Watch out for loggerhead turtles on Barefoot Beach in North Naples
Barefoot Beach is another wonderful place we can go here in Naples to enjoy nature, the beach and the Gulf of Mexico. However, when you arrive you may be greeted with traffic slowed a bit while a loggerhead turtle makes his way across the highway. The turtles seem to love the area to make their nests which are protected and watched over by local volunteers. The survival rate is only 1 in a 1000 for the young hatchlings to reach adulthood so please be careful.
Photos ©Rick Bethem
Barefoot Beach Preserve is a 342 acre barrier island in North Naples. It is one of Southwest Florida’s most beautiful and fragile natural areas. Besides the beach, you can take a canoe trail that circles approximately 1.5 miles through an estuarine mangrove forest. The mangroves offer ideal nesting sites for birds. You might see yellow crowned night herons, roseate spoonbils, and white ibis. Keep your eyes open for bald eagles, and of course…the local turtles.
To schedule a Park Ranger guided canoe trip, you can contact the North Collier Regional Park at 239-254-4060.