OUTDOORS
Beaches
Parks


ENTERTAINMENT

Naples Phil
Barbara B. Mann
TECO Arena

SPORTS

The Everblades
Miracle Baseball

Beaches & Parks

Everglades City & Immokalee
Everglades City and its outlying areas along with Immokalee in eastern Collier County are home to numerous airboat and swamp buggy tour operators. These unique vehicles are designed specifically to navigate the shallow waters and swamps of The Everglades where hundreds of species of birds and animals make their homes. Airboat and swamp buggy tours provide wildlife viewing opportunities and a fun experience. For more information contact the Everglades Area Chamber of Commerce 941-695-3941 or Lake Trafford Marina in Immokalee 941-657-2401
 

Cambier Park
Between Eighth and Park Streets, Naples. Often the site of outdoor concerts and events, it features lighted tennis, horseshoe, shuffleboard and basketball courts, plus an open play area, bandshell, and extensive tot lot. 941-434-4694  

Chokoloskee Island Park
1150 Hamilton Lane
P.O. Box 430
Chokoloskee FL 34138
941-695-2414    

Clam Pass Recreation Area
Near The Registry Resort off Seagate Drive
Naples.
Mini-trams shuttle visitors from the free parking area over a .75-mile boardwalk to fluffy, white-sand beach. A beach concession rents chairs, cabanas, canoes, kayaks, windsurfers and other watersports equipment. 941-353-0404  

Collier-Seminole State Park

20200 E. Tamiami Trail, Naples. Collier-Seminole State Park - The 6,400-acre park showcases vegetation and wildlife typical of the Everglades. Explore mangroves and cypress swamp by land or water via boat tours, canoe rentals and hiking trails. Tent and RV camping are available. 17 miles south of Naples on Highway 41; 941- 394-3397

Conservancy of SW Florida's
Briggs Nature Center

Shell Island Road off State Road 951 between Marco Island and U.S. Highway 41.
This Center serves as the launch site for canoe and boat trips for bird watching in Rookery Bay National Reserve and for shelling on Key Island, plus other interpretative nature programs. On site there is a butterfly garden, visitor's center and half-mile wilderness boardwalk. The Conservancy’s Briggs Nature Center is located on Shell Island Road off State Road 951 between Marco Island and U.S. Highway 41. For more information call 941-775-8569

Conservancy of SW Florida's Naples Nature Center 1450 Merrihue Drive, Naples. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida's Naples Nature Center - Located in the heart of Naples, it features an exhibit of natural history where visitors can touch a snake, count an alligator's teeth and explore Southwest Florida's underwater world. Visitors can watch recuperating patients through the O.W.L.S. online video monitoring system, and see several of the Center's permanent residents, including a bald eagle, hawks and owls. Naturalist-guided trail walks and boat tours through a mangrove forest are offered daily. The Nature Store carries hard-to-find guide books and unusual, nature-related items. Headquarters of The Conservancy.
941 262-0304  
 

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples. 375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples. This 11,000-acre preserve is the "crown jewel" of the National Audubon Society's sanctuary system. World-famous among photographers, birders and other wildlife watchers, the sanctuary hosts hundreds of alligators and almost 200 bird species,
including nesting wood storks. Its 2.25-mile boardwalk meanders through the nation's largest old-growth cypress forest and a tropical jungle of ferns, orchids and wildflowers. 15 miles east of I-75, exit 17. 941-348-9151    

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State
Recreation Area

11100 Gulfshore Drive, Naples. Fishermen and beachers love this park, regularly rated among the top 20 beaches in the nation by coastal geomorphologist Stephen "Dr. Beach" Leatherman. It offers picnic facilities, an observation tower, and, in summer, educational sea turtle programs. 11100 Gulfshore Drive at Route 846, west from Exit 17 off I-75, Vanderbilt Beach. 941-597-6196    

 

