I just moved to Southwest Florida back in October and still discovering new things to do. This…read moreplace is definitely filled with nature, it's peaceful, and it's only a few miles from my home. There is lots to see, and the history behind the area is extremely interesting. Perfect for a daily walk, by yourself or with family and friends. I will definitely be going back again and again.

Wild Turkey Strand Preserve is right in our backyard with history. These tracts of land acquired…read morethrough Conservation 20/20 started back in 2001 for a total of over 3100 acres. It is located in Lehigh Acres on the West Side of State Road 82 directly adjacent to the Southwest Florida International Airport! It was on my list of local preserve visit for more than 2 years. The land was formerly part of Buckingham Army AirField. An Army training base between 1942-1945 during World War II for the express purpose of training air-to-air combat also known as Flexible Gunnery School. Some structures such as ammo buildings, gun turret foundation still remain on site and preserved. A small western portion of this land is open to public access for hiking, bird watching, photography and interact with nature! This trail has a paved free parking, one restroom and a picnic shelter with four tables. Total parking space is about 24+ and a bus parking space. Portion of trail is ADA-accessible but many sections are wet and submerged in water in a rainy season. It is recommended that you check the weather prior to enter the preserve, wear closed-toe shoe, or hiking booths, hat, sun screen, insect repellent, and water. Sections are paved and sections with boardwalk which give you an elevated view of the preserve as well keep your feet dry during the rainy season. Headgear or hat is a must here, this is open preserve, not many shady spots are available. There was no rain yesterday, so we were able hike the 1.8 miles without encounter any wet grounds. Went in the preserve about 8:00 AM and completed our leisure hike around 9:45 AM with multiple stops viewing the gun turret foundation, ammo building, observation decks. In the North side where the remain of Gunnery training were sighted, you can hear the bird calls but only witness two birds, one Ibis on a swamp and small light brown bird on a tree top. We were not able to identify that bird. The white Ibis flew away as we approaching toward that swamp. In the South side, there are more butterflies, and plants. Sight of blue crab pieces were on ground. All of sudden, what appeared as a hawk flied out marsh and make a smacking sound! We were little disappointed because we did not witness any alligators, rabbits, wild turkeys, deer, snakes, or ducks. Nevertheless, it was a good hike! The preserve is well maintained but I wish they did a better job of provide more boardwalk or paved road and create a lake for the wildlife. That would be an ideal place for running, jogging and hiking!

Much, much more than a dog park so that it deserves its own business (we'll see), the county has…read morebuilt this large athletics complex in west Fort Myers. In addition to the gigantic parking lot, there are four little league baseball fields and three soccer fields with plenty of room for people to mill about. A big piece of the park is to the north (past the dog park) with walking / biking / hiking trails through the natural landscape. And of course, natural landscape in Florida always means there is a chance that you may encounter wildlife. Be prepared and never hike alone. There are structures for concession stands, restrooms and water fountains. The park is in excellent condition and while it's way far from my usual haunts, it's surrounded by home communities. [Review 20262 overall - 1765 in Florida - 1239 of 2023.]

This larger neighborhood park in a northern part of Cape Coral has quite a bit to do and could…read moredefinitely use more parking. The park includes a paved walking loop that gave me a good workout this afternoon. There is also a kayak/canoe launch, basketball courts, a horseshoe pits area, picnic shelter, playgrounds and even a public restroom. The park is on the lake and it does have access to the canal network. If you're walking your dog here, I suggest a tight leash and also keep your kids close. This is Florida. There's wildlife. [Review 16768 overall - 1494 in Florida - 281 of 2022.]

Great park, we take our dog walking here often; they have a nice paved trail around the park with…read moredog bags. Also a nice picnic area by the lake & there's a super nice kayak launch here & a park for the kids & also a basketball court

Another State Park with hiking/walking trails (and a bike trail)…read more The walking trails are short. If you walked the "outside" loop it is under 2 miles. Much of it is boardwalk type paths. Be careful when you choose to go - don't go after a heavy rainstorm as the other parts are a little muddy. The bike trail (which you can hike also) is longer and goes right up against the river. Unfortunately, it had rained pretty heavy all weekend and the trail/path was underwater in both directions. Also, it doesn't look like they maintain it as often as the grass was very long. We'll keep this one on our list to revisit when the conditions are better.

Amazing views and a hike option for everyone. The shortest trail is all boardwalk or paved and it's…read moreunder a half mile per loop. Good option for strollers. The other trails both have some sort of off path portion, but nothing difficult to walk. I also did the 3 mile plus loop which is all unpaved. Went at the almost end of dry season in a very dry year and there were still portions of the trail that was wet and muddy. But the views were beautiful and worth the trek to see!

