It’s something that has been in the plans for more than five years: an opportunity to explore the estuarine environment up close and personal, right out the back door of the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center. The observation bridge spanning Henderson Creek, which opened in January, now leads to a new ½-mile walking trail with surface suitable for strollers and wheelchairs, introducing visitors to explore the mysteries of mangroves and pine flatwoods. The new trail, called the “Snail Trail,” encourages explorers to use all their senses to connect intimately with the natural world, meandering slowly like a snail, and includes a boardwalk/viewing platform at the water’s edge. Two more miles of rustic, unsurfaced trails are expected to be open by Thanksgiving.

The immersive experience begins on the mezzanine of the exhibit hall’s second floor. A pedestrian bridge crosses the creek and educational signs lure visitors to explore their surroundings, such as looking down at the water passing under the bridge to see which way it is flowing. Salinity is the name of the game here, and summer rains across the watershed fill the creek with rushing waters, diluting the salinity and triggering creatures of the estuary to reproduce. From the bridge it’s possible to see manatees, tarpon, and even sharks when conditions are right.

The bridge begins to slope down to where the boardwalk meets the ground, immediately following a brief trek through tangled mangroves and moss-laden oaks.  Resurrection ferns, bromeliads, and even orchids can be seen growing along the furrowed cracks of oak tree bark.  Looking up it is easy to see the pockmarks of pileated woodpeckers and other insectivores in the upper reaches of expired pine snags.

Along the Snail Trail it is easy to forget you’re less than ten miles away from the city limits of both Naples and Marco Island.  The trail winds past an old homestead dating back to post-Civil War times when squatters began to farm this rugged terrain.  Evidence of their existence includes a primitive swale system designed to drain the land during driving summer rains, some sanseveria (an ornamental plant commonly associated with early homesteads) and a cement rainwater storage cistern, still intact.  The cistern collected rainwater running off the old home’s roof and stored it through the dry winter months, when it could be used for cooking and watering livestock.

A wonderful bonus along this trail is a narrow boardwalk leading from the trail across the mangrove-fringed creek bank and out over the water.  From there it is even easier to see what lurks in the waters below, from mullet to sheepshead to tarpon. Along the water’s edge, herons and egrets stand sentinel, waiting to grab their next meal.

The mysterious world of old Florida beckons you to explore.  The new trail opened on National Estuaries Day and is open during Environmental Learning Center hours for scheduled guided or self-guided experiences.  Bring a camera, and shoes that can get wet, as the trail is likely to remain soggy until winter dry season begins.