Six enclaves between the Gulf and the bay at the southern tip of Little Hickory Island — where every home comes with deeded beach access, boaters reach open water without a bridge, and the beach club has a waitlist worth knowing how to skip.
Barefoot Beach is a roughly 460-acre gated community occupying the southern tip of Little Hickory Island, bounded by the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Little Hickory Bay on the other, with the 342-acre Barefoot Beach Preserve as its southern neighbor. Technically it sits in unincorporated Collier County — Collier schools, Collier services — yet it carries a Bonita Springs mailing address and is reached only through Bonita Springs via Bonita Beach Road, which is why it belongs to the Bonita Beach story no matter what the county line says.
Six distinct enclaves live behind the gate, from mid-rise Gulf-view condominiums to double-gated bayfront estates with boat lifts — and every single residence, condo or estate, bayside or beachside, comes with deeded access to the same celebrated white-sand beach. It is Southwest Florida barrier-island living in its most complete form.
348 residences in 12 mid-rise buildings — eight Gulf-front — built 1991–94, with two pools, a beachfront clubhouse and fitness center, and boardwalks to the sand. The widest price range and deepest inventory in the community.
Fifty tri-level villas steps from the beach, nine directly Gulf-front — 1,700 to 2,800 square feet with garages, two pools, and lock-and-go association living.
Estate homes arranged in individually named gardens in a horseshoe around a shared pool — every home with Gulf views, the front row directly on the sand, plus a private clubhouse with tennis and boat slips.
Fifteen Gulf-front single-family homes at the community's south end beside the Preserve. Inventory almost never turns — when one lists, decisions happen fast.
Twenty-three single-family homes on Hickory Bay with private docks, preserved land across the street, and no-bridge Gulf access from the backyard.
106 homes behind their own second gate — most with docks and lifts, plus a private community marina — winding along Southport Cove, San Mateo, Malibu Cove, and Topanga.
At the community's south end sits The Club at Barefoot Beach: a private, member-owned beach club with full beach and pool service, casual and fine dining, Har-Tru tennis, an active social calendar, and a marina with slips available for annual lease. Membership is optional — but it has become one of the most sought-after club memberships on the coast, and the waitlist can run years. A renovation and expansion of the club has been approved, which tends to make demand stronger, not weaker.
Here's the insight that separates local guidance from internet browsing: waitlists can sometimes be bypassed when a buyer purchases from a seller who holds a transferable membership and resigns it at closing. That makes a listing's membership status a real part of its value — two similar condos can be very different purchases if one carries a transferable membership. We verify membership status on every Barefoot Beach property our buyers consider, and for sellers, a transferable membership is a marketing asset we make sure the market knows about.
The only way in is through Bonita Springs: west on Bonita Beach Road, then south past the guardhouse onto the island. That approach is the point — Barefoot Beach sits apart from everything while being minutes from it all. Doc's Beach House and the restaurants of Bonita Beach are just up the road, downtown Bonita Springs' dining and music scene is a short drive, Mercato and North Naples shopping sit conveniently south, and RSW airport is about forty minutes.
And then there's the southern neighbor: Barefoot Beach Preserve, 342 acres of protected shoreline and gopher-tortoise habitat regularly ranked among America's best beaches. Living beside a preserve means the sand south of you will never grow condos — a permanence that quietly protects both the experience and the property values inside the gate.
The enclaves span the whole luxury spectrum: condominiums and villas from around $1 million into the low millions, Southport on the Bay homes from roughly $2 million to the mid-$5 millions, and the Gulf-front estates of Beach Gardens and The Cottages from near $4.5 million to beyond $16 million. Inventory is thin, seasonal, and moves on relationships as much as listings — several of the best Barefoot Beach sales each year happen quietly.
What we verify before any offer: the enclave's association fees and what they cover (condo fees here often include insurance), rental policies where income matters, dock rights and lift specifics on bayside homes, elevation and insurance realities on a barrier island, and — always — club membership status and transferability. Barefoot Beach rewards buyers who know exactly what they're buying; that's what we're for.
Six enclaves, a club waitlist with a workaround, and inventory that moves quietly — Barefoot Beach rewards local guidance. We'll walk you through it enclave by enclave.
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