Trails
Indigo Trail and the Wildlife Education Boardwalk, Calusa Shell Mound Trail and Wulfert Keys Trail can all be accessed through Wildlife Drive. Bailey tract is located off Tarpon Bay Rd, 3.0 miles from the Visitor and Education Center.
Indigo Trail is a 4-mile, round trip trail that leaves from the Visitor and Education Center parking lot and ends at the Cross Dike, which extends from the Wildlife Drive. Along the Indigo Trail, visitor often spot wildlife such as alligators, night-herons or white ibises. The Indigo Trail is CLOSED FRIDAYS ONLY. The boardwalk leading from the Visitor and Education Center to the Fee Booth is CLOSED. To access the Indigo Trail, go down Wildlife Drive and turn left at the fee booth.
3/10 of a mile from the Visitor and Education center, on the Indigo trail, the Wildlife and Education Boardwalk (WEB) interprets wildlife scat, tracts and gives a great view of the freshwater area where alligators, and seasonally, nesting birds can be viewed over the water with a two-story observation pavilion.
Wulfert Keys Trail off the Wildlife Drive is a short 1/3-mile-long trail which follows a power line access to Pine Island Sound. Here, visitors will get a spectacular view of the sound and may see brown pelicans, osprey or even manatee.
Calusa Shell Mound Trail (CLOSED) is a 1/3-mile-long loop accessible interpretive boardwalk that is located near the end of the wildlife drive. The trail meanders through a hardwood hammock that has grown on top of an ancient Calusa Shell Mound. Visitors will lean about the ancient indigenous people of the area, as well as the unique hammock environment while reading interpretive panels. This is an excellent place to spot warblers and other migratory songbirds during the spring and fall migrations.
Located off Tarpon Bay Road, the FREE Bailey Tract is a unique area of the refuge. This 100-acre parcel is an interior wetland where freshwater plants and wildlife dominate. The trails can be accessed by walking or biking from sunrise to sunset. Those searching for freshwater bird species and song birds are not often disappointed during the spring and fall migration. Also seen in this area are numerous alligators and turtles. A lucky visitor may even see a bobcat or otter!