Sanibel Island a “Silver” Bicycle Friendly Community

Sanibel Island is often recognized for its island beauty and vacationers’ appeal, but on Tuesday, this tucked away Southwest Florida destination was recognized by the League of American Bicyclist City as a “Silver” Bicycle Friendly Community (BFBSM).

Sanibel was last recognized in 2010 with a “Bronze” award. Plus, only three other Florida communities were recognized this year with “Silver” awards including Venice, the Villages and Gainesville.

Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane attributes the accomplishment of the “Silver” award to the City of Sanibel’s partnerships with the Sanibel Bicycle Club. He said, “We build and maintain a premier path system for our residents’ health and safety, however this national recognition from the League of American Bicyclists is a source of community pride and appreciated.”

In 1976, the first 2½ miles of Sanibel’s paths were built along Periwinkle Way with $10,000 of seed money from the original Sanibel Bike Path Committee and a matching grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. Today, the City of Sanibel has more than 25 miles of paved Shared Use Paths and eight miles of natural surface paths.

Here at Sundial Beach Resort & Spa, we offer bicycles of all kinds including two-seater bikes, childrens’ bikes with training wheels and multi-seat surreys as a complimentary amenity, and we encourage our guests to explore every inch of the island’s bike paths during their stay. We are fortunate to have a wonderful network of safe, wide, paved bike paths throughout Sanibel right at Sundial’s doorstep!