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A haven for a variety of endangered and protected species, Southwest Florida is a scenic destination encompassing pristine barrier islands such as Sanibel and Captiva; the western part of the Everglades; Big Cypress National Preserve and the uninhabited Ten Thousand Islands region.
Here, too, are tranquil Charlotte Harbor, the gulf islands of Anna Maria and Longboat Key, easygoing Arcadia and the placid Peace and Myakka Rivers, favorites with nature l overs and those who like the quiet charm of old Florida. It’s also home to culture-rich Sarasota, historic Fort Myers, leisurely Bradenton and unhurried Naples.
Wildlife abounds in the waters and on land. Visitors may spot American bald eagle, crested carcara, snail kite and whooping cranes along inland roads. Roseate spoonbills and manatees are seen at the Commodore Creek Canoe Trail, a one and a half-mile waterway  passing through lush mangrove forests. Red-cockaded woodpecker colonies are found at the Babcock/Webb Wildlife Management Area. The Big Cypress National Preserve, the starting point of the Florida National Scenic Trail, protects the state’s largest population of the endangered Florida panther. Many of Florida’s 3,500 wildflower species bring out the butterflies in the Southwest region, while the beaches are home to endangered loggerhead sea turtles during nesting season. Featuring 500-year-old virgin bald cypress, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary often hosts America’s largest colony of rare nesting wood storks in America. At Sanibel Island’s J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, more than 290 bird species are sighted annually. Immokalee’s Lake Trafford reputedly has Florida’s densest population of American alligator, easily spotted from an airboat. Manatees can be spotted in a number of places, including Leffis Key and Emerson Point on Snead Island in the Bradenton area.
Much of Florida’s agricultural industry—citrus, sugar cane, beef cattle, tropical fruits and commercial fishing—is based in this region. Visitors driving through Moore Haven and Clewiston from November through March can see sugar cane fields being burned and harvested. This region is also the center of Florida’s citrus and beekeeping industries. Great rivers mix with the Gulf of Mexico’s salt to provide a nursery for sport fishing and top-notch shell collecting. Lake Okeechobee hosts world-class largemouth bass fishing tournaments.
There are unique historical attractions in Southwest Florida, including the winter estates of inventor Thomas Edison and automobile magnate Henry Ford in Fort Myers; the Koreshan State Historic Site in the Bonita Springs area, home to a religious sect in the 1890s; and the Gamble Plantation State Historic Site, the only remaining antebellum plantation home in peninsular Florida.
So many cultural venues are located in Sarasota that it’s called Florida’s Cultural Coast. Art galleries abound in downtown Sarasota, on St. Armands Circle and on Venice Main Street. Towles Court is an artist-in-residence neighborhood of renovated Florida vernacular-style cottages from the 1920s and ’30s. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, a gift to Florida from circus magnate John Ringling, houses a spectacular collection of 17th century Baroque art and includes beautifully landscaped grounds overlooking Sarasota Bay, and an intriguing Museum of the Circus. |
