Florida Car Rentals and Bunche Beach
Bunche Beach is a beach on a bay in Fort Myers, rather than the usual Gulf beaches. Locals know the area well, but few tourists come here because it is not as well known. This makes it a great beach to visit with your Florida car rental if you are looking to get away from the crowds that usually end up in Fort Myers and on Sanibel.
People who come here like to make a day of it. They bring their dogs, picnics, and fishing poles with them to spend the entire day relaxing in the sun. The beach comes from a natural tidal wetland on San Carlos Bay. Once you step out of your Florida car rental it is almost as if you are brought back to Old Florida, before the introduction of exotic plant species.
Bunche Beach is not a high-maintenance beach. There are no amenities here, only a natural setting to enjoy the sun and water. There is free parking for your Florida car rental on a small 1/4 acre sandlot. From there, everything is only accessible by foot, from the beach to the Mangrove forests to the salt flats. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna to see here as well, which is undisturbed. There are no fees at this time to use this beautiful beach.
Bunche Beach was named after Dr. Ralph Bunch, a famous American who was a mediator for the United Nations. From the time it was named in 1949 until 1974, the beach remained unchanged. The first change was in 1974 when the county built a restroom on the beach at the request of the citizens. There was a cycle of vandalism and repair that lasted some years, but eventually the county grew tired of fixing it and left it. It was hazardous and had to be demolished in 1987. In 2001 all of the exotic vegetation in the area was removed and the area was returned to its original state. An additional 730 acres around the beach was purchased in 2002 and turned into a nature preserve.
Directions
To get to Bunche Beach with you Florida car rental, take Summerlin Road west towards Sanibel and turn left onto John Morris Road. Follow it to the end where you can park your Florida car rental in the parking lot.
Nature Preserve
The San Carlos/Bunche Beach nature preserve is a large area of land that is protected. It provides a great feeding ground for migrating birds. Some of the threatened and endangered species in the area have been able to improve the numbers of their species. There are many excellent hiking trails here such as the Great Calusa Blueway Trail and the Great Florida Birding Trail. This location is a place that nature-lovers will want to visit with a Florida car rental.
Bunche Beach is a great place to escape to if you don't mind packing a picnic for lunch and hanging out with no amenities except for what you bring with you. The good thing is that the beach is usually a lot less crowded than other beaches in Fort Myers and Sanibel because many tourists aren't familiar with it.
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