Estero

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 Preserve In a hidden corner of Collier County, Barefoot Beach Preserve provides immersion in nature at a beauty spot along two miles of natural shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico just north of Wiggins Pass.

Black Island Trail At the northern end of Lovers Key State Park, the Black Island Trail makes lemonade out of lemons with a scenic hike or off-road ride in natural landscapes reshaped for coastal development.

Caracara Prairie Preserve Named after a striking bird of prey known to frequent this part of the state, a well-marked loop trail winds across shady hammocks, cattle pastures, and open prairies.

CREW Cypress Dome Trails On this 4.4 mile loop, experience an impressive array of habitats in Florida panther habitat - from sandy flatwoods to flooded cypress swamps - in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.

CREW Flint Pen Strand Just four miles east of Interstate 75, get your feet wet in one corner of the vast the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed on the trails of Flint Pen Strand.

CREW Flint Pen Strand Big Loop Plunge into a wild landscape of verdant pine forests and mysterious cypress swamps on a series of connected loops stretching from Flint Pen Strand to the Bird Rookery Swamp Trail.

CREW Flint Pen Strand Red Trail The westernmost of the loops at Flint Pen Strand, the 1.5 mile Red Trail is an easy introduction to the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.

Estero Bay Preserve State Park An aquatic preserve, Estero Bay Preserve State Park has mangrove-rimmed flats beloved of flats fisherman and paddlers as well as two upland access points with extensive trails.

Estero River Scrub Skirting the edge of a tidal marsh alongside Estero Bay, the loop trails at Estero River Scrub are incredibly unique and a challenge to hike.

Koreshan State Park When Dr. Cyrus Teed founded a commune along the banks of the Estero River in 1894, he envisioned a utopia in the tropics. Koreshan State Park preserves that slice of history.

Lovers Key State Park With a name straight out of tourist fantasies of 1950s Florida, Lovers Key State Park is a series of slim barrier islands between Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico south of Fort Myers Beach.

Mound Key Archaeological State Park Launch your kayak from either Koreshan Historic State Park or Lovers Key State Park for a paddle into Estero Bay to see Mound Key, a significant Calusa archaeological site.

Articles

Florida’s Utopia (12/9/2018) 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.

Hiking to Happahatchee (12/5/2011) 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.