Travel alert
Hurricane Season on a Barrier Island: What Marco Visitors Should Plan For
Featured
Irma in 2017 and Ian in 2022 both came through this coast. Most of the season is simply hot and wet, and the difference is entirely in what you booked.
News
What's New in Marco
Openings, closures, festival dates and beach notices for Marco. Every item is dated, says where the facts came from, and points back at the pages that explain the practical side.
Front page
What we would read first
Seasonal
Turtle Season Runs 1 May to 31 October, and the Lights Rule Is Enforced
FeaturedLoggerheads nest along Marco's six-mile crescent every summer, and the island's lighting ordinance applies to your balcony as much as to the resort behind it.
Development
The Key Marco Cat Has Gone Back to Washington
FeaturedA six-inch wooden carving dug out of this island's muck in 1896 came home on loan for seven years. That loan has ended, and it is worth knowing before you drive over.
Seasonal
The Owls on the Vacant Lots Are Nesting Again
FeaturedSmall owls that nest in holes in the ground, in a residential grid, protected by stakes, rope and an unusual agreement between the city, the state and Audubon.
Archive
More stories
Seasonal
Stone Crab Season Opens in October, and Goodland Is Where It Lands
One claw, a live crab returned to the water, and a season that sets the rhythm of the working docks at the wrong end of the island.
Beach update
How Red Tide Advisories Work on Collier County Beaches
A bloom can make one stretch of sand unpleasant while another two miles away is fine. The useful thing to understand is how quickly the advisories change.
Reopening
Water Access After Ian: The Ramp Is Back, One Boardwalk Is Not
Three years of rebuilding, one ramp back in service, and a nature boardwalk still shut. Check before you drive to any of it.
Travel alert
A Winter Front Will Cancel Your Boat and Improve Your Shelling
Everyone plans around hurricanes. Far more visitors lose a day to the thing that arrives every fortnight between November and March and looks like perfect weather.