• Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Attractions
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Google+

Florida Hikes!

Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

  • Hike
  • Camp
  • Bike
  • Paddle
  • Florida Trail
  • Travels
  • Gear
  • How-to
  • Blog

Sanibel Island

One of Florida’s most charming and popular barrier islands, Sanibel Island has a long history of drawing people to her shores to find spectacular seashells. Oriented east-west instead of north-south, the island is legendary for its bounty of shells. It is legendary, too, for Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1945 at the urging of nationally-renowned cartoonist J.N. “Ding” Darling to protect a large portion of the island from development.

My location
Print Close
Nearby: Cape Coral, Charlotte Harbor, Estero, Fort Myers, Pine Island


Trails and Parks on Sanibel and Captiva Islands

  • Ding Darling Bailey Tract 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.
  • Ding Darling Cross Dike Trail Ding Darling 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.
  • Indigo Trail Ding Darling Indigo Trail - At Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, the Indigo Trail is the easiest trail to access from the visitor center and the most popular, with up to 4 miles round-trip.
  • Ding Darling NWR 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.
  • Red Mangrove Overlook Ding Darling Red Mangrove Overlook - The shortest walk in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Red Mangrove Overlook provides a fine perspective for birding - and watching mangrove crabs up close.
  • Shell Mound Trail Ding Darling Shell Mound Trail - A wheelchair-accessible boardwalk near the end of Wildlife Drive in Ding Darling NWR, the Shell Mound Trail provides a peek into the ancient history of Sanibel Island.
  • Wulfert Keys Trail Ding Darling 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 at Ding Darling NWR to the edge of Hardworking Bay.

Related Articles

EXPLORING SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

View Map View Articles

Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor . Ding Darling NWR . Englewood . Estero . Fort Myers . Naples . Pine Island . Punta Gorda . Sanibel Island . Sarasota . Venice

The Florida Trail


Celebrating 50 years of Florida's favorite hiking destination. 228 pages, full color.

Order Now

Guidebooks for Southwest Florida

Exploring Florida's Botanical Wonders Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State 50 Hikes in South Florida

Our Florida Apps

FLORIDA TRAIL GUIDE. Offline maps and logistical details for hiking our favorite trail, Florida's own National Scenic Trail.

FIELD TRIP. Florida Hikes! is now part of Google's location-aware app with audio to discover what's around you.

Updates on Florida’s outdoors

Talk Trail on Facebook

Recent Southwest Florida Articles

Barefoot Beach Preserve

Barefoot Beach Preserve

Rookery Bay NERR

Rookery Bay NERR

Naples Botanical Garden

Naples Botanical Garden

CREW Bird Rookery Swamp

CREW Bird Rookery Swamp

More Articles

Southwest Florida Resources

  • Adventure Parents
  • FTA Alligator Amblers
  • FTA Suncoast
  • Sarasota Adventure Group
  • Sarasota Walkers
  • Southwest Florida Adventure Group

Get Outdoors!

GET OUTDOORS. GO CAMPING. GO CYCLING GO HIKING. GO PADDLING. GO EXPLORE GREAT EATS. GREAT STAYS.

FLORIDA TRAIL. NATURE TRAILS. DAY HIKING . LOOP HIKES. BACKPACKING. ACCESSIBLE. WITH DOGS. WITH KIDS. BEACH WALKS. SWAMP WALKS. WILDFLOWERS. BOTANICAL. GEOLOGIC. HISTORIC. SCENIC.

STATE PARKS. STATE FORESTS. NATIONAL PARKS. NATIONAL FORESTS. NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES. COUNTY PARKS. NATURAL LANDS. CITY PARKS. WATER MANAGEMENT AREAS. WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS.

Find your way

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola . Apalachicola National Forest . Apalachicola River . Blackwater River State Forest . Blountstown . Crawfordville. Crestview . DeFuniak Springs . Destin . Fort Walton Beach . Ebro . Freeport . Gulf Islands National Seashore . Madison . Marianna . Milton . Navarre . Niceville . Panama City Beach . Pensacola . Ponce De Leon . Port St. Joe . Sopchoppy . St. Marks . St. Marks NWR . Tallahassee

NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island . Cedar Key . Chiefland . Fernandina Beach . Flagler Beach . Gainesville .High Springs . Jacksonville . Lake City . Live Oak . Mayo . Micanopy . Osceola National Forest . Palatka . Perry . Salt Springs . St. Augustine . Steinhatchee . Suwannee River Wilderness Trail . Trenton . White Springs

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka . Belleview . Brandon . Brooksville . Bushnell . Canaveral National Seashore . Christmas . Clearwater Beach . Clermont . Cocoa Beach . Cross Florida Greenway . Crystal River . Dade City . Daytona Beach . Deland . Deltona . Dunnellon . Frostproof . Geneva . Inverness . Kissimmee . Lakeland . Lake Wales . Leesburg . Melbourne . Merritt Island NWR . Mount Dora . New Port Richey . New Smyrna Beach . Ocala . Ocala National Forest .Orlando . Ormond Beach . Oviedo . Sanford . Silver Springs . St. Cloud . St. Petersburg . Tampa . Tarpon Springs . Titusville . Walt Disney World . Withlacoochee State Forest . Withlacoochee State Trail . Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor . Ding Darling NWR . Englewood . Estero . Fort Myers . Naples . Pine Island . Punta Gorda . Sanibel Island . Sarasota . Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia . Big Cypress . Big Cypress National Preserve . Clewiston . Everglades City . Everglades National Park . Fisheating Creek . Lake Okeechobee . Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail . Lake Placid . Moore Haven . Okeechobee . Sebring

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Biscayne Bay . Biscayne National Park . Boca Raton . Coral Gables . Everglades National Park . Florida Keys . Fort Lauderdale . Fort Pierce . Hobe Sound . Homestead . Jupiter . Key Biscayne . Miami . Ocean to Lake . Palm Beach . Port St. Lucie . Sebastian . Stuart . Vero Beach . West Palm Beach

©2006-2017, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes! PO Box 10046 Cocoa FL 32927 | Contact