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Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve: Free, wild & five minutes off I-75

FORT MYERS — Next time you travel Florida’s west coast on I-75, take a five minutes detour in Fort Myers to discover a magnificent slice of old Florida – a 1.2 mile boardwalk through an unspoiled cypress swamp called Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.

It is a hidden treasure three miles off the highway and, even better, it’s free.

A family at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers.
A family at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers. (Photo: David Blasco

Six Mile Slough is a stop along the Great Florida Birding Trail. Some liken it to the much larger Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a Naples site owned by the Audubon Society, where entry is $17 for adults.

If you are taking a break from I-75, Six Mile Cypress Slough is handy because it also has restrooms and shaded picnic tables. (The only charge is for parking at $1 an hour.)

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers
Subtle beauty at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers.

There is a well-done nature center with interactive exhibits. While children will especially enjoy the nature center, adults who are new to Florida’s environment will learn a few things too.

The boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough

You could stroll the boardwalk in an hour. But be warned: Once you enter the quiet, lovely world of Six Mile Cypress Slough, you will want to pause and linger. We meant to make ours a quick stop. Two hours later, we left promising to return and spend more time.

The boardwalk has two loops with many benches and one spot set up as a blind for better wildlife viewing. It is shady and largely mosquito-free even in summer, thanks to the hungry Gambusia, or mosquito fish, that inhabit the waters.

Ferns, lichen, cypress and airplants add beauty to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers.
Ferns, lichen, cypress and airplants add beauty to Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

The Six Mile Slough boardwalk takes you through about 80 acres of the nine-mile long, 3,420-acre slough. About a third-mile wide, the slough is a wide, slow-moving river that eventually empties into Estero Bay.

In addition to saving a pristine cypress swamp, the Six Mile Cypress Slough serves as a natural corridor through which wildlife can travel. (In recent years, a Florida panther was frequenting the slough but is believed to have been hit by a car and killed.)

Wildlife seen through opening in a blind at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers.(Photo: Bonnie Gross)
Wildlife seen through opening in a blind at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers.(Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Along the boardwalk, you pass lakes (formed by dredging for nearby roads) where you might spot alligators. The cypress slough swamp is lush with a variety of ferns but the stars of the place are the gnarly old cypress trees,  garlanded with airplants.

On our walk, we saw a gator, many turtles, herons, anhingas, cardinals and gar. Big, bright Pileated Woodpeckers are frequently seen, along with dozens of other types of birds.

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve was saved by the children

The preserve is litter-free and has abundant volunteer support. That’s no surprise, considering that saving the slough was a grassroots effort led by idealistic young people.

It’s a great story. It was 1976, the height of the building boom that swept across South Florida. Acre by acre, the wild places that existed in Florida forever were being logged, paved and lost.

The nature center at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers.
The nature center at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

A group of Lee County students in an environmental science class saw that Six Mile Slough was likely to be next and began a campaign to save it.

Lee County voters eventually voted overwhelmingly to raise their taxes to purchase and preserve Six Mile Slough. The boardwalk finally opened in 1991.

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

  • Physical Address for Navigation: 7751 Penzance Blvd, Fort Myers, FL, 33966
  • Boardwalk: Open seven days per week, dawn until dusk
  • Guided Walks: Double-check the schedule at the website. December – April: Daily at 9:30 a.m.; December – March: May – November: Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. NOTE: Please arrive 30 minutes early to register at the boardwalk entrance.
  • Friends of Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve website
  • 239-533-7550
  • Directions: From I-75, exit 131 (SR 876, Daniels Parkway) south of Fort Myers, drive 2.7 miles west on SR 876 and turn right (north) on SR 865 (Six Mile Cypress Parkway.) Entrance is about two miles on right.
  • Interpretive Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Mondays.
  • Parking is $1 an hour; $5 maximum. Meters accept credit cards. Proceeds helps pay for programs and maintenance.
There are thought-provoking and inspirational signs sprinkeled along the boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers
Thought-provoking signs are sprinkled along the boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

While traveling I-75, consider these nearby activities:

 


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James Jordan

Sunday 12th of March 2023

February 12, post-Ian: have been here many times, and went back to see if Ian caused any damage. Happy to report that it weathered the hurricane. Water levels have receded, boardwalks and huts are in good shape. We dawdled it out to a 1.5 hour walk, but most people do it in an hour or less, so combine it with a trip to the Fort Meyers "historic district" (shops and eateries, really) and waterfront. Took old 41 thru Bonita Springs, which is slower but worth it for a change of pace.

Bonnie Gross

Sunday 12th of March 2023

What good news! Thank you!

Edward Lender

Sunday 2nd of January 2022

Been there many times. Always see something different and a very nice walk.

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