your stay and answer any questions you may have about your relaxing Old Florida getaway. (239) 283-3999or Make a Reservation
We’ve again been nominated in Gulfshore Life’s Best of The Gulfshore 2026
We hope you will take a minute to complete the survey and consider Tarpon Lodge or Cabbage Key for one or more of the categories in Gulfshore Life’s Best of the Gulfshore 2026. We know our guests are the best and we hope the feeling is mutual!
Voting ends midnight January 31st, 2026.
Thank you for being part of our Tarpon Lodge & Cabbage Key family! – The Wells Family