Lovers Key State Park is a 712-acre barrier-island park on Florida’s Gulf coast north of Bonita Beach, encompassing Lover’s Key, Black Island, Inner Key, and Long Key. It preserves beaches, mangroves, dunes, coastal strand, maritime hammock, and other island habitats that support manatees, dolphins, marsh rabbits, and more than 40 bird species. Its present form reflects major twentieth-century changes, including causeway construction, dredging, and logging that altered Black Island and harmed water quality, seagrass, and native ecosystems. Acquired by the state in 1983 and inaugurated in 1996, the park remains a place for recreation, wildlife viewing, and learning, despite severe damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022.