Brightwater Lagoon holds opening festivities
For those inland of Southwest Florida’s famous Gulf beaches, Brightwater Lagoon offers a trip to the shore without the 25-mile drive to get there.
The clear, blue waters of the amenity in North Fort Myers have been quietly open since November and have given residents and visitors the feel of beach life without the long drive or parking hassles.
The companies that built the Brightwater development and the lagoon held a ribbon cutting on May 30 to make the opening of the completed venue official, with local officials, a mermaid and even hula dancers taking part.
Brightwater Lagoon is more than six acres of clear, blue water, complete with a blow-up obstacle course, a VIP area, floating cabanas, shaded cabanas on the shore with a bar, splash pad, waterslide, kayak and paddleboard rentals and much more.
Jim Bavouset, president of Metro Development Group, said the reception from the locals has been amazing in the short time they’ve been open, calling the lagoon a “vacation where you live.”
“This is an extension of our lagoon program that we started in north Florida and carried to Southwest Florida,” Bavouset said. “We’re seeing visitors from Miami and Orlando coming to visit after a couple months of activity.”
Jimmy Cruz, general manager, said the ribbon cutting was the culmination of years of work.
“We had a chance to do a soft opening late last year for the residents. Since then we’ve slowly put things together, get more things open, and now we’re where we have the entire place open.”
Todd Faison, director of operations at Metro Lagoons, said this first lagoon in Southwest Florida represents an opportunity to take advantage of the untapped potential in the area.
“We can take some of the tourism from Miami and have them come here. We get a lot of people from there to go to our northern properties,” Faison said. “We thought this would be a good opportunity to get some of that.”
Local officials also had a lot of good things to say about the venue. Wendy Murray, executive director of the North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce, said this was a much-anticipated event.
“It’s unbelievable that we have something this amazing right around the corner from us,” Murray said. “It’s terrific for seniors, local residents and kids and we’re happy the ribbon cutting is this morning.”
“It’s great. It’s a great tropical paradise for the community. It’s great people have options for places to live in Southwest Florida,” said Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass. “It’s another amenity where people don’t have to travel to go to the beach or waterpark.”
“You’ve seen the renderings, but to see it in person is truly a great addition to North Fort Myers,” Commissioner Brian Hamman said. “I can’t wait to bring my kids here the bring them to the inflatable obstacle course. I know they will wear me out.”
Brightwater Lagoon is one of four MetroLagoons locations in Florida and the first in Southwest Florida. It is at 8630 Sunny Page Lane in North Fort Myers.
Ticket prices vary depending on activities and amenities selected.
The facility is cashless, accepting most major credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
For more about the lagoon, including hours and special events days, and to purchase tickets, visit metrolagoons.com.
–NFMNL
This story appears in the latest issue of the North Fort Myers Neighbor Living magazine, available at locations throughout North Fort Myers.