Bigger and better beaches; Sanibel gets fresh sand

Reporter: Camila Pereira
Published: Updated:

If you haven’t been to Sanibel lately, you might not recognize it.

Just in time for the holidays, the island is celebrating bigger, better and more beautiful beaches.

The city has spent two years rebuilding the beaches after Hurricane Ian, using 400,000 tons of sand brought in by the truckload.

Lighthouse Beach Park alone has 100-thousand tons of fresh sand. The spot has been built up and extended into the water, so there’s more beach to enjoy.

“You really have to come out and see it because pictures don’t really do it justice,” said Sanibel Public Information Officer Eric Jackson.

The Kidwell family from Chicago is visiting Sanibel for the first time. They gave the island a glowing endorsement.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said Scott Kidwell. “The beach is absolutely fantastic, the work that’s been done here in a short amount of time since the storms, it’s just incredible. It really is, it’s breathtaking.”

And while we may take it for granted, they also said being able to be outside in the middle of December would be amazing. It was nine degrees when they left Chicago on Friday.

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