Getting away from Florida's crowded east coast for a long weekend or more in the car, and heading to the state's beautiful west coast around Naples, residents of the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale region have to choose between Alligator Alley and the Tamiami Trail. Each bears a more prosaic name, I-75 for the alley (a toll road) and US 41 for the trail, and each has different characteristics. The Interstate route can be faster, being a real superhighway all the way between its eastern terminus in Ft. Lauderdale and Naples. US 41, whose trail portion runs between Miami and Naples, is only two-lane for quite a bit of the way, and seems less hectic, with arguably fewer trucks.
What they both have in common is alligators and plenty of them. On a recent trip westward along the Tamiami Trail, I spied hundreds of the beasts looking appropriately menacing, stretched out along the canal that borders the road most of the way. Since the canal lies along the road's northern edge, the alligators usually bask on its banks opposite the highway, making them very easy to spot. At times, they seemed to be stationed about ten yards apart, no doubt due to their protective sense of territorial domain. In addition to gators, you'll see flocks of long-legged heron, ducks and anhinga ("snakebirds").
An important note: because the canal on the Tamiami Trail runs along the north side of the road, alligators, ducks and herons can best be seen on that side. The choice viewing point, therefore, is in the right-hand seats going west, the left-hand seats going east. This also applies to I-75, Alligator Alley.
The driving time from either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale to Naples (107 miles) is just over two hours, unless you stop to view the wildlife or indulge in lunch (see "Where to Dine" later in this article), which you most certainly should do. There's a "station" (many of them abandoned) every eight miles, devised by the builders of the road when they blasted through rock to create a canal, then made a road out of the canal's residue running alongside. The stations still in use boast occasional gas stands, restaurants, Native American gift shops, and even the road to a casino operated by the Miccosukee tribe.
Big Cypress National Preserve is the highlight, with a visitor center about midway along the trail. The trees aren't big (the older ones wer cut down for lumber years ago), so the "Big" refers to the size of this swamp, 2400 square miles. It consists of sandy islands of pine, tree islands of mixed hardwood, endless marshes and acres of mangrove forests. If you get out of your car and walk through the preserve, you will see orchids and every kind of subtropical plant. However, most visitors look for the animals, which include the ubiquitous alligators (look for them sunning on their favored cast-iron culverts), woodpeckers, wild turkeys, deer, bald eagles, herons and the ibis. In the preserve, you can hike, take a short nature walk, canoe, bicycle or camp out, and you can see plenty in your car if you take the side roads off the highway. Contact the Visitors Center at Box 11, Ochopee Fl 33141, tel. 941/695-4111.
Also at Ochopee is "the smallest post office building in the US," 70 miles west of Miami and 35 miles east of Naples. The post office, about the size of a small tool shed, is staffed daily. Hundreds of people stop just to buy and mail postcards in Ochopee, coming away with a special handstamped cancellation to prove they were there.
The Miccosukee Cultural Center on US 41 is not as elaborate as similar places in the western USA, so is worth a stop only if you are interested specifically in this tribe. (Their casino is nearby, enough said.)
By the way, although I recommend stopping at the few turnoffs or wide spaces where it is possible for a quiet look at wildlife (many will come quite close to the car, about 20 feet, perhaps), don't do so at dusk--that's when the mosquitoes turn out in large numbers. In summer, they can also be too numerous for comfort at some stops, such as the Kirby Storter Park just west of the Visitor Center.
You might see manatee at one of the mammal's favorite spots, where US 41 crosses the Union Canal, west of Carnestown.
Everglades City is a peculiar once-upon-a-time company town, just south of the Tamiami Trail from Carnestown on State Highway 29 (about four miles). You are on the edge here of the Ten Thousand Islands and actually inside the Everglades National Park, with good views of the Gulf of Mexico. This is the area where the Seminole Indians originated and the movie Just Cause was filmed. This little town seems huge when compared to Chokoloskee (five miles south) which you should visit just to see the Smallwood Family Store (tel. 941/695-2989), now maintained as a museum in exactly the condition it was during its operations from 1902 to 1982. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and deserves that ranking. Open daily year round, admission $2.50.
