Drafting a checklist for your next meeting? Don’t forget the fresh air and v itamin D. Both are in ample supply along the sunny southwest coast of Florida, a lush slice of the subtropics stretching from Charlotte Harbor down to the Everglades, where swamp trekking, wildlife watching, paddling secluded waterways and cycling through leafy forests are like a sigh of relief after a day spent in seminars.
“Meetings and conferences can be a little stressful, so we’re very fortunate to have a sure-fire stress reducer if you’re looking for something to do when the meetings are done,” says Lorah Steiner, tourism director of the Charlotte Harbor Visitor and Convention Bureau, whose region of protected wildlife preserves, scenic fishing villages and miles of unspoiled waterways is among the state’s most pristine.
Happily for the planner, Charlotte Harbor isn’t alone in boasting abundant natural gifts. Its neighbors to the south, including Fort Myers, Sanibel, Naples and Marco Island, are also home to physical wonders that make wonderful settings for group adventures of every kind.
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades
The Everglades alone would be enough to earn this easygoing enclave at the tip of the peninsula top honors as an eco destination, but there’s more than enough here when it comes to the great outdoors.
“Eighty percent of our county is preserved conservation land or park and agricultural land,” says JoNell Modys, public relations and communications manager for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB. “It’s very peaceful in our cypress swamps and preserves, and many people are invigorated by that.”
One such refuge is the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Blair Audubon Center, a 14,000-acre preserve that is set on the western edge of the Everglades and is home to a 2.25-mile boardwalk trail winding through four native habitats, including the largest forest of ancient, towering bald cypress trees in North America. Just for groups, a private section of the boardwalk leads to a raised wooden amphitheater seating up to 30, with space for a speaker or presenter (but no electricity).
“It has been used mainly for education programs and small weddings,” notes Sally Stein, the sanctuary’s director of public programs. “Also, the Blair Center classroom in our main visitor center seats up to 60 and has tables, chairs and a deck off the side that is handy for receptions.”
Heading toward the coast, where the land meets the Gulf of Mexico and splinters into thousands of islands (Marco Island being the largest), attendees can explore the mangrove forests of the Rookery Bay Reserve via guided kayak tours or trek by land on a number of guided hikes, including the half-mile Snail Trail, which traverses a creek and branches off into two half-mile loops.
Rookery Bay is also home to the 16,500-square-foot Environmental Learning Center, whose classrooms and 140-seat auditorium are available for group gatherings, while an outside lawn can accommodate up to 220 for receptions and dinners.
“We use the indoor space for meetings and workshops throughout the day,” says Amelia Horadam, the center’s manager. “Groups meet in the auditorium, we give them a quick overview, then let them walk around and explore.”
There is also Everglades National Park itself, the only subtropical preserve in North America and part of the largest wetlands ecosystem in the U.S. It’s not exactly a gigantic swamp—there is high ground in the Everglades—but its generally marshy character gives rise to the nickname, “River of Grass.” To say it features wildlife is a major understatement; there are over 200 species of birds and more than 160 animal species here, along with 2,000 plant varieties, many extremely rare. The Everglades are also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles live side by side. If you visit during the cooler winter months, you’ll see the gigantic reptiles sunning themselves on the canal banks. Just say hello from a distance.
At the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City, daily guided boat trips depart for the mangrove estuaries of the Ten Thousand Islands, which trail down toward Florida Bay. In addition, preserve lands adjacent to Everglades National Park provide ranger-led and self-guided tour opportunities, including the Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Collier-Seminole State Park, Picayune Strand State Forest and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, home of the epiphytic ghost orchid made famous through Susan Orlean’s book The Orchid Thief (and subsequent movie, Adaptation).
Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel
A river runs through it in Fort Myers & Sanibel, located just north of Naples and bisected by the mighty Caloosahatchee River, which flows from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. Named for the now-extinct Calusa tribe that paddled dugout canoes in these waters, the Caloosahatchee not only makes a gorgeous tableau for a host of riverfront activities, including those at the historic homes of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, but is part of the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail, which laces through protected Intracoastal waterways and rivers for nearly 200 miles.
“Because this trail meanders everywhere, no matter where you stay, you’re no more than a hop, skip and jump away from the Blueway,” says Betsy Clayton, waterways coordinator for Lee County Parks and Recreation, who helps put kayaking and canoeing excursions together. “All the different aspects of the Blueway play into what meeting planners are looking to accomplish, whether you’re doing team building or just want to build morale,” she says.
