On our March 2020 trip to Florida we explored more of Lovers Key State Park and followed the Black Island and Eagle Trails within the park. These were both short trails which worked well for us as we explored in the mornings and visited Steve’s mom in the afternoon and evenings.
Location
Black Island Trail and Eagle Trail are both located within Lovers Key State Park near Fort Myers Florida, just off of Estero Boulevard. If you want to go for a longer hike, you can also connect to the beach near the trailheads. You can read more about the beach in my recent post, Return to Lovers Key Beach-Ft Myers, Florida.
Black Island Trail
We followed the signs and were able to park near the trailhead. The trailhead is just off the service road, after a small butterfly park. You can’t miss it. The path is well maintained in addition it is a wide packed dirt trail which is easy to walk on.
Black Island Trail circles around Black Island in a lush area of trees, brush and other vegetation with water around the narrow land. You will find benches along the way and scenic views all around. It is a very peaceful walk and there were few people around when we were there mid morning. This trail is a loop trail and is about 2.5 miles in total. Furthermore, there are 3 areas in which you can cut through to the other side and shorten your hike.
Wildlife
This is Florida, so there are alligator warnings throughout the area. I can’t say I was thrilled about this as I really don’t ever want to meet an alligator on a leisurely walk. We did not see any, which was fine by me.
We did come across this little black snake which I believe is an Eastern Indigo snake. He slithered away before I could get a better photo of him.
If you look close you can see a bird up in the tree. He pretty much ignored us.
My favorite was the Gopher Tortoise. These are burrowing turtles and as you can see make a burrow in the ground to protect them from weather and predators. They are known as keystone species because their holes not only provide shelter for themselves but for over 300 other animal species in the area. The turtle in the photo is an adult because of its dark color. A young turtle is a lighter color.
Eagle Trail
The Eagle Trail at Lovers Key Park is also a loop trail. You can access this by following the service road past the Black Island sign. It’s just a short walk to the trailhead which is well marked.
The Eagle Trail is very similar to the Black Island Trail with the lush green trees and also water views. Although this trail is shorter and is about 1.5 miles.
Conclusion
If you are in the Fort Myers, Florida area and looking for a nice hike, Black Island and Eagle Trails in Lovers Key State Park are great choices. In addition it is nice that your hike can be short or long depending on what you are looking to do. With this in mind, both trails together took us about 2 hours.
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Click on the below links for more posts about the Fort Myers Beach, Florida area:
Return to Lovers Key Beach-Ft Myers, Florida March 2021
A morning walk on Fort Myers Beach March 2021
Fun at Fort Myers Beach in Florida Sept 2015
Nice turtle!
I was excited we saw him!!
One thing about Florida hikes, you never have to worry much about hills. Looks like a great place to hike, alligators or no alligators and mostly within a short distance or water at all times. Thanks for sharing Lori. Stay well and have a good weekend. Allan
I actually was thinking about that when I wrote this, no elevation to report! It was more of a relaxing walk than a hike! Have a great weekend too!
I’ve never hiked in Florida before but this looks amazing! I LOVE the tortoise!
It was actually fun! Hopefully when we go visit Steve’s mom again in June we will find some more trails in the area. Kind of fun to do something different! The turtle was a pretty cool find. He was just hanging out as we passed by!
Looks like a wonderful outing!
It was fun!
A nice, easy stroll after all that uphill hiking in Colorado! 🙂
Yes! Although I can’t wait to go back to Colorado!
Hiking doesn’t usually come first to mind when visiting Florida, but your adventures go to show that it’s a possibility– and a beautiful one at best! The tropical vibe gives the hike a unique perspective, as opposed to rocky or pine-forested hikes common more on the West Coast of the US. I appreciate you sharing this hike with us (and in Florida, of all places)!
We were pleasantly surprised at the hiking options. It was too chilly to swim in the golf so I googled hikes near me and these were a couple that came up! Thanks for reading!
Oh wow!! Beautiful pictures!
Thank you!
lots of wildlife! I guess if I move to Florida, I’ll have to learn to accept that there are snakes and gators there…
Yeah, I am not too fond of snakes or gators. I kept a very sharp eye out on these trails!
I think my solution would be to avoid such trails…
Wonderful wildlife, foliage, scenery and, of course, weather 🌞 Looks like a very nice Florida experience, my friend Lori 👍
Thanks! It was a fun morning!
Amazing photos, love the turtle. We have tortoises here in South Africa. I have never encountered a turtle in life.
That was my first turtle I came accords in nature. Pretty exciting!
I can imagine 😍