Located north of Central Naples you will find North Naples.
North Naples includes some of the first areas of Collier County to develop outside of the initial City of Naples. Vanderbilt Beach, developed in the 1940s is home to the luxury Ritz Carlton Beach Resort.
The main east-west corridor in North Naples is Immokalee Road. Much of the area’s development is along this corridor with many of the area’s points of interest near its intersection with 9th St. N (US-41).
The area is known for its large number of master planned championship golf course communities including Pelican Marsh, Tiburon, Vineyards, Twin Eagles, The Quarry, Heritage Bay, Olde Cypress, The Strand, Talis Park, Imperial Golf Estates, and Quail Creek.
North Naples is home to some of the best attractions in the Naples area for children. At North Collier Regional Park off Livingston Road, you will find the Gollisano Children’s Museum of Naples as well as the Sun and Fun Lagoon Water Park.
Beaches
North Naples features some of the best beaches in the Naples Area with both Vanderbilt Beach and the Wiggins Pass State Recreation Area. This stretch of beach is commonly referred to as Vanderbilt Beach and is home to resorts such as the LaPlaya Beach Resort, The Vanderbilt Beach Resort as well as the Vanderbilt Beach and Harbor Club.
Beaches along the Vanderbilt Beach section tend to be the most commercialized, and hence most crowded beaches in the Naples area.
Arts and Culture
Although North Naples’ arts and culture scene isn’t nearly as strong as Central Naples, Downtown or East Naples, there is still an arts and culture scene in North Naples. Much of this scene centers around the Mercato neighborhood which is North Naples’ “uptown” district.
In Mercato, there are a couple art Galleries and the area features numerous restaurants that often have live music.
In North Naples, you’ll find one of the area’s few comedy clubs. In the Naples Walk Shopping Center at Vanderbilt Beach Road and Airport Road is the Off the Hook Comedy Club.
The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida, located on US-41 (9th St. N) just south of Wiggins Pass Rd is one of the most unique places in Naples. What began as a middle school student project is now one of the largest collections of holocaust era memorabilia (who said children cant change the world).
Located in the Mercato Shops is the Original Selfie Museum, an art museum dedicated to Instagram selfies. The museum features a collection of well known selfies, as well as interactive exhibits.
It’s the coolest art museum you’ve ever visited with unique and authentic Instagram walls for you to create the best content on IG.
Shops and Dining
In North Naples, the Mercato is the it place for shopping and dining. There is a major agglomeration of retail at the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and 9th St. N which includes the Pavilion Shopping Center, Marketplace at Pelican Bay and the Mercato. This is the only place in Naples that has two movie theaters within walking distance of each other. Both the Paragon Cinemas at the Pavilion and the Silverspot Cinemas at Mercato anchor this area which serves as North Naples’ town center.
Along 9th St. N there are a wide variety of restaurants in the Naples Park area. Along this corridor its mostly chain restaurants until you reach the Creekside Area.
At the corner of 9th St. N and 111th Ave (Immokalee Rd) you find the Creekside and Riverchase areas which is home to North Naples’ second largest cluster of retail and restaurants. Here you find a few unique restaurants but nothing quite like the Mercato area.
Further east at the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Rd and Airport Rd is the Galleria at Vanderbilt, and Naples Walk shopping center. This area is home to a wide mix of shopping and dining from simple day to day convenience retail to upscale restaurants.
Outside of these few areas, much of North Naples is the typical suburban landscape as it sprawls east towards Golden Gate Estates.
Business
North Naples has become a hub for medicine with a large number of medical related businesses near the North Collier Hospital at Goodlette Frank Road and Immokalee Rd. This includes Arthrex which produces joint replacement hardware and other surgical implements.
The area surrounding the North Collier Hospital has grown into a large “medical district” which is home to Landmark Hospital, an advanced Long Term Acute Care facility, one of very few such facilities in the area.
Boating & Waterfront
North Naples features gulf-access boating with access to the gulf via Wiggins Pass. Along the Vanderbilt Lagoon, you will find the waterfront community of Vanderbilt Beach.
The Cocohatchee River also runs through North Naples providing a waterway for smaller vessels to explore. Along the Cocohatchee are the waterfront communities of Palm River, Cocohatchee River Estates, Collier’s Reserve, Remmington Reserve, Gulf Harbor, and Wiggins Bay.
If you have a small craft and don’t need gulf access then there is an extensive system of lakes and canals in North Naples with excellent fresh water boating. Neighborhoods like Lakeside, Emerald Lakes, Walden Oaks, Islandwalk, Village Walk, The Quarry, Heritage Bay, and Longshore Lake are designed around fresh water boating.
Golf
You cant have an article about North Naples without mentioning golf. North Naples offers some of Naples’ finest golf courses. You’ll find that many courses here are open to the public, but most restricted to members and invited guests.
There are a few courses here that are open to the public.
North Naples premiere golf course is Tiburon, which is the site of the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort.
Tiburon features two Greg Norman-designed 18-hole golf courses, The Gold and The Black. Tiburon is host to the LPGA CME Group Tour Championship and the PGA Tour’s Franklin Templeton Shootout. Tiburon is consistently rated among the top 20 golf facilities in Florida by Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine.
The Black Golf Course at Tiburón Golf Club
The beautiful Black Course features six sets of tees to challenge all levels of players. The course has been designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International.
- Par 72
- 6,949 yards from the championship tees
- 18 holes
- Course rating: 74
- Slope rating: 147
The Gold Golf Course at Tiburón Golf Club
This challenging course is one of the most beautiful and well-maintained golf courses you’ll ever experience. Palm trees and pines line the fairways for incredible quiet scenery while you play. This course will bring out the best in any golfer.
- Par 72
- 7,382 yards from the championship tees
- 18holes
- Course rating: 75
- Slope rating: 137
Arrowhead Golf Course at Heritage Greens designed by Gordon G. Lewis has been voted the Best Public Golf Course by the Southwest Florida Choice Awards. This is a challenging and enjoyable course. A courteous staff, great food, and clubhouse amenities should put this course on your list during your next golf getaway.
2205 Heritage Greens Dr, Naples, FL
- Par 72
- 6,927 yards
- 18 holes
- Course rating: 73
- Slope rating: 132
Members Only Courses
Most of North Naples’ golf courses are exclusive country club courses. These golf courses are reserved for members and their invited guests. There is some reciprocity between golf and country clubs so members of one club may be allowed to golf at another club.
Initial membership fees and dues at private country club courses such as Quail West, Quail Creek, The Strand, Olde Cypress, Twin Eagles, Pelican Marsh, Bay Colony Golf Club and the Old Collier Golf Club can be VERY EXPENSIVE.
A few North Naples neighborhoods include golf membership with home purchase and HOA fees. These are generally less expensive for the avid golfer than a full country club membership. Such neighborhoods include Stonebridge, Esplanade Golf and Country Club, and Vanderbilt Country Club.