Heritage Highlights

 Naples wasn't always so refined, and at its fringes lurks the wilderness of its youth, refusing to be tamed. Learn about how Naples grew up at the Collier County Museum, 3301 E. Tamiami Trail, where a 1910 logging steam locomotive, a 19th-century trading post, Seminole chickee huts and a vintage swamp buggy recall days not so long ago when this town was created by intrepid hunters and fishermen. The hunters invented the swamp buggy to get them through the Everglades' river of grass. Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Mon. - Fri. and 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sat. Call (239) 774-8476. Today the town keeps the old-time tradition of good ole' boy fun with nationally televised Swamp Buggy Races held three times each year on the Mile O' Mud in Florida Sports Park. Call (239) 774-2701 for dates and directions.

To sink deeper into history, head via Route 951 to Marco Island, northernmost and largest of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, a maze-like domain of mangroves, sand and birds uncountable. Marco once served as an important Calusa Indian headquarters, and diggings in the 1890s revealed crucial cultural artifacts, including the famous Marco Cat statue, held by the Smithsonian Institution.

Follow Route 92 to Highway 41 east and turn south on Route 29 to reach Everglades City. The Museum of the Everglades, 105 Broadway Ave. W., chronicles the building of Highway 41, a.k.a. Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway, which the Federal Highway Administration recently named a National Scenic Byway, through the swamp. Hours: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Tues. - Sat.; call (239) 695-0008.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is the setting for the stranger-than-fiction book 'Orchid Thief' and its spin-off movie 'Adaptation,' starring Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep.

Nature Trek

 At the junction of Route 92 and Highway 41, enter Collier-Seminole State Park for a good introduction to the Everglades environment via boat tours and trails. Hours: 8 a.m. - sunset, daily. Call (239) 394-3397. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, on Janes Memorial Scenic Dr., just west of Copeland off State Road 29, is the setting for the stranger-than-fiction book 'Orchid Thief' and its spin-off movie Adaptation, starring Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep. It provides a boardwalk and bike trail into its wild setting that includes rare, wild orchids. Hours: 8 a.m. - sunset, daily. Call (239) 695-4593.

From Everglades City, travel south on Route 29 to the Gulf Coast entrance of Everglades National Park. Here you can join a narrated boat tour and view the natural history exhibits in the Visitor Center. Hours: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., May 1 - Nov. 1; 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Nov. 2 - Apr. 30. Call (239) 695-3311. The park or private outfitters can set you up for a one-day to week-long paddling excursion along the 100-mile Wilderness Waterway. It's best to attempt this in winter months.

Head north on Route 29 to Immokalee, where Haitian culture prevails and Lake Trafford lures fishermen and nature lovers. Airboats & Alligators at Lake Trafford Marina, 6001 Lake Trafford Rd., can provide the ride. Airboat rides are available 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. Call (239) 657-2401. To the west along Immokalee Road, Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, 375 Sanctuary Rd. W., is one of the most important wood stork nesting sites in the nation. It also boasts one of the largest stands of pure old-growth bald cypress in the U.S. Hours: 7 a.m. - 7:30 p.m., Apr. 11 - Sept. 30; 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Oct. 1 - Apr. 10. Call (239) 348-9151.


Culture Quest

South on Highway 41 brings you to the region's pinnacle of wealth in neatly groomed Naples. It sets standards in haute culture with its Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., the region's premiere venue for the performing arts. Call (239) 597-1900 for the current schedule. The Naples Museum of Art, also at 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., features 15 galleries show-casing a variety of works. Hours: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Tues. - Sat., Noon - 4 p.m., Sun., Oct. - mid-July; call (239) 597-1900. Fifth Avenue South is the main street of Old Naples, and home to galleries fine to funky.