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Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk

Naples

Naples is the western gateway to the wilds of South Florida, a tropical getaway on the Gulf

INTERACTIVE MAP

Adding to the Life List

John photographs a liguus tree snail in Everglades National Park

July 21, 2015    John Keatley

Although John is a native Floridian, our research trip to South Florida became an opportunity for him to see many natural “firsts” in Florida that most people have on their life lists.

Barefoot Beach Preserve

Barefoot Beach

Naples      ( 26.308604, -81.836644 )      

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.

Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk

Flag pond surrounded by alligator flag

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park  |  Everglades City
( 25.941796, -81.469376 )      1.2 miles

Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park provides a peek into a notable natural landmark, a stand of old-growth cypress.

Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress orchid

Big Cypress      ( 25.857244, -81.034255 )      

Protecting nearly three quarters of the million-acre Big Cypress Swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve is Florida’s largest and most remote wilderness.

Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail

Collier Seminole Hiking Trail

Collier-Seminole State Park  |  Naples
( 25.990033, -81.578300 )      6.0 miles

A wet and wild 6-mile loop into the watery wilderness of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail provides a challenging wade into beauty

Collier-Seminole State Park

Collier Memorial at Collier-Seminole State Park

Naples      ( 25.992111,-81.589968 )      

Protecting the largest natural hammock of royal palms in the United States, Collier-Seminole State Park opened in 1947 south of Naples along the Tamiami Trail.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

boardwalk to big cypresses in Corkscrew

Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed  |  Naples
( 26.375724, -81.603725 )      2.3 miles

Weaving beneath a canopy knit by old-growth cypress trees in a majestic swamp forest, the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is one of Florida’s best hikes

CREW Bird Rookery Swamp

Levee in Big Cypress Swamp

Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed  |  Naples
( 26.312005, -81.633544 )      4.5 miles

Rich with wildlife, CREW Bird Rookery Swamp near Naples provides up to 12 miles of hiking/biking in Big Cypress habitats on tramways through a primordial swamp

CREW Flint Pen Strand

Red blaze post amid pines

Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed  |  Estero
( 26.333780, -81.690867 )      13.4 miles

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.

Crossing Big Cypress

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

February 4, 2019    Sandra Friend

It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.

Crossing the Big Cypress

JK signs in at Oasis (photo: JoNell Modys/Naples Marco Island Everglades CVB)

January 9, 2013    John Keatley

On Friday, our group of Florida Trail hikers left our group camp at Trail Lakes Campground and, with Chuck Norris and Tigger providing transportation, headed to the Florida Trail at Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve. We were there for the FNST Southern terminus monument dedication. Lots of folks from the Loxahatchee Chapter …

Delnor-Wiggins Nature Trail

Bridge between sea grapes from beach

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park  |  Naples
( 26.286711, -81.830422 )      2.8 miles

At the northernmost end of Naples, the breezy shores of Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park entice beachgoers and nature lovers to an observation tower, nature trail, and beach walk.

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