OUR CANALS AND WATERWAYS:

Cape Coral is seperated from Fort Myers by the Caloosahatchee River.  Most canals in Cape Coral flow into the River, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico.  The River is seen here from Jaycee Park, a public park with car parking spaces facing the water and picnic tables under swaying shade trees.  The breeze is delightful!

Seen in the background is the Veteran's Bridge, one of the two main bridges that connect Cape Coral to Fort Myers.  The other is the Cape Coral bridge, further South.  Both of these main bridges allow larger boats and sailboats easy access under their center sections.

DID YOU KNOW???  From the Caloosahatchee River, you can actually travel across the entire state of Florida to Lake Okeechobee, then take the Intracoastal Waterway (The "ICW") all the way up through the eastern seaboard of the U.S?  YES!  YOU CAN!

Cape Coral has over 400 miles of canals, more than any other city in the world.  And about half of those are saltwater, or "gulf access" as we call them since you can reach the Gulf of Mexico through them, by way of the Calloosahatchee River. 

The canal systems through Cape Coral are all no wake zones, but once out into the River, hit the throttles and away you go. 

There are some slow down areas, and some idle speed manatee zones, but for the most part, once into the River you are only 15-30 minutes away from Fort Myers Beach, or Sanibel Island, or the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 

And don't worry about getting lost in all those miles of canals... each canal is named and there are "street signs" posted on the seawalls at the intersections of every canal, so you will always know exactly where you are!

What does "Direct Access" mean?  It's a commonly asked question.  Here's the answer: 

There are two types of gulf access canals:  One type is called direct access or sailboat access.  It means that there are no bridges and no restrictions between you and the River...  your boat can be as tall off the water as you like... and these canals allow for deeper draft boat hulls...

Here are views of direct access canals... access is right out to the River:

The other type of gulf access is called restricted, because there are bridges between your dock and the River, so it limits how high off the water your boat can be... here's a few canals where you can see the sizes of the boats... the one on the right is actually our current 21-foot fishing boat, "Miss Lilly"...  we easily clear under any of the bridges with her, even with the top up...

Typical bridge, this one with about 10 foot clearance off of the water... they can range from 8 foot to about 11 foot clearance.  So length is not a problem, height is the issue.  Generally, any boat with less than 10 feet from the waterline to the tallest part of the boat will easily go under the bridges.

Then of course, there are the freshwater canals.  Freshwater canals lead to their own canal systems and lakes, but you cannot travel by boat from freshwater to saltwater canals without pulling your boat from the water.  However, freshwater offers bass fishing, leisurely boat rides, and some spectacular water views!

Call Toll Free: 1-877-90-MARTY

or email: Marty@finallyflorida.com