Everglades National Park, Ten Thousand Islands, & Big Cypress National Preserve
Everglades City. Vast, federally protected wilderness spreads from Naples' and Golden Gate's back door. The park is home to alligators, herons, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, bobcats and the endangered Florida panther. Access to the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands is at Everglades City, 30 miles south of Naples on Highway 41; 941-695-2591. Big Cypress National Preserve borders Golden Gate to the east. Its Oasis visitor center is located east of Everglades City on Highway 41; 941-695-4111. For information on guided safaris into the Everglades, call Everglades Excursions, 941-262-1914 or 800-592-0848; Orchids & Egrets Authentic Ecotours 941-352-8586 or 888-452-3371, and Everglades Bicycle Tours 941-455-7211
 

Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve
W.J. Janes Scenic Dr. in Copeland, off Highway 29 north of Highway 41, Naples.This strand (slow-moving river without defined shorelines) is accessible by boardwalk and ranger-led swamp walks one Saturday each month during the winter. A scenic drive through the preserve is popular with bicyclists. About 30 miles from downtown Naples
941-695-4593  / www.friendsoffakahatchee.org   

Fleischmann Park
1600 Fleischmann Boulevard, Naples. Sports options are available for everyone with lighted racquetball, volleyball and basketball courts, and game fields. Other facilities include a playground and game room
. 941-434-4692    

Golden Gate Community Park and Aquatic Complex 3300 Santa Barbara Boulevard, Golden Gate. Swimming fun for all ages is provided by a well-maintained exercise pool, water slides and a wading pool. The park also contains lighted tennis, racquetball, basketball, volleyball, and shuffleboard areas, and a playground. Located east of Naples at Golden Gate Community Park. 941-353-7128  

Lake Trafford
Lake Trafford Road, northeast of Naples. The only natural freshwater lake this side of Lake Okeechobee, 1,500-acre Trafford is known for its superlative fishing -- trophy bass, crappie and blue gill. As part of the Everglades eco-system, it has become a haven for wildlife photographers, birders and nature lovers. Marina, camping and airboat tours are available. Located on Lake Trafford Road, northeast of Naples, about 35 minutes from Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) via Naples-Immokalee Road. 904-487-3794     

Lowdermilk Park
Gulf Shore Boulevard at Banyan Boulevard, Naples. This fun-lovers' Gulf-front park has 1,000 feet of sandy beach, outdoor showers, volleyball, playground, two gazebos, shaded pavilion, picnic tables and concessions. Handicapped users are accommodated by a special beach access and restrooms, and free use of wheeled surf chairs. 941-434-4698   

Naples Municipal Beach
Around the 1,000-foot Naples Fishing Pier stretches a lovely, white-sand beach perfect for strolling and sunning. Facilities include concessions and metered parking. 

Naples Municipal Fishing Pier & Beach
West end off 12th Avenue South, Naples. The pier is the focal point of Naples Beach and is a historic gathering spot for locals and visitors alike. The city of Naples provides a blanket-fishing license for the pier, so everyone with a fishing pole is welcome to try his or her luck. A bait shop is located right on the pier. The pier is the best front row seat in town for stunning sunsets. Just one block east is the charming shopping and restaurant district Third Street South. The pier is open 24 hours and concessions are open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. 941-774-8171   

Tigertail Beach, Marco Island
Entrance Located at the Intersection of Spinnaker Dr. and Hernando Dr., Marco Island. Tigertail Beach is Marco Island’s public beach and a favorite with visitors and residents. Excellent shelling is available on the Gulf shore as well as in the vast tidal pool area. Fishing from the beach and tidal areas is excellent. 

Vanderbilt Beach, Naples 
A superb beach for family fun and beach activities located conveniently between Delnor-Wiggins and Clam Pass. Within the park is a tropical coastal hammock, so bring the binoculars for great bird and wildlife watching. Parking is $3.
 
Veterans Community Park
1900 Immokalee Road, Naples. An outdoor in-line roller hockey rink, and facilities for tennis, racquetball, baseball and volleyball. 941-566-2367