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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Kayaker on the Estero River

Estero

Halfway between Fort Myers and Naples, Estero grew up around the Estero River, which flows into Estero Bay.


Contents

  • 1 Resources
  • 2 Exploring Estero
  • 3 Trails and Parks near Estero
    • 3.1 Barefoot Beach Preserve
    • 3.2 CREW Cypress Dome Trails
    • 3.3 CREW Flint Pen Strand
    • 3.4 Estero Scrub Preserve State Park
    • 3.5 Koreshan State Park
    • 3.6 Black Island Trail
    • 3.7 Mound Key Archaeological State Park
  • 4 Articles
    • 4.1 Florida’s Utopia
    • 4.2 Hiking to Happahatchee

Resources

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us continue to provide public information on this website.


Exploring Estero

Estero is no longer the tangled jungle of vegetation it was when Cyrus Teed started his utopian community along the river at Koreshan.

It still has small pockets of “Old Florida” along the river, as well as access to large swaths of public land preserving where the waters meet the bay.


Trails and Parks near Estero

Barefoot Beach

Barefoot Beach Preserve

Barefoot Beach Preserve
Cypress dome

CREW Cypress Dome Trails

CREW Cypress Dome Trails
Red blaze post amid pines

CREW Flint Pen Strand

CREW Flint Pen Strand
Estero Scrub Preserve

Estero Scrub Preserve State Park

Estero Scrub Preserve State Park
Koreshan State Park

Koreshan State Park

Koreshan State Park
Black Island Trail

Black Island Trail

Black Island Trail
Midden shells on Mound Key (Kai Schreiber)

Mound Key Archaeological State Park

Mound Key Archaeological State Park
 
More Trails More Parks


Articles

The Planetary Court at Koreshan State Park

Florida’s Utopia

December 9, 2018//  by John Keatley

At the Koreshan Unity in Estero, Florida, a group of believers gathered in 1894 to build their paradise. It is now a National Historic Site and a Florida State Park. Walk the trails and streets of “New Jerusalem” to learn its story.

Ellen Peterson and the Scrub-Jay

Hiking to Happahatchee

December 5, 2011//  by Sandra Friend

A conservationist and a Floridian who truly made a difference for Florida, Ellen Peterson, founded Florida’s Sierra Club chapter in the 1970s and fought to keep Fisheating Creek open to paddlers. She leaves behind a sterling legacy for our state.


NEARBY: Fort Myers, Naples, Sanibel Island | PART OF: Southwest Florida

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