Previous posts have covered some of the many interesting activities we have here in Naples, activities you can make the most of when you live here. However, we haven't nearly exhausted all the possibilities, because Southwest Florida has year-round sunshine and outdoor activities galore, not to mention the cultural activities that gravitate to an area where prosperity is the norm.
1. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
One of the best preserved tracts of land in Florida is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, found about 15 miles northeast of Naples, Florida. Its 2.25 mile boardwalk takes you into the Florida that existed up until the Everglades began to be claimed by farming about 200 years ago. Along the boardwalk you'll see floral scenes so beautiful they could have been arranged by a talented floral designer, and they help you understand where the state's name - "Florida" - came from. You'll also see fauna such as birds, alligators and maybe even bears and panthers and all types of flora (including rare orchids). Admission is $10 for adults. The address is 375 Sanctuary Road West.
Just north of the Corkscrew area, you'll find an outstanding 12-mile-long hiking and biking trail at the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp. Fauna and flora abound as you pass through the cypress swamp. The Purple trail is open and connects the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail to the CREW Flint Pen Strand trails. Distance from the CREW Flint Pen Strand Main parking lot to CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail is 3.1 miles; round trip is 6.2 miles. Signs are posted at the intersection of the two trail systems for your reference. The railroad trestle bridge, at the far northern side of the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trail, is closed to pedestrian access until further notice (as of 3/15/22) – making the trail an out-and-back trail as opposed to a full loop.
2. Clam Pass Park
Naples has its share of nice beaches, but Clam Pass Park has an interesting feature. To begin with, the mangroves original to southwest Florida remain inland about 3/4 of a mile from the beach, making just getting to the beach an adventure: You can walk or take a free tram from the parking lot down a boardwalk through the forest, emerging from the shady mangrove tunnel at Clam Pass beach where white sugar sand and turquoise water greet you. Clam Pass itself is a narrow strait just south of Pelican Bay, and at low tide it's shallow enough that an adult can wade over to the beach at Pelican Bay. If you stay on the Pelican Bay side until the tide goes in, you'll have to swim back, but with the tide undulating in and out, it’s a natural “lazy river” adventure, where the pull and depth of the water is safe but still fun. Clam Pass Park is located at Seagate Drive and Crayton Road next to the Naples Grande Beach Resort, a 4-star hotel.
3. Chokoloskee
For an entertaining day trip from Naples, drive an hour south an hour to the end of Smallwood Drive and find Chokoloskee, an island just south of Everglades City. At the end of Smallwood Drive you’ll find Smallwood Store, a general store that opened in 1906 to serve hardy Southwest Florida pioneers and closed in 1982. Smallwood's granddaughter has now been reopened the store as a museum that its original proprietor, Ted Smallwood, would still recognize. When it opened in 1906, Chokoloskee was undeveloped virgin territory and Ted Smallwood was one of its pioneers. For the 76 years that it operated, Smallwood Store was an Indian trading post, a post office and a general store. You'll have to pass through Everglades City to get to Chokoloskee, so when you do, have fresh fish right at the fishing docks. From October to April, this is one of the best places to have stone crabs.
4. Eagle Lake Aquatic Park
For water park fun, try Eagle Lake Aquatic Park at Lely run by Collier County. If offers two water slides, a family pool and a toddler pool. The operating hours for the aquatic center are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. The admission charge for the aquatics center is be $3 for children age 3 to 17 and people 60 and over; and $3.50 for adults 18 and older. Children less than 3 years old are admitted free.. It’s located at 11565 Tamiami Trail in Naples, 20 minutes south of downtown Naples and 30 minutes north of Marco Island in the Lely area.
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