A protected corner of the Big Cypress Swamp, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge blankets 26,605 acres north of Alligator Alley.
It is where Fakahatchee Strand rises and flows south from a richly biodiverse backcountry that is largely off limits to the public.
Palm-dotted prairie at the refugeHowever, a trailhead immediately north of Interstate 75 enables visitors short hikes through a taste of that crucial habitat for these big cats.
Will you see a panther? Unlikely. This isn’t a zoo. But they sprawl on tree limbs and in dens sleeping, and might be watching you.
Panther in a den at Busch Wildlife SanctuaryResources
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Overview
Location: Immokalee
Length: 1.7 miles in two loops
Trailhead: 26.16173, -81.34627
Address: 12085 SR 29, Immokalee
Fees: Free
Restroom: Privy at trailhead
Land manager: US Fish & Wildlife Service
Phone: 239-657-8001
Open sunrise to sunset. No pets permitted. If the gates along SR 29 are locked, the refuge is closed for land management activities.
The Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail has a hard packed limestone surface and may be accessible with assistance depending on water levels.
Seasonal turkey hunting is permitted within the refuge.
Directions
From Interstate 75 exit 80 east of Naples, take SR 29 north. The refuge entrance is immediately on the left. Follow the limerock road to the parking area within the gates.
About the Refuge
While documented elsewhere in the state, the bulk of the population of Florida panthers live south of the Caloosahatchee River.
The primary purpose of this refuge to provide the Florida panther room to roam. It is part of a corridor of conservation lands in the Big Cypress Swamp.
Broad prairie at the refugeHowever, this endangered feline requires a great deal of space. Male panthers claim a territory up to 200 square miles.
Roads slice across the connections they need to make to other wild spaces protected in the region.
Alligator Alley (Interstate 75) has a series of wildlife underpasses for panthers to useThat’s why you see miles of chain-link fence along SR 29 and Interstate 75–to help lower the sad likelihood of motorists running over panthers.
And it’s getting worse. Habitat destruction is the biggest challenge for keeping the Florida panther from extinction.
Refuge trail through a tropical hammockSince the 1960s, burgeoning development pushing east from Naples has run right into the panther’s home turf, accelerated tremendously in recent years.
Where panthers once roamed across vast ranchlands in the Big Cypress basin, subdivisions now rise on dredged fill in seasonally wet strand swamps and prairies.
One of many species of bromeliads found in the humid strand swampsWhile refuge biologists collar, track, and study the panther population, it is not the only endangered species in the refuge.
Wood storks nest in cypress domes. Fox squirrels climb through slash pines in the uplands. Swallow-tailed kites soar overhead.
Refuge trail in tallgrass prairiePrescribed burns are used to manage prairie and flatwoods landscapes where wildflowers bloom profusely.
More than two dozen species of native orchids are found here, including including ground orchids and the extremely rare ghost orchid.
Mega-bloom of sunflowers along SR 29 in fallHike
For a mild and largely shaded introduction to a tropical hammock with prairie views, choose the 0.4 mile Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail.
Reinforced with limestone, the footpath should be dry during the winter months but may be inundated with water after heavy rains, especially in summer.
An easy interpretive walk, it incorporates a boardwalk to an observation deck overlooking the prairie circled by the Panther Trail.
Boardwalk to prairie viewThe Panther Trail, the longer of two loops, is a wet walk through typical Big Cypress habitats of wet pine flatwoods, prariries, solution holes, and cypress domes.
But like the shorter trail, it has its moment in the shade of a tropical hammock hugging the trailhead.
Panther Trail gateThe trails can be entered in two opposite directions from the gates at the parking area, or take the Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail to join the Panther Trail for a clockwise loop.
Leslie M. Duncan Memorial Trail Try a tiny sample of the vast mosaic of habitats within the 26,000-acre Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge on this short accessible-with-assistance loop.
Panther Trail Tunnel through verdant tropical forests and wade across open prairies on the Panther Trail, a 1.3 mile natural surface circuit through Florida panther territory at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.Since the panther is Florida’s largest predator, the refuge recommends you keep children close and small children in your arms when hiking either trail.
Much of the walk is shaded and shadowyHave we seen a panther here? No. But we have seen them crossing roads in adjoining parts of the Big Cypress Swamp.
If you encounter a panther while hiking? Refuge staff say don’t run. Face the cat. Don’t crouch or bend over.
Look large. Back up if you must to give it space to escape. If it acts aggressively, throw whatever you can reach without stooping to drive it off.
Panther vocalizing in enclosure at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State ParkTrail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from the refuge
Nearby Adventures
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park It’s the Amazon of North America, home of the ghost orchid. Protecting more than 85,000 acres, Fakahatchee Strand is Florida's largest state preserve and most certainly our wildest.
Big Cypress National Preserve Protecting nearly three quarters of the million-acre Big Cypress Swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve is Florida's second largest and most remote wilderness. 
Dr. Robert H Gore III Preserve In a lesser-known corner of the Big Cypress Swamp, Dr. Robert H Gore III Preserve immerses hikers in truly wild South Florida landscapes on its nature trails.
Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest Protecting the headwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp south of the Caloosahatchee River, expansive Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest preserves the heart of wild South Florida.
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