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Fort Myers Beach and enjoy a small slide of…read moreFlorida Wilderness, consider visit the Matanzas Pass Preserve. This preserve is located behind the Library and elementary school off Bay Road. The Estero Island Historic Society maintains the historic cottages by the left side of preserve entrance. The preserve has about 1.25 miles of trails that wind through canopies of mangroves and maritime hammocks in 60 acres of undeveloped area of the island. Take a stroll or relax at many trailside benches. You can relax at pavilion at the North side that offer a panoramic view of Estero Estuary. Within a short distance, a Kayak Landing ramp is available. I witnessed joggers on one of my visits. Depending on seasonality, this bayside preserve can be a good site to observe some wildlife like raccoons, rabbits, hawks, owls, herons, turtles, snakes or dolphins in the bay. There are many native plants unique to this environment but the main native plants here are mangroves; red, black and white mangroves. Want more information about the trails and plants, pick up information brochure by Lee County Parks and Recreation at the Preserve Entrance. You can scan the QR Codes in the brochure using your smartphone and watch the excellent YouTube presentations done by Jim Rodwell. A Peace pole was installed by the Historic Cottages near the rain barrel and reminded us 'May Peace Prevail on Earth' in 4 different languages. The only negative aspect is the limit parking of only 4 parking space! Whenever I have some time, we love to stroll through the boardwalk and enjoy the view, fresh air and sunshine here.

This was a fantastic morning walk. We walked out to the observation area and the sun was just up…read moreover the bay and it was beautiful! A few of the trails were closed. Parking area has 4 spots. We were the only car there.

Pretty far east of Fort Myers, the Buckingham Trails Preserve is a 572-acre preserve and includes a…read more2.3 mile trail for hiking. I didn't go nearly that far today but I did walk some. The park is mostly pine flatwoods and open scrub with decent visibility and easy walking. There are two sets of looping trails - one is for pedestrian hikers only and the other is for hikers and horse riders. When you're on the horse trail, of course you need to be on the look out for, well, you know. The land in the preserve was formerly used as part of a World War II military training base from 1943 to 1945. It was used for training gun turret operators on Air Force (then the Army Air Force) bombing planes. There is a display at the entrance with brochures. Note that pets are not allowed in the preserve, even leashed. You must remain on the marked trails. [Review 16801 overall - 1525 in Florida - 314 of 2022.]

Buckingham Trails Preserve is one of many tracts of land acquired through the Conservation 20/20…read moreProgram. Parking area and a trail system were developed for hiking and equestrian use. This preserve was part of Buckingham Air Field, which was an Army Airbase used to train aerial gunners that were responsible for operating the 30 and 50 caliber turrets on B-17, B24 and other Bombers during WWII. The Air Field portion, a few miles away, is still operational and currently the home of Lee County Mosquito Control. Prior to air field, this was just swamp land located approximately about 10 miles East of Downtown Fort Myers. We took a Guided History Walk in this preserve. The hiking trail is little over 2 miles and the horseback riding trail is slightly under 5 miles. No stable is nearby so you must bring your own horse(s) for equestrian use! We did not witness any wildlife gopher tortoise, Sandhill Crane and some species of hawk are reported and sighted. The trail still has remnants of trap ranges and ground moving target ranges. An ongoing effort to eliminate invasive plants has made progress significantly with controlled burning. Two historians, Ted Mikita and Jim Zbick from Southwest Florida Military Museum, representative from Conservation 20/20 and Lee County Ranger were very active and conducted an informative and helpful guide. We enjoyed this hike and Thank you to Ted and Jim, Conservation 20/20 and Lee County Parks & Recreation for making this possible!

Jefferson Park is located in the center of a residential neighborhood and had some pretty…read moresignificant traffic with folks walking their dogs this morning. It is in very good condition with a nice walkway, trimmed grass, maintained landscaping and picnic tables. There is a large covered gazebo that is available for neighborhood parties. Note that it is not reservable and is first come first serve. There are some dedicated parking spaces. [Review 15789 overall - 1369 in Florida - 1293 of 2021.]

This small park is located alongside busy Palm Beach Blvd but the playground area is fenced. That's…read moregoing to help keep the little ones from wandering off. The park has a playground, picnic pavilion and swing set. There is some shade and much street parking available. The picnic shelter is available first-come, first-served. [Review 13315 overall, 633 of 2020.]