Day or Night, The Time is Right

High and dry in a tram or in the evening under the stars, now’s the time to experience Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Over the years, thousands of visitors have explored Florida’s largest state park with the help of Friends of Fakahatchee volunteers.

The best introduction to the 85,000-acre park east of Naples is the Interpretive Tram Tour. A naturalist leads each two and a half hour tour, which includes a 15-minute walk down a path lined with air plants, ferns, and seasonally blooming orchids. The Friday morning tours begin at 10:00 AM. Tickets are $35 person, plus fees.  

The Fakahatchee Biologist Led Swamp Walk is the most in-depth tour of the park. The park biologist leads a small group of participants into the slough’s knee-deep water, where they are surrounded by air plants, ferns, and orchids. Visitors should come prepared to get wet to experience the beauty of the swamp. This unique four-hour adventure on Saturdays begins at 9:00 AM. Tickets are $150 per person, plus fees.

The Night Sky Experience offers participants the chance to view and photograph the nighttime sky in one of the darkest places in southwest Florida. Your guide, an amateur photographer and astronomer, schedules each program when there is an interesting formation of planets and stars over the preserve. This will be an opportunity for photographers and visitors with binoculars to see the Milky Way. This event begins at 6:00 PM, Saturday, February 7, and concludes at 8:45 PM. Tickets are $35 per person, plus fees.

For tour dates in the coming months and required reservations, visit www.orchidswamp.org and click on "tours and adventures."