Matanzas Pass Preserve - Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Kristina M.

Beautiful and peaceful walk through Ft Myers Beach if you want to see more than just beaches. Information regarding the wildlife is interesting. The boardwalk is very well maintained and fun to watch the fishermen and boats going by.

tyson H.

The majority of our walk was great. The covered area by the water was great. We even saw a dolphin! The primitive trail areas were very wet and muddy and swarming with mosquitoes. We didn't see a lot of wildlife... Lots of sand crabs and lizards. No birds really. If you stick to the boardwalk trails, it's very pleasant.

Christine B.

This was the easiest to walk, most beautiful preserve trail in the Fort Myers Beach area. Behind the Fort Myers Beach Library. Free, free parking, a dock for kayaks, and a bike rack.

The observation deck of Estero Bay is great and we enjoyed all the signs/points of interest along the way. It's one of the few protected areas left on the island. You can stay on the raised, wooden path, or you can take the dirt trails farther in. We had to turn back because the trails were too muddy. We will go back for sure to see the rest when it doesn't rain during the week. No dogs allowed.

JG&A L. F.

Great variation: hiking trails, historic structures, Flora fauna, great views of the bay and Matanzas pass. We saw dolphins too!

The cottage is almost 100 years old and the docent was very informative.

As to the closed trails, there is a 1.5 million dollar restoration plan that is scheduled to start in Fall 2019.

As to the open trails, nice shaded Stroll. Good for everyone in the family.

Glen B.

Nice boardwalk for a quick walk. It's shaded in most areas. If you stick to the loop, it's just under a 1/2 mile walk from the parking area, but if you add the extended boardwalk, which also picks up a portion of dirt trail and loops through other parts of the preserve, you could walk about 1 & 1/2 mile. If there's been rain within a day or two, be prepared to get your shoes a little muddy. The parking is free and there is a large size portolet.

Miranda G.

Nature is always 5 stars. There were tons of lizards and little fiddler crabs all over the walk!had a wonderful time exploring and looking for creatures. Only thing that really sucked was the bugs. They were nasty when we visited in early June so spray some on before your hike! Also although there is signage clearly posted to not bike on the trails we still saw people doing so. Once we got off the boardwalk onto the solid ground trail there were bike tracks that we had to go around which was difficult without going off the path.

Zach F.

Cool little nature park. Saw tons of little crabs and some snakes. Very nice boardwalk which is accessible for those that need it. Some other areas were a little muddy where they didn't have a walkway. Although they did have a large portion of the walkway closed, would've been nice to explore that part.

Larry R.

The new boardwalk is very nice with benches along the way. However, the trail is not completely accessible in the rainy season where the boardwalk isn't built. Be sure to take bug spray for the wet areas.