CLOSED indefinitely due to damage from Hurricane Ian.
It’s the last stop in the string of the nature trails along one-way Wildlife Drive through Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, making it all the more pleasant to savor.
Providing a peek into the ancient history of Sanibel Island, the 0.4 mile Calusa Shell Mound Trail circles mounds left behind by the people who once populated these barrier islands.
Trail entranceResources
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Overview
Location: Sanibel Island
Length: 0.4 mile loop
Trailhead: 26.473566, -82.152568
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.
No dogs or bicycles permitted on this accessible loop.
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. Follow Wildlife Drive through the refuge. The Shell Mound Trail trailhead is on the left, soon after the drive makes a sharp left beyond the Wulfert Keys Trail.
Hike
Our description is of the trail as it was before Hurricane Ian
A colorful interpretive panel greets you at the trailhead. Follow the boardwalk into a tropical hardwood hammock.
Snake plants thrive under gumbo-limbo trees. Tall sea grapes shade the trail. At the trail junction, keep left.
Trail junctionLong, thin barbed-wire cactus clambers up and over the saw palmettos, displaying showy yellow blooms in late summer.
A giant poinciana drips with huge bean pods like overgrown mimosa seeds, its lacy leaves creating a delicate green screen against the blue sky.
Tropical forest along the boardwalkThe boardwalk continues up and over a shell mound covered in dense tropical vegetation. Wild coffee sags under the weight of its dark red beans.
A citrus aroma pervades the air, coming from a grove of lime trees planted by an early settler.
Shells spilling from moundDropping off the shell mound, the trail loops into a mangrove forest with white mangroves towering more than 30 feet tall.
Sluggish tannic water glows with an orange hue, reflecting the tangled jungle of mangrove roots. Bromeliads flourish in the canopy.
Boardwalk through mangrove forestThe boardwalk ascends gently to complete the loop. Turn left at the T intersection, emerging at the parking area after 0.4 mile.
Low section of boardwalkTrail 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.
Ding Darling Bailey Tract One of the lesser-known trails at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the Bailey Tract, off Tarpon Bay Road. Loop around impoundments with great birding.
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