Fort Myers, FL

Fort Myers is the county seat of Lee County and the hub of the Southwest Florida coast, a city of royal palms along the wide Caloosahatchee River. People come for the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, spring training baseball and a walkable historic downtown, then head west to the barrier island beaches.

Where is Fort Myers?

Fort Myers sits on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee River, a few miles inland from the Gulf. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is southeast of the city, about 20 minutes from downtown. Interstate 75 runs along the east side of town and U.S. 41 runs through it. Fort Myers Beach is about 30 minutes southwest, and the Sanibel Causeway is roughly 30 minutes away via McGregor Boulevard or Summerlin Road.

Things to do in Fort Myers

Start at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates on McGregor Boulevard, where Thomas Edison’s Seminole Lodge and Henry Ford’s The Mangoes sit side by side among historic gardens and a botanical research lab. McGregor Boulevard itself is lined with the royal palms that gave Fort Myers its nickname, the City of Palms.

Downtown, the River District has brick streets, restored early 1900s buildings and waterfront parks along the Caloosahatchee. The IMAG History and Science Center and the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center are nearby. For nature, the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve has a boardwalk through a cypress wetland, and Lakes Park offers trails, paddling and a ride-on model train. In cold snaps, manatees gather in the warm water at Manatee Park, just east of the city.

From mid-February through March, spring training fills the calendar: the Boston Red Sox play at JetBlue Park and the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium, where the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels play minor league ball in summer.

When to visit Fort Myers

January through April brings dry, sunny weather and the biggest crowds, especially during spring training, when hotels and roads are busiest. Free seasonal trolleys run in the River District from late November through April. Summer is hot with afternoon storms, and fall is the quietest time to visit.