“You can't get any more deserted than at Cayo Costa State Park, says Frommers. Pronounced Cay-oh Cos-tah, it occupies an “unspoiled barrier island with miles of white-sand beaches, pine forests, mangrove swamps, oak-palm hammocks, and grasslands.” Other than natural wildlife, “the only permanent residents here are park rangers.” Day-trippers can bring their own supplies and use a picnic area with pavilions, and a free tram “carries visitors from the dock on the sound side to the Gulf beach.”
“Almost the whole island of Cayo Costa is a Florida state park,” notes National Geographic. “Its 2,426 acres offers biking and hiking trails as well as a dock, camping facilities, and nine miles of undeveloped beach,” and although it’s just a few miles from busy Captiva Island, “this island gets far fewer visitors because it’s accessible only by boat.”