May-Oct Wed-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat-Sun 9am-4:30pm
This is the nearest access to the raw, wet nature that Florida struggles to keep in its grasp. Vast and often forbidding, the 146,000-acre preserve is best seen by guided tour. Stop first at the visitor center at the refuge’s south end and experience its audio visual programs. Walking and canoe trails introduce you to its rare ecology.