Fakahatchee Strand Preserve - State Park Passport Locations on Waymarking.com

The ghost orchid is among the world's rarest flowers, the star of the popular book The Orchid Thief and the movie Adaptation and is the biggest lure to the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in southwest Florida, the orchid and bromeliad capital of the continent with 44 native orchids and 14 native bromeliad species.

Welcome to the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, “the Amazon of North America.” The Fakahatchee Strand is a linear swamp forest, approximately twenty miles long by five miles wide and oriented from north to south. It has been sculpted by the movement of water for thousands of years and clean fresh water is the key to its existence. Beneath a protective canopy of bald cypress trees flows a slow moving, shallow river or slough that is warmer than the ambient temperature in the winter and cooler in the summer. The buffering effect of the slough and the deeper lakes that punctuate it shield the forest interior from extreme cold temperatures and this fosters a high level of rare and endangered tropical plant species.

The Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park hosts a wide array of habitats and forest types from the wetter swamps and prairies to the drier islands of tropical hardwood hammocks and pine rock lands. Its groves of native royal palms are the most abundant in the state and the ecosystem of the Fakahatchee Strand is the only place in the world where bald cypress trees and royal palms share the forest canopy. It is a haven for wildlife. Florida panthers still pursue white-tailed deer from the uplands across the wetlands. Florida black bears and Eastern indigo snakes, Everglades minks and diamondback terrapins can still be found here. The resident and migratory bird life is spectacular and attracts many enthusiastic visitors.

Not up to the challange? there is always the beautiful boardwalk(N25 56.5090 W81 28.1611). Take a stroll down the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk and step into the interior of the world’s only Bald Cypress-Royal Palm Forest where you’re likely to spot Otter, American Alligators, Florida Box Turtles, and perhaps a Bald Eagle pair and their fledgling chick. And don't forget to visit the Indian village!

*To get your book stamped please go to Collier-Seminole SP**
Collier-Seminole SP N25 59.5243 W81 35.3992

**Information gathered from the Florida State Parks website and personal knowledge**

**Park Rangers and Law Enforcement officers patrol this area, Please DO NOT defile, molest, or POACH in this HIGHLY SENSITIVE AREA, violators will be dealt with swiftly and to the FULL extent of the law!**

Name of Park, Protected Area, or Cultural Location: Fakahatchee Strand Preserve Name of System or Passport Program: Florida State Parks Passport Book Passport Available: No Park Website: [Web Link] Address of Station: P.O. Box 548 Copeland, Florida United States 34137 Parking or Entrance Fee: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
No special instructions, but a picture of yourself or of something unique to that place would be a nice touch.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/17/2018 JASTA 11 visited it 12/26/2013 Skyecat visited it 11/15/2009 Rangergirl141 visited it

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