Collier Seminole State Park

Collier Seminole State Park offers a great spot from which to base many adventures on the western edge of the Everglades. With so much water around, it is apparent that you are in the middle of a swamp, and the traffic noise from the Tamiami Trail is always present, but all in all, I’d recommend this park with no hesitation at all. It is clean, clean, clean. There are some interesting features (the last remaining Bay City Walking Dredge, the Barron Collier memorial, a replicated Seminole village) and a great location for exploring Ten Thousand Islands, Big Cypress, National Panther Wildlife Refuge, and more. You might even run across a skunk ape, but that’s doubtful. What you are guaranteed, though, is a wide variety of natural wonders, and maybe even a glimpse of heaven.

The Campground

The campground is split into two loops; one is for tents and small campers and the other for RVs. The tent loop offers good-sized sites, mostly shaded. Each site has a picnic table (we moved ours) power, water, and a fire ring with a grill shelf. There was a board nailed up between two posts that we used to hang towels on. We were on campsite 3 and found it a bit small for two tents and an SUV, but we were able to get comfortable and enjoy ourselves. This site was the smallest on the loop. I would advise not selecting a tent site next to the bathhouse because the doors slam very loudly and the path leading to the bathhouse is very crunchy gravel. Once you get to the bathhouse, though, you will find it spotlessly clean. In addition to showers and restrooms, you’ll find a washer and dryer, and a dishwashing sink. I wish every campground that caters to tent campers would offer this simple amenity — it is just so much easier to do dishes in a sink with running water! The camp hosts here do a phenomenal job of keeping things spit-spot.

“Running into town” means an 18-mile round trip, so make the most of any trips to town that you must make. You may decide that regular trips to the full-service grocery are worth the time; there is ice available at a small convenience store right outside the campground, but it is expensive ice. Part of what made me willing to pay three times as much for the expensive ice is how friendly the people in the convenience store were. They even laughed with me about their prices, acknowledging that their bread and butter is tired campers who just cannot schlep back into Naples for whatever it is they need. It’s hard to be bitter about that when they are frank and friendly, and that’s just what they were.

Bay City Walking Dredge

A major feature of Collier-Seminole State Park is the Bay City Walking Dredge which you’ll find on the right just after you gain admittance to the Park. This dredge was used in construction of the Tamiami Trail through the Everglades. To build this road required dedication and labor performed under conditions that are hard to imagine. The Everglades, after all, is a swamp, and swamps mean mosquitoes. It’s a Florida swamp, so that means blistering heat. First, heavy Everglades muck had to be removed — by humans working chest deep in said muck. With the muck removed, the limestone could be drilled and blasted. Initially, the limestone was cleared by mules and carts. Eventually, the mules and carts were replaced by walking dredges. The 20-ton walking dredge scooped up the limestone and used it to create the roadbed. As each load was moved, a system of cables and pulleys moved the “feet” of the dredge forward to the next blasted section. In just 30 seconds, the dredge could clear a five-foot section of limestone. It is a huge, powerful machine, and really quite something to see. Whether you consider the Tamiami Trail a marvel of engineering or an environmental nightmare, the work these men and mules and dredges did changed Florida forever.

There is also a monument to Barron Gift Collier, whose vision for southwest Florida led him to make many investments in the area. When it appeared that the Tamiami Trail project was failing, he pledged to finance construction to its completion — if Florida would name a county after him. Collier owned over a million acres of land in the area and had invested millions of dollars, and in 1923, Collier County was created by the Florida Legislature.

As is true at most Florida State Parks, rangers and camp hosts were helpful and friendly. Because this park is so removed from city lights, the sky at night was stunning. I was able to see the Pleiades, which has not been possible for me in a long time. Even more amazing were the early morning stars, which I see less frequently now that I’ve retired. I simply cannot look at a sky like that and not feel God enjoying his creation right alongside me. I’m looking forward to camping here again!