Most of This Season's Naples Beach Closures Sit on One Stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard North

The City of Naples has 40 public beach accesses, and as of October 2026 its status table lists seven of them closed. Only one is at the pier. The other six are on the north side of downtown: Central Avenue, 1st through 4th Avenues North, and 8th Avenue North. All six are closed for a stormwater project that the city forecast would reopen at least two of them by summer 2026. Summer is over and those ends are still closed. South of Central Avenue, the beach is nearly rebuilt. Every access between 1st Avenue South and 3590 Gordon Drive is open except 12th Avenue South.

The pier gets the attention because it's the landmark. For a weekday walk or a sunset this fall, though, the bigger change is the stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard North.

Why the North End Is Torn Up

The work up north is the Naples Beach Stormwater Outfall Project. The project site describes it as removing all eight city stormwater outfall pipes that discharge onto Naples beaches. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection directed the removal. The new system is designed to handle a 25-year storm event instead of a 5-year storm event. Under the new design, stormwater gets treated and pumped out through new outfalls about 1,500 feet offshore, so it no longer drains straight onto the sand.

The project costs about $86 million, and the State of Florida is covering $40 million of it through legislative appropriations. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. is the city's construction manager under a guaranteed maximum price of $86,224,216. The work area runs along the Gulf Shore Boulevard right-of-way from Oleander Drive to just south of 2nd Avenue South.

That footprint explains the pattern of closures. Pump stations are going in at 8th Avenue North and 3rd Avenue North. The project site said both of those beach ends would stay closed "until summer 2026." A city update from May 2026 expected the 3rd Avenue North station to be running by August and the 8th Avenue North station to be finished by September. That same update estimated the full project would wrap by May 2027. An earlier Gulfshore Business report had put completion in late 2026. The beach access page still shows all six north ends closed today, so the only reliable reopening date is the one that eventually appears on that page.

The road work affects more than beach access. Starting in February 2026, crews moved the pipe work south between 4th Avenue North and 1st Avenue North. They put up "Road Closed" and "Local Traffic Only" signs at 4th Avenue North and Central Avenue and detoured eastbound traffic off Gulf Shore Boulevard North. Pedestrians and bicyclists aren't allowed inside the construction zone. Crews generally work weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. That February notice is the latest posted on the project site, so the active blocks may have shifted since.

WINK News reported that sediment from the stormwater construction briefly turned Gulf water brown. The city said test results were below its threshold, and crews stopped the discharge.

Where the Beach Is Open This Season

Here is the city's own status list, grouped by stretch, as of October 2026.

The table shows the north closures as one solid block. Between Central Avenue and 4th Avenue North, there's no beach access until 6th Avenue North. 7th Avenue North and North Lake Drive are open, and so is Lowdermilk Park farther north.

Most of the south side has already been rebuilt. Under a separate contract, Infinite Construction, LLC is restoring 30 of the city's 40 accesses. The project cuts back on paved surfaces and goes for what the city calls a more natural "Old Florida" look. Some ends that used to have benches may now have fewer, and some that had none may now have one or more. Most avenue ends from 1st Avenue South down to 33rd Avenue South are marked construction complete. 8th and 17th Avenues South are listed as open without that label. 21st Avenue South is open but has future reconstruction planned, and 32nd Avenue South is open with a seawall project pending.

The new benches tie into an older loss. Hurricane Ian damaged many memorial plaques, and the city says it's making every effort to put them back. Each plaque goes back only once its beach end is scheduled for reconstruction. For now, the city isn't accepting new memorial bench donations or plaque requests.

The Pier Is the Gap in the South End

At 12th Avenue South, the closure covers more than the walkway out over the water. The pier itself, its stairs, restrooms and showers, and 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South are all closed for the length of the rebuild. Only the western third of the pier parking lot is open to the public. The city keeps pedestrian bypasses open at Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South, with restrooms at both, for the full project. Those two ends are the closest replacements for the pier's facilities, one block on either side.

Construction started January 6, 2026, the day after the public groundbreaking. The Naples Daily News reported in February that the $23.5 million rebuild was expected to take 18 months and finish in July 2027. The city's project page hasn't posted a firm reopening date.

According to the city's timeline, contractor Shoreline Foundation, Inc. finished the concrete pour for the mid-Pavilion on September 18. That pour pushed the project past half of the roughly 602 cubic yards of concrete it needs. The ipe hardwood decking won't go down until all the concrete is in, and two-thirds of it had already arrived by late July. The new structure uses 18-inch piles in place of the old 14-inch ones, spaces them farther apart, adds more concrete support under the decking, and sits higher overall. Benches and fish-cleaning stations are among the last items on the list. In April, 59 concrete pilings went down at Wasmer Reef to expand an artificial reef first built in 2015.

Parking and the Lowdermilk Option

With the pier lot down to a third of its spaces, the rules at every other beach end matter more. City and county property-tax payers and full-time residents can get a free annual beach permit. City residents apply at City Hall with a driver's license and original vehicle registration showing the same name and an address inside city limits. The permit works at all city and county beaches, can't be transferred, and expires one year after issue, on the last day of the month printed on it. Without a permit, metered beach parking costs $5 an hour with a $2.50 minimum, and Lowdermilk Park is on the metered list.

Lowdermilk is the north side's fully equipped beach while the outfall closures last. The city lists sand volleyball, two gazebos you can rent, restrooms and showers, picnic tables, and ADA beach mats. Flip Flop Beach Grill runs the beachside concession and also rents beach wheelchairs and equipment. The playground is being replaced. Notice to proceed went out July 22, 2026, and the city expects the new coastal-themed playground to be finished in April 2027.

Off the Sand at 13th Avenue South

For anyone using the 13th Avenue South bypass, Mediterrano at 336 13th Avenue South is on the walk back from the beach. A Naples Press dining feature lists several more within a few blocks on Third Street South: Campiello at 1177, Sea Salt at 1186, The Continental at 1205, and Barbatella at 1290. That feature carries no publish date, so calling ahead confirms who's open.

For most of this season, the 13th Avenue South bypass offers the same restrooms, the same walk to Third Street South, and the same stretch of finished beach the pier used to anchor. The shoreline that's actually missing is up north, between Central Avenue and 4th Avenue North, where the city's status page will show when it reopens.

If construction on your stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard has you thinking about how a beach-access project affects a home's value, or how to time a seasonal sale around it, Comstock & Company is happy to walk through what's happening on your block. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.