Shelling in Naples and Keewaydin Island

The Gulf shelf here runs out flat for miles before it drops. Storms and winter fronts push whole beds of shells up onto the beach in a single night, and because the barrier islands sit at an angle to prevailing winds, some stretches of sand act like a sieve.

When to go

1. 01Low tide — ideally an hour before through an hour after. Check the tide chart, not the clock.
2. 02Right after a winter front — the day following two days of hard west wind is the single best window of the year.
3. 03First light — locals walk these beaches at dawn, and they get there before you.
4. 04Winter over summer — December to March produces the biggest hauls.

Where to go

1. 1

   Keewaydin Island

   Boat only

   The best in the region. Eight miles of unwalked barrier island; the further south you walk from the north-end boat crowd, the better it gets.

2. 2

   Sand Dollar Island, Tigertail

   Marco Island

   Wade the lagoon at low tide. Sand dollars, olives, fighting conchs. Nesting shorebirds — mind the roped areas.

3. 3

   Barefoot Beach Preserve

   North Naples

   Best drive-to shelling in Collier County. Walk north from the lot.

4. 4

   Delnor-Wiggins Pass

   North Naples

   The pass end concentrates shells on the outgoing tide.

5. 5

   Ten Thousand Islands beaches

   Boat only

   Cape Romano, Kice Island and the outer keys. Serious shellers make a half-day of it.

Getting to Keewaydin

There is no bridge, no ferry terminal and no parking lot. In season, shuttle boats run from the city dock on a fixed schedule to the north end — convenient, but that's also where every private boat anchors on a Saturday.

To actually get the empty stretches, you want a boat that will drop you further down the island and come back for you. Half-day charters do this routinely; a charter to Keewaydin Island with a couple of hours ashore is the standard shape of a serious shelling trip here. Bring water, shade, shoes and a bag — the island has nothing.

What you'll find

• Lightning whelk — Florida's state shell, and left-handed, which is rare in the shell world.
• Fighting conch — small, heavy, brown-orange; the most common good find.
• Cockles, coquinas and calico scallops — bright and abundant along the tide line.
• Olives, augers and worm shells — small and easy to miss; sift the shell hash.
• Sand dollars — Sand Dollar Island earns its name at low tide.
• Junonia — the trophy. Spotted, uncommon, and mostly found after storms.

Technique

Don't scan the dry sand. Work the wet band at the water's edge and the shell hash windrows just above it, and walk slowly with the sun behind you so the light rakes across the surface. Most experienced shellers here find their best pieces by standing still in ankle-deep water and letting the wash sort the material at their feet.