Where to Spot Wildlife in Naples, Marco Island and The Everglades

With its beautiful landscapes and ideal weather, it’s no wonder that Florida’s Paradise Coast is a popular destination among wildlife enthusiasts. From the vast Everglades National Park to the serene Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, this region is home to a multitude of species, including alligators, pelicans, dolphins, and more!

Whether you’re looking to spot the migratory birds that visit Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades each winter or are trying to witness an elusive panther in the wild, here are some of the top places in Paradise to see a variety of awe-inspiring fauna.

THE EVERGLADES & TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS

The iconic Everglades National Park and secluded Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge preserve the crucial mangrove forests that provide habitats for 80 percent of all the area's marine creatures at some point in their lives. Additionally, they’re home to more than 100 species of birds!

To find sea creatures, book a fishing guide out of Everglades City. For kayak fishing and exploring the Wilderness Waterway, charter a tour from Everglades Area Tours. During this experience, you and your gear are transported deep into the Everglades National Park and Ten Thousand Islands, where you can fish for snook, redfish, and tarpon in remote waters.

This excursion offers a comfortable and efficient way to access otherwise unreachable fishing spots without having to do all the paddling! Plus, your guided experience includes options for beach breaks and personalized fishing paces.

For birding, consider booking a private Everglades Birding Tour with Tour The Glades. Explore diverse habitats through a mix of morning hikes, wilderness drives, and kayak excursions, targeting specific bird species of interest.

After a lunch break and a quick visit to Everglades City, the tour continues with a motorboat journey into the Ten Thousand Islands, providing opportunities to see hundreds of birds returning to roost at sunset. Remember, when planning your birdwatching outing, go at feeding time for the best viewing—usually mornings or low tide—and in the winter, when migratory birds fly in, and drought concentrates food supplies.

North of the mangroves—where fresh water and islands of land rise from the marshes—alligators, deer, Florida panthers, raccoons, snakes, and turtles thrive. Airboat tours with companies like Wooten’s and Captain Jack’s take you to see gators in the so-called "river of grass" marshes. However, keep in mind that you won’t likely spy the rare and wary panther here!

BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE

You never know just which animals you might encounter in Big Cypress National Preserve, which borders Everglades National Park and offers an easy opportunity for spotting gators. Florida’s largest reptile, the American alligator, dwells here in abundance, as do birds like anhingas, egrets, and herons. Merely driving along Tamiami Trail (Highway 41), you can spy gator snouts poking from canals that border the road!

On your Big Cypress adventure, you may also catch a glimpse of river otters, bobcats, black bears, and even the endangered Florida panther. However, how you choose to explore is up to you: sign up for a guided eco-tour and venture into the swamp atop an airboat, paddle up close in a kayak, or maybe even ride gondola-style in a traditional pole boat.

If you’d rather walk, scope out Southwest Florida’s diverse wildlife from the shaded boardwalk at Kirby Storter Roadside Park, meander along the viewing platform at H.P. Williams Roadside Park, or hike along the Florida National Scenic Trail (you’ll find the trailhead at Oasis Visitor Center on Tamiami Trail). Guided hikes and swamp-walking tours are also available, running each year during the winter tourist season.

FAKAHATCHEE STRAND PRESERVE

In addition to the boardwalk at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, experience nature along the 11-mile (one-way) Janes Scenic Drive, which ends in Picayune State Forest. You’ll stroll through stands of native royal palms, and you might see roseate spoonbills, egrets, and white ibises feeding in the water. Trails off the road let you in for hiking. To really get into the wetland scene, ask about swamp walk tours led by park biologists to explore this unique ecosystem that is home to scores of rare orchids and bromeliads.

AUDUBON CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCTUARY

Located 30 minutes northeast of Naples, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is home to a nesting colony of endangered wood storks. Its renowned 2.25-mile boardwalk winds through pine flatwoods, wet prairies, and marshes, ultimately reaching North America's largest old-growth bald cypress forest.

As far as wildlife goes, you’ll see alligators, sometimes deer and otters–and if you look closely–claw marks from Florida bears on trees and scat from bobcats on the boardwalk. Additionally, the sanctuary is popular for birding, providing a home to species such as black-crowned night herons, white ibises, roseate spoonbills, limpkins, and red-bellied woodpeckers. Along your walk, knowledgeable Boardwalk Naturalists are often available to enrich the experience by pointing out sights and sounds unique to the swamp.

Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

This vast resource near Marco Island–a local secret of recreational fishermen and paddlers–boasts 110,000 protected acres accessible via a small boat launch. Keep an eye out for the over 150 species of birds that make this reserve their home, including roseate spoonbills, egrets, and herons.

Inside the Environmental Learning Center here, you can deep dive into the mangroves and their inhabitants. Plus, you’ll even get to meet some of the local marine life in the touch tank! Walk the Snail Trail or sign up for an exciting eco-tour via boat or kayak to get an up-close look at the reserve while accompanied by a local biologist.

WILDLIFE CRUISES

On any given day, you'll likely spot dolphins if you’re close enough to the water! However, the best tour guides have a deep understanding of feeding habits and tidal patterns, allowing them to quickly locate these sea creatures. For example, book a cruise on the Dolphin Explorer to travel with the 10,000 Island Dolphin Study Team in search of local bottlenose dolphins.

On the other hand, if you prefer manatees, Paradise offers specialized tours to spot them in the wild, too! Manatee Sightseeing & Wildlife Adventures is the way to go for this particular mammal. Other tour operators will help you locate fish, shells, and birds. Keewaydin Island, Coconut Island, and the rookery islands around Marco Island are particularly popular destinations for shelling and birding.

MORE ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS

Other key spots animal lovers won’t want to miss include the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, which features tons of native and not-so-native wildlife (including giraffes you can feed by hand!), and Naples Botanical Garden, where gopher tortoises and eagles live among the manicured landscapes.

Exploring the incredible fauna in Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades promises an unforgettable adventure filled with awe-inspiring sights and sounds. For the ultimate wildlife experience, only Paradise will do.