Caxambas Park Closed after Hurricane Ian
October 8, 2022 | Paddle Marco
Caxambas Park and Marina sustained major damage during Hurricane Ian.
Hurricane Ian tore through southwest Florida making landfall near Fort Myers and Sanibel on September 27th and 28th, 2022. Affects could be felt throughout southwest Florida, including Naples, Marco Island, Everglades City and the Florida Keys. Wind speeds were around 150 MPH Category 4 but only 2 MPH from reaching category 5 status. Unlike Irma, the wind wasn’t the biggest factor during this storm… it was the storm surge.
Marco Island had 7.5 FT of storm surge as the back end of the hurricane came through. Many houses on Marco Island sustained garage flooding and some houses at lower elevations flooded. Isles of Capri had 3-4 FT of floodwater in most homes. The famous Dome Homes located 5 miles south-east of Caxambas Pass were sunk and are no longer a tourist sight for boat and shelling tours. Gulfshore drive and downtown Naples, including the pier was badly damaged. Delnor-Wiggins pass in Naples was damaged as well and is estimated to be closed for up to 2 years.
Caxambas Park and Marina took a direct hit from Hurricane Ian’s storm surge from the south. The gas pump, docks, floating docks, police boat lift, canal wall, benches, garbage cans and landscape was all damaged or destroyed. The marina office thankfully stayed in tact. It has been hard to get definite answers from Collier County government officials as to when the park will re-open. After talking with several staff members that work inside the Marina and park rangers, it will be closed for a minimum of 1 year, possibly 2 years. The marina staff is optimistic that a portion of the ramp can be opened in the coming future, but it’s uncertain where boats can tie on to in the meantime while they park their trailers. There were talks to fix the canal walls at Caxambas in 2023, so closure was potentially imminent.
Locals will not be able to gain entry to the park for fishing, fueling up their boats or buying bait. The worst part is, the 20-30 companies that operate out of Caxambas Park to make a living can’t gain entry to the park to give Jet Ski tours, Kayak Rentals, Fishing charters and Boat Tours. We asked the owner of Paddle Marco, Glenn L, how he felt about the situation:
“It’s terrible. If there was one place on Marco Island where the most families and livelihoods were affected, it’s Caxambas Park. More than 20-30 companies operate out of here at any given time and those companies, including myself will not be able to work out of this park anymore. It’s not like we can start rebuilding or just open up the boat ramp… we have to rely on the county to fix it in a quick manner. Some Jet Ski and Boat companies can use the 951 Ramp or Goodland boating park… but our company can’t launch kayaks from there for our customers… it’s too far for them to paddle to the islands to find shells and view dolphins. Thankfully we can still do our famous Mangrove Tunnels Kayak Tours from the Isles of Capri Paddlecraft Park… so please support us and book one of our tours today for a great time.”
There is no word or official re-opening date for Caxambas Marina. Hopefully the Marco Island community can rally around all the companies struggling at this time and support commercial business at Caxambas Park. Our tourists depends on it and the tax revenue generated from these companies is important.
