Florida Hikes

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Marsh in shades of green in Everglades habitat

Ten Thousand Islands Marsh Trail

On the Marsh Trail, immerse yourself in the mangrove maze of the Ten Thousand Islands on a trail that takes you to places you’d normally only see from a boat.

Everglades City (25.974144, -81.554085)   2.4 miles   Ten Thousand Islands NWR

One of the world’s more mysterious places, the Ten Thousand Islands is where the Florida peninsula breaks apart into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces.

Clusters of mangroves form islands in a shallow estuary constantly fed by a flow of fresh rainfall.

The Marsh Trail is an out-and-back hike into the mangrove mazes. A bonus for birders: an observation tower provides a perch for photography and viewing.

Everglades marsh The marsh at the trailhead is good for birding too

Resources

Resources for exploring the area
Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover Paddlers Guide Florida The Hiking Trails of Floridas National Forests Parks Preserves book cover
 
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Overview

Location: Everglades City
Length: 2.4 mile round-trip
Trailhead: 25.974144, -81.554085
Fees: None
Restroom: None
Land manager: US Fish & Wildlife Service
Phone: 239-657-8001

Open dawn to dusk. Pets are not permitted. A portion of the trail is accessible and bicycles are allowed on it.

Mosquitoes can be extremely annoying here. Use insect repellent or a bug net and avoid dusk and dawn walks.

This trailhead is also the launch point for several kayak trails through the refuge, each route specifically marked. Kayakers, be sure to have a map before you head out into the wilds.

Tropical trees along a canal

The entire trail is in the open, with zero shade (unless you duck under the tower). Be cautious of sunning alligators along the trail, which is just above the level of the swamp.

Drones may only be used with a Special Use Permit and FAA permission.

Directions


 
From Interstate 75 in Naples, take the last exit eastbound (Collier Blvd) before the toll road (Alligator Alley). Head south on Collier Blvd to its junction with US 41. Turn left. Set your trip odometer – the paved parking area along the Tamiami Trail is easy to miss. It’s 11 miles east along US 41, passing the turnoffs for Goodland and Collier-Seminole State Park, before you reach the parking area around MM 31.

Hike

For generations, the Ten Thousand Islands have only been accessible by water: by airboat in the shallows, by canoe and kayak and jon boat, and by larger craft through established channels and as the bay deepens.

To open this fascinating area up to exploration by land, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge used a resource that added no additional impact to this sensitive landscape.

Paved path in Everglades Accessible portion of the path

The Marsh Trail follows an old oil well road built for oil exploration. The Collier family still owns mineral rights under most of the public lands that sweep across the end of Florida.

More than a hundred oil well permit applications have been issued since the 1960s. They pump heavy crude oil from two miles below ground in an area called the Sunniland Oil Trend, between Fort Myers and Miami.

Abandoned oil exploration pads dot the landscape of the Big Cypress Swamp.

As with the Fire Prairie Trail in Big Cypress Preserve, this road and pad are now put to recreational use.

Boardwalk in mangroves Boardwalk to the paved path

Begin at the trailhead kiosk. Head past the hand-launch kayak ramp and along the boardwalk, which immediately turns right onto a paved path.

The scenery quickly opens up. Marsh surrounds you, punctuated by tree islands with cabbage palms where wood storks perch.

Florida myrtle fluffs into white blooms in fall, attracting monarch and queen butterflies.

White blooms Florida myrtle, or groundsel bush

Be cautious where the water laps close to the trail, where snakes or alligators may be sunning.

Periphyton, that goopy mass of algae, plankton, bacteria, and other biomass that makes up most of the Everglades, floats on the water’s surface on the west side of trail.

Edge of swamp Beaten paths mean gator crossings

The skunky aroma of Spanish stopper wafts through a small slice of tropical forest that the trail traverses, with gumbo-limbo trees. You may see liguus tree snails crawling up its bark.

Turning the corner, reach the observation tower. Climb up for a sweeping view of mangroves and a stiff breeze off Florida Bay.

Mangroves in grassy swamp Mangrove view

The pavement ends but the trail continues past the tower. Beyond Kayak Trails #2 and #3, pass an eye-shaped pond.

The right side is resplendent in marsh grasses, while the left side is mangrove islands. Wax myrtle and groundsel bush give way to mangroves lining the sides of the trail.

Mangroves Mangroves

As you get a clear view of the mangrove marsh, take a moment to watch the shallows for the movement of fish. The estuary is the nursery of Florida Bay.

As the trail curves past a lone gumbo-limbo, to the right you can alligator trails leading in dozens of directions through the marsh.

Marsh with bird winging across Mangrove marsh and periphyton

Another view opens up at 0.6 miles, with reedy marsh to the right and mangroves to the left. This balance of differing wetlands continues for much of the hike.

Cross a culvert where water flows swiftly from one side to the other, a place where alligators tend to hang out for easy prey.

Open water and mangroves near culvert Culvert

The water opens up on the right, transitioning towards the mangrove maze.

Where the trail curves at a watery bend, clumps of primordial-looking giant leather fern grow along the edges.

Curve of two track Curve in trail

Ahead is a large clearing at the oil exploration pad, which is being reclaimed by vegetation.

There’s an instrumentation station here. It’s not a “wow” ending to the trail, but at least you know where you are.

Instruments in a grassy clearing Clearing at oil pad

Since this is an out-and-back hike, turn around and head back the way you came.

Keep alert for wildlife in the mangroves – and in the water, and on the berms, and crossing the trail – along the way.

Mangrove trees in water Peering into the mangroves

Trail Map

Ten Thousand Islands Marsh Trail Map

Explore More!

Video

A short hike to the observation tower
https://vimeo.com/floridahikes/ten-thousand-islands-nwr

Slideshow

See our photos from this hike

Nearby Adventures

Nurse log in strand swamp with strap ferns Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park It’s the Amazon of North America, home of the ghost orchid. Protecting more than 85,000 acres, Fakahatchee Strand is Florida's largest state preserve and most certainly our wildest.
Boardwalk through palm hammock Royal Palm Hammock Nature Trail Not quite a mile long, this intriguing nature trail explores a gradient of habitats from tropical hammock to salt marsh and mangrove forest.
Golden hour view of wet prairie with wading birds Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk Discover fresh perspectives on the abundance of tropical habitats at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park on the newly reconfigured Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk.
Wet habitat in cypress swamp Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail A wet and wild 6.5-mile loop into the watery wilderness of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail provides a challenging wade into beauty.

Official Website

Sandra Friend
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