Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Chokoloskee, FL

The island has three marinas. One is at the N end on the E side of the causeway, and two are on the W side of the island. Two marinas have protected basins. All have gasoline, water, and ice available. A boatyard on the E side of the island has a marine railway that can handle craft to 53 feet for hull and engine repairs.
Navigation:
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Chokoloskee is a year-round community on an island, about 0.5 mile in diameter, near the SE end of Chokoloskee Bay about 3 miles ENE of Jewel Key. The island is joined to the mainland near Everglades City by a long causeway which has a bridge opening off the mouth of Halfway Creek. The 23-foot fixed span has a clearance of 5 feet. Two channels, privately marked by stakes, lead from the Gulf through Rabbit Key Pass and Chokoloskee Pass to the facilities at Chokoloskee. In 1982, it was reported that the channel through Rabbit Key Pass was closed and that with local knowledge 2 feet could be carried in the channel through Chokoloskee Pass. At low water, during periods of N winds, it was reported that very little water remains in these channels and the bay dries out for the most part. At these times local knowledge is essential. There is no marked channel across the bay from the island to the entrance to Barron River, but with local knowledge craft drawing up to 1 foot can make it ordinarily. A channel leads from the vicinity of Jewel Key through Sandfly Pass and thence into a privately dredged channel, marked by privately maintained daybeacons, across the bay to the National Park Service basin at the NW end of the causeway. In 2000, the channel had a reported controlling depth of 2 feet with lesser depths reported in the basin.