Matlacha boat ramp hours to be modified

FORT MYERS — The Matlacha Boat Ramp will close a half-hour earlier starting Aug. 1. The popular Pine Island ramp’s new hours will be 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The opening time is not changing. The park will continue to close at its regular 10:30 p.m.

“We encourage boaters to operate their vessels during safe-light hours,” said Joe Debacker, senior supervisor with Lee County Parks & Recreation, which owns the park and ramp.

Other Lee County-owned boat ramps on Pine Island include Lavender’s Landing, which is open 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Bokeelia, and also the Pine Island Commercial Marina. That site — off Stringfellow Road about a and a half mile south of the island’s four-way stop, is open to recreational boaters on weekends and county recognized holidays from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.