CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trails

Andrea C

August 2022 - My world changed! My daughter decided she was going to do the 12-mile walk (really hike is more appropriate) on her own, but I had a bad day and begged to come along to have physical exertion drown mental pain! It was the best thing I ever did! So here is the up-to-date novel...sorry, review: If you like alligators, DO IT! We must have visually encountered 30 plus from tiny babies to rather large moms. Never mind the constant communication between adult gators! VISITOR BE AWARE that the path you are walking is a fairly narrow path in the middle of a massive alligator habitat!!! It is GORGEOUS, but you will be wading through knee-deep water on more than one occasion! The clear flows of the water feel delightful and if the imminent danger of alligators had not been ever present, I would have loved to just sit and dangle my legs in for a while. We also saw hawks, a rather confused raccoon and a combative crayfish! There are 3 minor concerns where I would have deducted half a star and they are as follows: 1. There is a stretch of approximately 5-6 miles without any bench at all, only way to rest is to sit on the ground, which felt discomforting due to aforementioned gators all around. I was overjoyed when we hit the clearing with the big tree and the bench! 2. The parts of the walk are marked A-E , E leading back to B at approximately 10 miles. There are signs where each stretch begins, which is great...however, there was nothing for E, so we had to guess that as where we were! Stretch E is a little scary, probably due to the fact that we did not consider that we were in alligator mating/baby and wet season. Stretch E at that time of the year is more or less level with the swamp, 50/50 water/grass walking with alligator flags higher than us (I am 5'7") and jurassic lizards (aka gators) chatting all around us, unseen, but close. 3. Although the information at the start of the walk is concise, I feel maybe a little extra mention should be given to mating season and stretch E. All else was amazing! How did it change my life? Longest walk I had done before this was about 10 miles, but many years ago when I was young. THIS walk I did as an unfit person aged 61 on 3 hours of sleep without breakfast (don't worry, my daughter bought drinks, electrolyte stuff and I had an apple with me for nibbling), in a very negative mood. AND I DID IT, I MANAGED ALL OF IT! My outlook on exercise, nutrition and what I am capable of doing has changed drastically! All thanks to Rookery Swamp!!! Go do it!! 2019 - Even though it was crazy windy, cold and overcast, bird viewing was great from the moment we got to the parking lot. We did not have close alligator encounters due to the temperature, but there were a couple of nice young ones posing attractively on a raft for the visitors. Will definitely be back...possibly with my bike too. Very positive discovery!

Chris S

I hiked the full 12 miles for reference. When the trail forks I suggest starting by taking the right trail. The left trail fork is substantially more rugged and that half of the trail has streams of water crossing the path that can be close to knee deep with no way around. I brought approximately 2 liters of water and drank it all by the end. If you're doing the full loop I'd also bring sunscreen and bug spray for the mosquitoes. The earlier in the morning you can start the better.

Natalia Pérez

👌🏻

Chris Haddon

Great birding and wildlife watching including Florida Panther tracks, and a Diamondback rattler