PARKS & OUTDOORS
Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve
Lee County · Gulf Coast
Three hundred and sixty-five acres of mangrove and coastal prairie on the Caloosahatchee River at 2500 Southeast 24th Street, Cape Coral.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
It is the second largest preserve in a city otherwise laid out almost entirely in canals and building lots, which is what makes it worth the detour. A loop of about a mile and a quarter runs partly on boardwalk through the mangrove fringe, with observation platforms and benches set where there is something to look at. Red and black mangroves grow along the water and the prairie behind them floods on the high tides. Birders rate it highly for wading birds and migrants, and the fishing from the river observation deck is open to anyone. Kayaks are rented on weekends from November through May, though they have to be carried about eight hundred feet down the trail to the water, which is worth knowing before turning up with children. There is a visitor building with restrooms. Dogs are not permitted, and food, drink and bicycles are not allowed on the trail. It opens at eight in the morning and closes at dusk, and there is no charge
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