Imperial Bonita Estates

We spent the month of December at Imperial Bonita Estates (IBE) and loved it. The park is a mix of RVs and permanent park models, plus a separate section of small homes. The park is kept in great shape and has many activities. In addition to the heated pool, there are courts for horseshoes (and cornhole), petanque, tennis (and pickleball), bocce, and shuffleboard. Plus there is a boat launch into the Imperial River where you can paddle and visit with the manatees or catch some fish. You can easily ride your bicycle into Bonita Springs to go to the farmers market, buy fish or fresh tortillas, etc. The Bonita Springs beach is about 7 miles away and is a great place to go shelling. It's a nice location because it is far enough away from the beach that it is not overbuilt and commercialized.

The sites themselves are average size for an RV park and generally consist of a gravel pad for the RV and a paved pad for your outdoor seating. The streets are quite wide so we had no problem fitting our vehicle on the site. Of course the best sites are those that back up to the Imperial River. However they are quite difficult to get during the snowbird season so you will want to plan ahead and need a bit of luck. The interior sites don't have much vegetation so it will be up to you for decoration. Two rules to be aware of. No free standing screen tents/canopies are allowed. If you are close to the river this can be an issue as the insects do come out in the evening if there is no wind. Also, propane fire pits are not allowed.

We found everyone at IBE to be very nice. Friendly, welcoming, and not opinionated even if their opinions differ from yours. That was a refreshing take from other parks we have stayed at. This would be a great place to spend the winter.

Very friendly staff and residents; some are permanent, wintering in Fl in RVs or Modular Homes. When making reservations (and ur short like me - 15’) be sure to get a site where the utility pole is close to the back of the site or your hookups are too far away. Laundry rooms and bathrooms are very clean; showers are huge and have small seating area outside shower; if doing laundry you must pay $5 for a card and then add a minimum of $10 to the card so be sure you have at least $10 of washing & drying. I borrowed a neighbor’s card and gave them cash for the amount of money I used with their card. Near to Publix, Home Depot, CVS, Walgreens and Costco. Too many amenities to name plus lots of nightly activities. Only drying racks permitted are ones attached to rear of RV. No stand alone screen rooms, canopies or tents allowed. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a must see but make reservations and pay online. It has a 2.5 mi boardwalk through a beautiful swamp.