The Naples Pier is closed until July 2027. Until then, beachgoers get to the sand at the south end of downtown through two side streets, Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South. Since last Saturday, the Third Street South Farmers Market has set up on the block of Third Street S. that runs between those same two avenues.
So for the whole winter market season, the produce stands, the coffee line and both beach entrances that stand in for the pier sit within a few blocks of each other. The two schedules fit together so well that from now until the pier reopens, a Saturday morning in this part of Naples starts on Third Street.
The Pier's Job Moved to Broad and 13th
The City of Naples has closed more than the pier deck during the rebuild. The pier stairs, restrooms and showers are closed too, along with 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South. Only the western third of the pier parking lot at 12th Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard South is open to the public. The eastern two-thirds are a construction zone.
To keep people on the beach, the City set up pedestrian bypasses at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends. The City says both stay open for the whole project, and both have restrooms. You can see this on the City's Naples Pier Rebuild Project page.
That's a big change for a structure the City describes as part of the community's character since 1888, drawing more than one million visitors a year. All that foot traffic, plus anyone who just needs a restroom near the water, now goes through two beach ends one block apart.
On Saturdays, the Market Fills the Block Between Them
The Third Street South Farmers Market moves with the seasons. From April through October it sets up in the parking lot behind Tommy Bahama. From November through May it sets up right on Third Street S., between Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South. It runs every Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. According to the Third Street South Association's market page, the market started in 1994, has grown to more than 60 independent vendors and allows no national chains or franchises.
The winter season opened Saturday, Nov. 7. That puts this coming Saturday, Nov. 14, as the second market of the season on the street.
The market page's 2026 summer vendor list shows the kind of range the market carries:
- Growers: Inyoni Farms, a certified organic farm growing vegetables, greens, sprouts, fruits, herbs and flowers; Mondragon Farms, with locally grown organic produce; Care2Grow, which is all mushrooms; Gulfcoast Greens, with microgreens and hydroponics; and Friendly Burds, selling local tropical fruit, dried fruit and honey.
- Morning stops: Jimmy's Java for hot and cold brew and coffee beans, Tony's off Third for scones and pastries, Neapolitan Bake Shop for Cronutz, and Juicelation for cold-pressed juice and coconuts cut to order.
- Lunch to carry: Fire & Rice cooking paella in front of you, Moonfire BBQ selling ribs, brisket and pulled pork by the pound, Twila Mae's Chicken Salad, and King of Hummus.
- Take-home goods: Stamper Cheese with Wisconsin-made cheeses, Dominga's Flowers, Marlene Cypress Wood, and Woven Wonders' handmade baskets.
Market hours end at 11:30 a.m. Both beach entrances are a short walk from either end of the market block. You could buy a paella or a pound of brisket and eat it facing the Gulf without moving the car.
Where the Car Goes
Parking is where a plan for this part of town falls apart. The beach ends near the market fall under two different sets of rules. The City's beach parking page sorts every access into permit-only resident spots and metered visitor spots. The Broad Avenue South beach end is permit-only, while the 100 and 200 blocks of Broad Avenue South are metered visitor parking.
| Beach access near the market | City classification | Notes from the City list |
|---|---|---|
| Broad Avenue South, beach end | Permit only | Pedestrian bypass with restrooms during the pier rebuild |
| Broad Avenue South, 100 and 200 blocks | Visitor, metered | Inland blocks of the same avenue |
| Pier / 12th Avenue South | Visitor, metered | Only the western third of the lot is open |
| 13th Avenue South and its 100 block | Visitor, metered | Pedestrian bypass with restrooms during the pier rebuild |
| 14th Avenue South | Visitor, metered | One block south of the bypass |
| 15th Avenue South | Permit only | Freshwater shower listed |
| 17th and 18th Avenue South | Permit only | Shower listed at 18th |
Now that the pier showers are closed, the shower notes matter. The City doesn't list a freshwater shower at either Broad Avenue South or 13th Avenue South. Nearby, it lists showers at the permit-only 15th and 18th Avenue South ends and at the metered 8th Avenue South access to the north.
These lots are small. Naples Beach Delivery's parking guides, checked on site Oct. 23, count 20 marked spaces at Broad Avenue South, 21 at 13th Avenue South and 30 at 14th Avenue South. So a Saturday in season starts with about 71 spaces across the three closest ends, and two of those lots are metered visitor spots.
At metered spots, parking costs $5 an hour with a $2.50 minimum. The pay stations take quarters, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Visa. Every space needs either a payment or a beach parking permit. The City allows parking in marked spaces only and none from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The City says its beach parking permit is free and available to all Collier County property taxpayers and full-time residents. City residents apply at City Hall, 735 8th Street S, and bring a driver's license and an original vehicle registration showing the same City address. The permit can't be transferred. It goes inside the lower driver-side corner of the windshield and lasts one year. Parking rules and permit terms are set by the City and can change. Treat this as general information, not legal advice, and confirm your own eligibility with City Hall.
Downtown garages are dealing with work of their own. A City notice posted by Paradise Coast says the 6th Avenue South Parking Garage at 6th Avenue South and 8th Street South is getting structural repairs. Levels 3 and 4 were scheduled to reopen Nov. 7 to 20, and the project is set to finish Nov. 20.
The Dog Can Come to the Market, Not the Beach
The market's season-opening announcement asks people to bring friends, family and "pet friends," and the summer list includes two dog-treat vendors, Top Dog Kitchen and Wholesome Hound.
The beach a block away has different rules. City beach rules ban animals, glass and fires on the beach. If you bring the dog to the market, the walk turns around at the end of Broad or 13th rather than continuing onto the sand. The no-glass rule is worth remembering too if you bought something at the market in a jar.
How Long This Arrangement Lasts
The market's street season runs through May, and the pier reopening is scheduled for July 2027. So every Saturday market on Third Street this winter falls inside the closure. Here's how the rebuild timeline stands:
- Oct. 2, 2024: The City awarded Shoreline Foundation Inc. the construction contract for $23.5 million.
- Jan. 6, 2026: Construction began, a day after a public groundbreaking at the pier.
- April 13, 2026: Demolition of the old pier was finished.
- Sept. 18, 2026: The concrete pour for the mid-pavilion site put the project past 50 percent of the concrete it needs.
- Oct. 7, 2026: Crews drove the last of the 193 reinforced-concrete pilings.
- Oct. 22, 2026: Work started on the midpoint pavilion.
- Early 2027: The contractor expects to finish all structural work, and installation of the Ipe wood decking follows.
- July 2027: The scheduled reopening.
The new pier will be different in ways regulars will notice. It sits three feet higher above the water on 18-inch-square piles, up from 14 inches. The new midpoint pavilion will have Ipe-clad columns and three times the shade of the old one. State and federal rules didn't allow the old mid-pier concession to be rebuilt. City Council chose portable food and beverage carts at the mid-pavilion instead, plus a small Naples Police and Beach Patrol substation.
Until then, the bypass entrances at Broad and 13th and the market block between them are the setup for this part of downtown. The market runs every Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., and the City says both bypass entrances stay open for the length of the project.
If you're thinking about how life around Third Street South and the pier could change once the new pier opens in 2027, Jim Westerfield and The Westerfield Group follow these local projects closely and are happy to talk through what's coming. Let's Connect.
