Naples Pier: What to Know Before You Go

There has been a pier at the end of 12th Avenue South since 1888, when it was the town's freight and passenger dock. It has been destroyed by hurricanes and fire and rebuilt repeatedly — most recently after Hurricane Ian — and it remains the emotional center of the city.

The practicalities

• Address: the western end of 12th Avenue South, Old Naples.
• Cost: free to walk. No fishing license required to fish from the pier.
• Parking: metered spaces on 12th Avenue South and the surrounding numbered avenues. Tight from 4pm onward in season.
• Facilities: restrooms, outdoor showers and a small concession at the beach end.
• Accessibility: the deck is flat and wheelchair-accessible from the beach entrance.

Sunset on the pier

This is why most people come. Arrive 40 minutes before the official sunset time in high season if you want a spot on the west rail, and stay 15 minutes after the sun goes — the sky does its best work in that window, and half the crowd leaves before it. The pier is also the best free vantage point for watching boats work the pass; if you'd rather be on that side of the railing, a short trip out through Gordon Pass leaves from the bay a few hundred yards away.

If the deck is shoulder to shoulder, drop down onto the sand on the north side. Same horizon, a fraction of the people, and better photographs because you get the pier itself in frame.

Fishing

No license is needed to fish from the pier — the city's blanket license covers everyone on the deck. Bait and basic tackle are available at the pier shop. Expect snook, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, pompano and the occasional tarpon in summer. Size and season limits still apply; the FWC regulations are the authority.

Wildlife

• Brown pelicans, all day, in numbers. Keep your bait bucket covered.
• Dolphins, most often early morning and on a moving tide, 100–300 yards out.
• Manatees in the warmer months, usually a slow grey shape just under the surface.
• Ospreys overhead and the occasional loggerhead turtle in summer.

What's nearby

The pier sits at the bottom of Old Naples' walkable core: Third Street South is four blocks east, Fifth Avenue South is six blocks northeast, and Lowdermilk Park is a fifteen-minute barefoot walk north along the sand.