Naples is the gateway to the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp, as well as a sweep of coastline that includes sparkling beaches and the Ten Thousand Islands. Hikes here tend towards boardwalks or full-out swamp walks, sloshing through crystal-clear rainfall on backcountry trails. This is one of the more interesting regions for hiking in Florida, with extreme, sometimes jungle-like ecosystems to be explored.
Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk
To the east of Naples, the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk at Fakahatchee Preserve State Park offers a peek into one tiny corner of the Fakahatchee Strand, but it’s significant in two ways – it’s the most accessible and therefore most highly visited corner of the preserve, and it’s a notable natural landmark, a stand of… [Continue Reading]
Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail
Created by the Florida Trail Association, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail is one of South Florida’s most beautiful trails, but it’s not for the inexperienced hiker. Wilderness savvy is in order, as you’ll be wading the better part of 6 miles to experience a watery forest like none other – the Big Cypress Swamp. This loop… [Continue Reading]
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
You’ll find Florida’s best and most extensive boardwalk hike at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, meandering 2.3 miles through an old-growth cypress forest. Managed by the National Audubon Society since 1912, Corkscrew Swamp, encompassing 315 square miles, is one of the most important breeding grounds for wood storks and one of the few places you can see… [Continue Reading]
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
At the northernmost end of Naples, the breezy shores of Delnor-Wiggins State Park entice thousands of beachgoers on summer days – especially on weekends. On weekdays and early mornings and evenings, people who like a stroll on the beach have it all to themselves. One of the best places along this coast to find massive… [Continue Reading]
Estero Scrub Preserve State Park
One of the tougher places to hike in Southwest Florida, Estero Scrub Preserve State Park, established in 1966 as Florida’s first aquatic preserve, has several loops through wet flatwoods and tidal marshes along the rim of Estero Bay. Much of the hike is in full sun, and portions can be very deep in water, no… [Continue Reading]
Florida Panther NWR
In addition to the very gentle 0.4-mile Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail that starts at this trailhead, a longer 1.3 mile loop appeals to hikers willing to get their feet wet while they feel a real part of this predator’s habitat. Depending on the time of year, the trail may be mostly inundated with tannic water… [Continue Reading]
Florida Panther NWR – Leslie M. Duncan Memorial Trail
Two separate loops make up the Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail, an exploration into the cypress sloughs and wet prairies of the Big Cypress Swamp. The accessible 0.4 mile loop allows those in wheelchairs and strollers (with assistance) to experience a small sample of the habitats preferred by the Florida panther. A longer 1.3 mile loop… [Continue Reading]
Kirby Storter Boardwalk
It took many years and a lot of local effort by the Friends of Big Cypress to get this gentle introduction to the wilds of the Big Cypress Swamp in place, but the Kirby Storter Boardwalk was worth the wait. Although it’s only a half mile long, it’s accessible at all times of year, and… [Continue Reading]
Lovers Key State Park – Black Island Trail
Lovers Key State Park is a favorite place for beachcombers thanks to the broad, sunny strand on the Gulf of Mexico and its excellent shelling. But for a bit of adventure, head to the north end of the island to explore the Black Island Trail. Shared with mountain bikers, the The trail system at Black… [Continue Reading]
Picayune Strand State Forest – Sabal Palm Trail
Take a walk on the wet side—built by Boy Scouts, this slosh through swampland celebrates the preservation of a segment of the Big Cypress Swamp that was once a part of the biggest real estate scam in Florida. As befits a swamp, the trail is partially under water in all but the dry spring months,… [Continue Reading]
Royal Palm Hammock Trail
At Collier-Seminole State Park, the short and intriguing Royal Palm Hammock Trail is a wild but gentle introduction to the habitats protected by this park. Although the boardwalks are slippery, you can explore the coastal prairie and mangrove marsh without getting your feet wet. The trail starts out in a tropical hammock and then transitions… [Continue Reading]
Ten Thousand Islands Marsh Trail
One of the world’s most mysterious places, the Ten Thousand Islands is where the Florida peninsula breaks apart into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces – clusters of mangroves forming islands in a shallow estuary constantly fed by a flow of fresh rainfall in a neverending flow into Florida Bay. For generations, it has been… [Continue Reading]
Tree Snail Hammock Trail
In this hammock, you enter a world inhabited by rare and tiny creatures—the colorful and endangered liguus tree snails of South Florida’s hammocks. You’ll likely enjoy spotting liguus snails on the trees— look for them grazing on algae on smooth-barked trees such as Spanish stopper and Jamaican dogwood. An outdoor classroom surrounds the remnants of… [Continue Reading]
