National Wildlife Refuge Trail 2 (Marsh Trail loop)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 2.93 nm
- Elevation gain
- 3 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 3 ft
- Max elevation
- 32 ft
- TrailRank
- 22
- Min elevation
- -19 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Coordinates
- 292
- Uploaded
- May 24, 2020
- Recorded
- May 2020
near Royal Palm Hammock, Florida (United States)
Viewed 24 times, downloaded 0 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
The National Wildlife Refuge sits on the south side of US-41 and runs from Collier Seminole State Park about 5 miles to Port of the Islands. In that 5 mile stretch there are 4 canoe trails headed south into the marshes. The trails are navigable only during wet season or after heavy rains. Two trails, 1 and 3 are accessible from the roadside. Trail 4 is protected by a guardrail, and Trail 2 is accessible from a 20-car parking lot at the “Marsh Trail”.
This is my personal favorite paddle. Water has to be high just to paddle south from the parking area, and then you have to port across the Marsh Trail just north of the observation tower. Technically NWR Trail 2 goes East from there, but you'll head south along the Marsh Trail. The canoe trail is unmarked so pay attention. From here on it's open water, mangrove island groves, tunnels, and hard to find cuts that may still have some of our faded flagging. At the mid-way point you can turn toward the pad landing at the end of the Marsh Trail.
The cleared pad is about 2 acres in the middle of a 6 acre tract circled by an excavated canal. Bring bug spray and a large swatter for deer flies.
The way back is through interconnected lakes, across marshes, through groves of mangrove islands and through tight tunnels. Again, pay attention. When you see the observation tower you're near the end. Enjoy!
This is my personal favorite paddle. Water has to be high just to paddle south from the parking area, and then you have to port across the Marsh Trail just north of the observation tower. Technically NWR Trail 2 goes East from there, but you'll head south along the Marsh Trail. The canoe trail is unmarked so pay attention. From here on it's open water, mangrove island groves, tunnels, and hard to find cuts that may still have some of our faded flagging. At the mid-way point you can turn toward the pad landing at the end of the Marsh Trail.
The cleared pad is about 2 acres in the middle of a 6 acre tract circled by an excavated canal. Bring bug spray and a large swatter for deer flies.
The way back is through interconnected lakes, across marshes, through groves of mangrove islands and through tight tunnels. Again, pay attention. When you see the observation tower you're near the end. Enjoy!
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