One of the lesser-known hikes at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the Bailey Tract, separate from the other nature trails that are found along Wildlife Drive.
This tract of the refuge is closer to the Gulf of Mexico and includes a series of impoundments that make for excellent early morning birding.
The entrance is off Tarpon Bay Rd, so the Bailey Tract is open Fridays, unlike Wildlife Drive. Its trail system offers loops of a quarter mile to 1.1 miles.
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Overview
Location: Sanibel Island
Length: 1.1 mile loop
Trailhead: 26.428600, -82.080600
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land manager: US Fish and Wildlife Service
Phone: 239-472-1100
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs and bicycles are permitted.
Directions
Cross the causeway to Sanibel Island (toll) and, at the T intersection, turn right on Periwinkle Rd. Follow it to the end and turn left on Tarpon Bay Rd. Drive 0.5 mile; the Bailey Tract entrance is on the right just after the pedestrian crosswalk sign.
Hike
Our description is of the trail as it was before Hurricane Ian
One of two outlying tracts of Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Bailey Tract protects part of Sanibel’s sensitive freshwater marshes.
Check the map on the trailhead kiosk before heading out on the trails so you can plot your route. Trails are marked by a series of colored arrows.
Ours follows the perimeter red loop. Cross the boardwalk to the dike, walking past a shallow tannic pond edged with cordgrass and cattails.
At the next kiosk, marking the trail junction, is a trail map and interpretive information about the creatures that live in the freshwater marsh.
Turn right to start a counter-clockwise loop, following the narrow track along the dike.
This is a quiet place, where the sea breeze rustles through the cattails. Off to the right are the freshwater marshes; to the left, the brackish impoundments with their mangrove islands.
The orange-blazed trail takes off to the left, following a dike. Continue straight, along the buttonwoods.
Thick crowds of giant leather ferns remind you of a tropical nursery as you come up to the blue-blazed trail at 0.2 mile.
Continue straight, passing the trail junction with the blue and yellow arrows. Reaching a bench on the left, the trail turns sharply left to follow the outer edge of the impoundments.
Marsh ferns grow between scattered buttonwoods, and cattails ring deeper spots in the marsh.
At the T intersection, turn left; the gate on the right marks the eastern boundary of the Bailey Tract.
At the next trail junction, the blue-blazed trail comes in from the left. Walk down it to the bench to watch the osprey fishing in the impoundment.
Return to the outer loop and turn left. The trail turns a corner, making a sharp left to follow a canal lined with fancy homes.Pass several tall shell mounds on which gumbo limbo and cabbage palms grow.
An arrow sign indicates a left turn off the dike and across a wetland of sand cordgrass, bridged by a boardwalk.
At the end of the boardwalk, turn left to pass by a tall birdhouse. Arrive at the large kiosk at the start of the loop.
Continue straight past the kiosk to finish your hike at the parking area after 1.1 miles.
Trail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
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. Nearby Adventures
Indigo Trail Get to know mangroves for miles and miles on the linear Indigo Trail, open to hikers and cyclists as a parallel route on a levee that connects to Wildlife Drive near both ends.
Cross Dike Trail Connecting Wildlife Drive and the Indigo Trail, the Cross Dike Trail at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is an easy paved walk between two impoundments. 
Wulfert Keys Trail Does a crocodile smile? You might find out with a walk down the Wulfert Keys Trail, which follows a mangrove-lined canal to the edge of Hardworking Bay.
Calusa Shell Mound Trail Near the end of Wildlife Drive, this accessible boardwalk loops a site revealing the ancient Calusa culture that once flourished on Sanibel Island.
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