Indeed, whether they’re paddling tandem or individually, groups will be using maps and GPS coordinates, found on CalusaBlueway.com, to find their way through the trail system, all while being on the lookout for local birds and animals, including the endangered Florida manatee. Such sightings are all but guaranteed, Clayton says, because of the Blueway’s mostly shallow water levels.
“It’s calm, it’s safe and filled with wildlife,” she says. “So if you only have an hour for kayaking, you’re packing a lot into that hour.”
Canoe and kayak trails are also a feature of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, located just west of Fort Myers Beach on the coastal retreat of Sanibel Island. Named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist who went on to head the U.S. Biological Survey (forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 6,400-acre refuge can be traversed in a variety of ways, including footpath, a four-mile scenic drive and an hour-and-a-half tram ride with a naturalist who points out the park’s history along with its famous residents: alligators, bobcats, crabs and countless bird species.
“In January, February and March, it’s just teeming with birds,” says Toni Westland, the park’s supervisory refuge ranger, who recommends that groups time their visit with low tide for maximum bird action. “You can call our number and get the tide chart,” she says. “That’s when you’re going to see the birds feeding.”
It may be nature at its most basic, but techno also goes eco at Ding Darling with the new iNature Trail, a continuum of signs containing QR (Quick Response) codes that Smartphone users can scan with free downloadable apps.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t get any simpler than collecting shells on the beach, but this favored childhood pastime is still one of the most popular activities along the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, where sands are strewn with some 400 species of multicolored shells, from common scallop and clam shells to exotic tulips, olives, fragile paper fig shells and the rarest of them all, the brown-speckled junonia. Considered a “once in a lifetime” find, stumbling across a junonia will get your picture in the local paper—so a team challenge could very well be in your group’s future.
Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands
North of Fort Myers, you’ll have your pick of eco adventures in Charlotte County, home to barrier island beaches like Stump Pass, where fossilized shark’s teeth frequently wash ashore, and Don Pedro Island State Park, so secluded it’s only accessible by boat, kayak or ferry. A few short miles away, and you’re in another type of Florida altogether at the 90,000-acre Crescent B Ranch, a working cattle farm, where Babcock Wilderness Adventures operates buggy rides through the Telegraph Cypress Swamp. Sightings of the elusive Florida panther have been reported, cracker cattle roam the prairies, and you might be lucky enough to pet a baby alligator.
Babcock can accommodate 150 people at a time (about 40 per vehicle) with advance notice, and also offers a covered picnic area for group functions. “We have all types of groups come in all year long, including corporate and business groups,” notes Sharon Rigby, reservations manager.
Like its neighbors to the south, the Charlotte Harbor area is also a major paddling destination, with almost 200 miles of Blueway Trails mapped for kayakers. Considering that nearly 85 percent of the county’s 830-mile shoreline is protected from development, anyone paddling these waters, especially with a guide, can expect to see an amazing variety of local “residents,” including wild boar, otters, manta rays, horseshoe crabs and hundreds of birds.
Shimmering Charlotte Harbor in particular is popular among novice kayakers and canoeists, as it’s relatively shallow, considering its massive size. In fact, you could probably wade in waist-deep water for up to a hundred yards out.
“The waters are very calm, so you can concentrate on learning about the ecology of our area with our extraordinary guides, instead of worrying about the water,” says Lorah Steiner, tourism director of the Charlotte Harbor Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Even so, if you’d rather let someone else do the rowing, any number of boat tour operators offer fishing and sightseeing excursions, with many, such as the Kingfisher Fleet in Punta Gorda, doing both, including deep-sea and back-bay fishing along with sightseeing and nature cruises on Charlotte Harbor.
“Our fishing trips lend themselves to smaller size groups, up to six on one boat, though with multiple boats, we can accommodate larger groups,” says Ralph Allen, Kingfisher’s captain. “Our excursion boats have a capacity of 80 to 100, depending on what type of trip we’re doing. We’re also available for private charter and can do anything, including meals and parties, whatever the group wants.”
If you’re heading out to open waters, the Charlotte Harbor area “has been named one of the top 10 sailing destinations; we’re a great sailing town,” says Jennifer Huber, public relations manager for the Charlotte Harbor Visitors and Convention Bureau, noting the region’s sailing charters and schools, as well as the Charlotte Harbor Regatta, host organization for the 2012 Combined World Disabled Sailing Championships in January.