Also in this city is the Museum of the Everglades, open daily except Sundays, Mondays and holidays. You'll find artifacts about the Seminole and other people who cultivated this area. They're at 105 West Broadway, phone 941/695-0008. Suggested donation is $2.
Activities range from airboat rides through the Everglades to fishing, canoeing, biking and more. Here are just a few of the many available "adventure" suggestions:
R.J. Cypress (Ralph Jimison) offers off-road hiking in the Big Cypress Swamp. Jimison, a certified arborist, guides you (and your camera) on day treks to see orchids, plants, animals, reptiles and birds. You can call him at 941/596-5141 or send an e-mail to rbj3876@aol.com. The cost varies depending on the number of persons in your party and duration.
You can hire a boat for a private tour (90 minutes) to visit the only Manatee sanctuary in southwest Florida by phoning Captain Barry K at 941/674-8818. The regular cost is $70 for two persons, additional persons $15 each, kids under 6 only $54. If you pick up their brochure showing a $20 discount at a visitors center, the cost is only $50 for two persons. The sanctuary is off US 41 west of Everglades City 11 miles.
Regular excursions into the Everglades are available for half-day ($59) or full-day ($79) safaris, departing daily from Naples or Marco Island year-round. You cruise through the jungle, perhaps seeing alligators, manatees, blue heron, bald eagles or osprey. In Everglades City, you can visit the Rod & Gun Club and have a lunch of conch fritters, hush puppies, gator nuggets or blue crab claws, then take an airboat trip through the Ten Thousand Islands, and end up at the Big Cypress Preserve. For more information, contact Everglades Excursions (tel. 800/592-0848 or 941/262-1914).
The highlight of any trip to Naples, and a reason for making the journey altogether, is a visit to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the largest operation run by the National Audubon Society nationwide. For $8 (adults), you can walk through a brand-new (as of December 2000) visitor center (with gift shop, light show and restroom facilities) onto a 2 1/4-miles boardwalk (there's a shorter version, don't worry) that takes you meandering through pine flatwoods, open prairie and finally into the largest forest of ancient bald cypress in North America. The trees here tower 130 feet into the air, and are sometimes as wide as 25 feet. You'll see hundreds of birds of at least a dozen species, and maybe alligators, otters, black bears, deer or turtles.
There are over 200 bird species here, including the green heron and the anhinga, and all sorts of other critters. At stations along the walk, you can sit and listen quietly to the singing of birds or watch for gators and turtles. Open daily. Discounted admission for Audubon members and college students, kids 6 to 18 pay $3.50, under six, free. They're at 375 Sanctuary Road West, Naples FL 34120, phone 941/348-9151.
You can take a cruise on the Sweet Liberty, a 53-foot catamaran, out of Naples perhaps going shelling on Key Island (3 hours, $35), sightseeing or just watching the sunset (2 hours each, $25). The cost for children on all sailings is $15. Contact them at tel. 941/793-3525 or e-mail sailing@sweetliberty.com.
Sightseeing tours on the Naples Trolley can be had if you don't like walking, but I think it's much better to amble around Olde Naples on your own. ("Olde" in Naples means since 1888, by the way.) There really isn't much worth seeing, unless you definitely like shopping, which ranges from the moderate to the expensive, with very little in the way of inexpensive at all. (The city claims to have more billionaires than any other place on earth, a fact that nobody around could verify for me.) The Palm Cottage (1895) at 137 12th Avenue South is the only building that is on the National Register of Historic Places listed in the suggested walking tour outlined by the Third Street South Business Group. Also of interest is the Naples Pier, originally built in 1888, on the beach at the end of the same street.
Everglades City Hotels
Try the charming Banks of the Everglades B&B, located in Collier County's first bank, built in 1923. The rates are $70 to $80 for a double room on the first floor, with bath down the hall. Suites cost more, of course. You have a complimentary full (and big) breakfast in the vault and can relax in the library or on the sun deck. The owners, Bob Flick and Patty Richards, might tell you about the time after the 1962 hurricane when the money in the vault got soaked, so they pinned more than a million dollars onto a clothesline to dry out, keeping watch all night "to prevent any unwanted withdrawals." If you pick up their brochure at a visitor center along the highway, you might find a voucher inside giving you a $5 discount on your first night's stay. There are nine units at 241 West Broadway, Everglades City FL 34139, phone 888/431-1977 or 941/695-3151, fax 941/695-3335, e-mail patty@banksoftheeverglades.com.
