Sanibel and Captiva islands, Fla. — If you are a longtime lover of these pine-shaded barrier islands off the Gulf Coast of southwest Florida, be prepared for a disconcerting return this winter.

After the raging hurricanes of late summer, especially Charley, the two islands look less like lush Sanibel and Captiva and more like the rest of southern Florida.

David G. Molyneaux/[Cleveland] Plain Dealer (ENLARGE)
Walkers keep an eye out for shells on the windswept beach near Blind Pass, which separates the secluded barrier islands.
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For decades, residents and visitors to these secluded islands have lived beneath a cool canopy of Australian pines, 1,100 acres of towering trees that were planted in the 1920s and grew to become a natural roof that provided shade and privacy. Now most of them are gone, toppled or ripped from the ground in a matter of hours on Aug. 13 by Hurricane Charley.

Much of the indigenous plant life, including palm trees, survived, but the shade of the Australian pines is gone forever. The pines are now considered a hurricane hazard, and they will not be replaced.

So Sanibel and Captiva have a new look — sort of like a bad haircut that will need time to fill in. Charley left the island landscapes uneven. Some parts got a trim; others, such as popular Bowman's Beach, suffered a buzz cut. Workers removed 302,868 cubic yards of debris from Sanibel. It was enough, said one report, to fill 100 dump trucks a day for three months.

And yet the islands still look pretty good.

The advantage of the tropics is that foliage grows back quickly. If you didn't know that Periwinkle Way, Sanibel's main drag, was supposed to be shaded, you wouldn't miss the canopy. And you might think that all the fresh mulch along the roads was purposeful landscaping instead of replacement for the holes where huge pines once spread their shallow roots.

Besides, fishing and shelling are as good as ever — storms brought up mounds of shells from the sea bottom — and wildlife is expected back at annual winter resting spots.

Sanibel and Captiva, linked to the mainland by a narrow causeway near Fort Myers and to each other by a short bridge, long have been a haven for nature lovers — two-thirds of Sanibel is wildlife refuge — and multimillionaires who hide their oceanfront and bayside retreats behind lush foliage. (This winter is a great time to peek at their lavish homes, now exposed.)

This barrier island enclave is the kind of place where many residents would prefer to raise the causeway drawbridge behind them. But of course, that is not possible, because thousands of vacationers have found their own refuge on Sanibel and Captiva.

Each winter, they fill the island's 4,000-plus rental units, stoop to shell the fine beaches on the Gulf of Mexico and fill the restaurants along Periwinkle Way.

If you are planning to vacation on Sanibel or Captiva this winter, you will want to ask about construction.

While much of Sanibel is up and running, some resorts are not, and some of those that are open still show ugly marks — blue tarps on roofs needing repair and temporary orange fences behind which workers continue to hammer and saw.

It is best to call and ask not only whether the resort is open but also about the atmosphere, whether construction mars the view or interrupts the sounds of the waves at the beach. Then, a week before you head to Florida, call again for an update, because construction delays are possible.

During a recent visit, workers were busy at the popular Casa Ybel resort, which was partly open, and at the Sundial Beach Resort, which is expected to open partially Jan. 22, fully on May 1. Song of the Sea resort is expected to reopen fully on Feb. 28.

On the hard-hit northern point of Captiva, where palms stand awkwardly bent by Charley's winds, the 600-room South Seas Resort is being rebuilt. Plans are to reopen on April 18.

So far, tourism folks here are not sure whether reports of hurricane damage will keep travelers away this winter.