Friends of Fakahatchee: Dedicated to financial and volunteer support to preserve the unique ecology and cultural heritage of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and educate the public about its importance.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: The Old Boardwalk is closed. Check the State Park Website for hours, closures, trail conditions and other announcements or call the park office at 239-961-1925.
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Join us.
The Friends share our excitement about the Fakahatchee, invite you to join our community and catch the “FAK-A-HABIT.” When exploring this 85,000 acre wilderness, you will discover a habitat supporting wildlife that you may have thought vanished. Join us.
Hydrologically linked to the Everglades system and particularly important to the estuarine ecosystem of the Ten Thousand Islands, the Fakahatchee Preserve is a crucial habitat to many threatened species including the Florida panther, Florida black bear, American crocodile, wood stork, mangrove fox squirrel and the Everglades mink. It is also home to 47 native orchids (including the elusive Ghost orchid), 38 native ferns, 14 native bromeliads and is recognized as the orchid capital of of the United States, as well as the best example of a subtropical, strand swamp in North America.
The Fakahatchee Preserve is more than a swamp. It’s a mosaic of cypress forest, wet prairies, tropical hardwood hammocks, salt marsh, mangroves, sloughs and majestic royal palms.
Whether you walk the Fakahatchee Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk through one of Florida’s last remaining stands of virgin old-growth cypress, reserve a spot on our tram ride, join us for a swamp walk, become a member or donate, you will be supporting the preservation of a truly special natural and cultural landscape.