You don't need a permit. Just forge a raft, drive onto it, float across to the preserve.
PET FRIENDLY
On the way out to Ft. Desoto you can pull your RV onto the beach and spend the day there. No permit required, but you cannot stay overnight. To camp overnight on Shell Key Preserve, you need a permit. It is free and easy to get online. You can only get there by boat.
As others said no way by car to the island
You pay for parking. Then boat or kayak over to shell key and you have to get a permit first.
You can only get to Shell Key by boat or kayak. You can camp in a tent there, but you have to get a permit from the county which you can do online.
You can camp on the south end of the island but the only access is from a boat or kayak
No vehicles are allowed on the preserve.
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