Boardwalk from Visitor Center to fee station CLOSED indefinitely due to damage from Hurricane Ian. Access this trail by walking in on Wildlife Drive
One of the most popular birding sites in the entire National Wildlife Refuge System, Ding Darling was established in 1945, protecting more than half of Sanibel Island.
It became a refuge largely due to efforts spearheaded by Sanibel Island resident and famed editorial cartoonist J.N. “Ding” Darling.
The refuge sees nearly a million visitors a year. Most drive Wildlife Drive in their cars, but five trails offer places for you to take a wander for birding.
Of these, the Indigo Trail is the easiest to access and the longest. Paralleling the popular drive, it makes it possible (thanks to the Cross Dike Trail) to walk a loop.
Views are possible in some spots, especially along the Cross Dike TrailResources
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Overview
Location: Sanibel Island
Trailhead: 26.44573, -82.11305
Address: 1 Wildlife Dr, Sanibel
Fees: $10 per vehicle, $1 per hiker or cyclist. The Indigo Trail is free to walk on Fridays. Access to the Visitor Center is free.
Restroom: At the Visitor Center
Land manager: US Fish and Wildlife Service
Phone: 239-472-1100
Visitor Center open 9-4, closed Fridays and Federal holidays. Wildlife Drive is open 7-5, closed on Fridays.
Leashed dogs are permitted on Wildlife Drive and the Indigo Trail. Bicycles are permitted but must be walked along the boardwalk.
Directions
Cross the causeway to Sanibel Island (toll) and, at the T intersection, turn right on Periwinkle Rd. Turn right on Periwinkle Rd and follow the “Captiva” signs through Sanibel to Sanibel-Captiva Rd. Drive 5.1 miles to the park entrance on the right, and park near the visitor center.
Hike
Our description is of the trail as it was before Hurricane Ian. Until the boardwalk is repaired, walk Wildlife Drive to pick up the trail by the fee station.
Starting beneath the Visitor and Educational Center, the Indigo Trail passes under the building alcove as a boardwalk through the tropical hammock into the mangrove forest.
Interpretive markers aid in your understanding of the flora along the trail. As the habitat transitions into the mangrove forest, the boardwalk acquires railings.
Passing a bench, walk between black mangroves, sea oxeye, and glasswort. At 0.2 mile, cross Wildlife Drive.
MangrovesContinue on the shell path to the sign-in box, and drop in your walk-in fee to hike the trail (free on Fridays).
In the early morning hours, there is some shade from the buttonwoods, but all other times of day, this trail is in full sun.
The Indigo Trail follows the top of a dike separating the mosquito control impoundments. Prior to mosquito control efforts, only the hardiest of settlers could tolerate life on Sanibel.
Mosquitoes swarmed thicker here than anywhere else in the United States—according to local lore, a record of more than 365,000 caught in a single trap on one night in the 1950s.
At the 0.5 mile marker, you’ve hiked 0.7 mile. The marker corresponds to a starting point measured from where you crossed Wildlife Drive.
Come to a bench with some open water behind it, a good place to watch for alligators. Peeling gumbo limbo trees line the trail on the right near the 1 mile marker.
Along much of the hike, the vegetation hides the canals paralleling the trail. Stop and listen for the squawk and chatter of the birds hidden in the mangroves.
Pnuemataphores of black mangrovesNear the 1.5 mile marker, the waterway on the right opens up into a large impoundment. Watch for distant flocks of ibises browsing across the mud flats.
Wild coffee grows at the base of a cabbage palm, while giant wild pine drapes from the tangled branches of the red mangroves.
The trail junction with the Cross Dike Trail is at 1.8 miles. This 0.2-mile paved connector leads past an observation deck with permanently mounted binoculars to Wildlife Drive.
Cross Dike TrailIt offers a side trip with opportunities for birding, or a complete loop by walking back to the Visitor Center by making a right on Wildlife Drive.
Once past the Cross Dike Trail, the Indigo Trail narrows to a twisting track between the cabbage palms. Salt hay grows up to the edges of the footpath, bordered by sea oxeye.
The shell path narrowsThe trail ends abruptly where the dike ends, at the accurate “2 mile” sign, surrounded by a mangrove forest with small stretches of open water.
Turn around and retrace your path back past the Cross Dike Trail. As the day wears on and the heat of the ground increases, keep alert for snakes sunning on the dike.
At 3.8 miles, cross Wildlife Drive and return to the boardwalk. The hike ends at the parking lot after 4 miles.
Return along the Indigo TrailTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and its trails
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge Preserving more than half of Sanibel Island for the sake of its bird life, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is one of the top places in the United States to view rare bird species. Slideshow
Our photos from the Indigo Trail pre-Hurricane Ian
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