The Ivey House B&B has ten rooms, all sharing bathrooms (separate for men and women) down the hall, with winter prices (November 1 through April 15) of only $50 for a double. The house is headquarters to David Harraden's North American Canoe Tours company, which provides guided canoe adventures in the Everglades National Park. Baron Collier, the man who founded the county bearing his name, built the Tamiami Trail back in the 1920s and used this house as a recreational center for the workers on the highway project. In addition to the cheaper rooms, there's a two-bedroom cottage available for $85. Breakfast is included in the rates, as are bicycles when available. Dinners are served family style in the evening, ranging from $10 to $15. Closed from May 1 through October 31. Contact them at 107 Camellia Street, Everglades City FL 34139, phone 941/695-3299, fax 941/695-4155, e-mail sandee@iveyhouse.com.
Naples Hotels
Naples is an expensive town to sleep in, and residents know this well in the "billionaire" city, so our hotel prices are not as low as we would like. Be sure to pick up brochures and fliers at visitor centers along the Tamiami Trail to take advantage of the discounts and coupons therein. If you are arriving without a reservation, don't forget to ask the front desk for their best discounted rate and say "or we may have to look elsewhere."
Best Western Naples In-Town Resort, Number 2329 on US 41, phone 800/243-1148 or 941/261-1148. You can sleep up to four persons in a $69 room from Christmas Day until January 31, after which the rates creep upward. They say they are the only hotel in Naples to offer the following free amenities for all rooms: deluxe continental breakfast, in-house 350-video library, highspeed T1 Internet & computer access, in-room coffee makers and safes, electronic door locks, 27" and 32" remote TVs with VCR, 70-channel cable including HBO and Disney, private balconies overlooking gardens, an exotic koi pond, two oversized heated pools and whirlpools in the gardens, microwave, refrigerator, ironing board with iron and a hairdryer. The beach, a mall, and restaurants are all within walking distance.
Red Roof Hotel, 1925 Davis Boulevard, Naples FL 34104, phone 800/RED ROOF or 941/774-3117, fax 941/775-5333. This chain hotel, just half a mile from Olde Naples near the airport, offers a pool, whirlpool, and laundry. Rates for two persons are $55 to $110, depending on season.
Staybridge Suites, affiliated with Holiday Inn, is offering its studio suite rooms sleeping up to four persons for only $69 through mid January. Facilities include a pool, whirlpool, and VCRs in the rooms. A deluxe continental breakfast is part of the rates, as is a complimentary sundowner social (mid-week only). You also get free local calls and a Chickee Hut on the premises. They're at 4805 Tamiami Trail North, tel. 888/558-8002 or 941/643-8002.
Only during the off-season (April 16 to December 20) is the Comfort Inn a budget-priced hotel, with standard double rooms going for $65 to $75 ($99 to $109 from January 3 to 31). It's right on the bay, and is as close to deluxe as you can get at these prices. The amenities include a big heated pool, free deluxe continental breakfast, and free cookies each afternoon. The beach is just half a mile away. Kids under-18 free when accompanied by an adult. 1221 Fifth Avenue, Naples FL 34102, phone 800/382-7941 or 941/649-5800, fax 941/649-0523, e-mail cin.sales@comfortinnnaples.com.
If you want to splurge, I recommend the brand new Hotel Escalante, practically downtown in Olde Naples. It's a converted motel, but beautifully upgraded to deluxe standards and arranged nicely around a big pool and whirlpool. Double bedrooms are $130 in the off-season only (June through September), kids under 12 stay free in same room with an adult. Part of the new Coral Collection group of hotels, it features an amazing garden on its 4.4 acres, with rare Japanese satake palms, night blooming jasmine, Samoan sunshine trees, and more than 200 individually labeled varieties of tropical and native specimens. Complimentary deluxe breakfast, afternoon tea, nighttime snacks are included in the room rate. Contact them at 290 Fifth Avenue South, Naples FL 34102, phone 877/485-3466 or 941/659-3466, fax 941/262-8748, e-mail hotelesc@earthlink.net.