22 Apr 2022
UNRIVALED ECO-EXPERIENCES
Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach, FL From sea turtles to sea otters, to white pelicans and roseate spoonbills, nature lovers love nature in Charlotte Harbor.
Travelers seeking to learn about the environment, how to become better environmental stewards, and escape life’s stresses have been enjoying this amazing destination and our nature-based tourism. Perhaps no place better presents a firsthand look at nature and the environment than Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach in the Charlotte Harbor Gulf Island Coast, with its 830 miles of shoreline incorporating barrier islands, unspoiled beaches, mangrove habitats, pine Flatwoods, meandering rivers, canals and creeks, all outlining Florida’s second-largest marine estuary.
Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach is a place of ecological and ornithological wonders where outdoor enthusiasts can observe nature in its undisturbed state. Ideal for photography, shelling, hiking, bicycling, kayaking, and standup paddleboarding, Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands beckons fans of the natural environment to come to play in their backyard. In addition to hundreds of bird species such as osprey, bald eagle, anhinga, cardinal, wood stork, white pelican, and Roseate Spoonbill, a veritable patchwork quilt of biology, zoology, and oceanography abounds with 256 fresh and saltwater fish species, 39 species of mammals, 67 species of reptiles, and 27 species of amphibians.
A favorite activity of nature lovers is paddling either kayaks, canoes, or standup paddleboards through the Peace or Myakka rivers and throughout the expansive aquatic preserves of the Charlotte Harbor watershed. These adventures offer a special, up-close look at the unique features of an estuarine ecosystem. Experience mangrove canopies while paddling among secluded, hidden coves of Coral Creek & Gasparilla Sound along the Intracoastal Waterways. Nearly 200 miles of the Charlotte Harbor Blueway Trails have been mapped out identifying 53 trails rated for access, experience level, and scenic value.
For further exploration, boat tour operators offer inshore and deep-water safaris along with sightseeing cruises into Charlotte Harbor, Florida’s second-largest estuary, which has mangroves and sea-grass beds that provide habitat for manatees, sea turtles, wood storks, young fish, and dolphins. King Fisher Fleet's Peace River Nature Cruise offers a 3 ½ hours eco-tour with interpretation by naturalists from the well-known Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center. Visitors can experience the flora and fauna of four different ecosystems as they journey into the winding waters of Peace River. The banks are lined with overhanging trees, native grasses, basking alligators, bald eagles, ospreys, herons, endangered wood storks, and tons of other wildlife.
Inland, Babcock Ranch Eco-Tours takes its visitors on an entertaining, educational 90-minute swamp buggy adventure through some of the woods and pastures of the 70,000-acre Crescent B Ranch, a working cattle farm, and Telegraph Cypress Swamp. Sightings of wildlife such as the boar, alligators, Osceola turkey, and whitetail deer are not uncommon.
Complementing Babcock Ranch Eco Tours is the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center (CHEC), a 3,000-acre nature center with four miles of nature trails. Visitors will get to know the nature of Charlotte County up close through free interpretative programs including a Wading Adventure, where participants don waders and go out into the estuary with dip nets in search of the cool, gross, and bizarre: sponges called Dead Man’s Fingers, sea cucumbers that eject their stomachs, worms that decorate their own homes, shell cases shaped like ice cream cones and an abundance of fish that are just starting their life here in nature’s nursery. The Peace River Wildlife Center, an active wildlife rehabilitation center and park; and the Gasparilla Island State Park and Cape Haze Pioneer Trail, two former railroad-turned-bicycle trails Boca Grande Bike Path, also offer diversions of the natural order.
Florida is certainly well known for its potpourri of state recreational areas, and Charlotte County contains four of them, each different from one another and offering even greater opportunities for naturalists to explore the wild side of the Sunshine State. From Babcock/Webb Wildlife Management Area and Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park to Don Pedro Island State Park and Stump Pass Beach State Park, the area is host to a plethora of nature programs and events and provides exceptional recreational opportunities that include plenty more opportunities for bird watching, bicycling, hiking, swimming, and more.
With more than 330 spectacular and colorful species of birds migrating to and inhabiting about 70 parks, preserves, and natural areas and roughly 830 miles of shoreline edging Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands on Florida’s Southwest coast, bird watching here is at a premium. Lemon Bay Sunrise Rotary Park, Cedar Point Environmental Park and Alligator Creek Preserve are just three of 26 sites recognized by the Peace River Audubon Society for excellent birding. Endangered wood storks with their four-foot wingspan, the rare white pelican, and the purple gallinule are part of the extensive Southwest Florida Bird List.
ABOUT PUNTA GORDA / ENGLEWOOD BEACH
Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach is Florida’s best-kept secret of a charming natural paradise located on the idyllic Southwest Gulf Coast. This coastal community surrounding the state’s second-largest harbor sits conveniently between Tampa and Naples. Outdoor enthusiasts will find a haven of vibrant experiences in the sun-soaked oasis of the Southwest Florida islands, characterized by almost year-round sunshine and sub-tropical weather. Relaxation and discovery await miles of waterways and inland exploration trails filled with unspoiled natural beauty. From beaches to boating, hiking to harbor tours, fishing to nature paths; sun, shelling, and fossilized sharks’ teeth, Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach immerses lively locals and active adventurers in a pure island experience. Most notably known for its 830 miles of pristine unparalleled shoreline, including captivating river passages, a mangrove-edged aquatic preserve, and more than a dozen miles of natural Gulf beaches, the Charlotte Harbor Gulf Island Coast includes the areas of Boca Grande, Don Pedro Island, El Jobean, Englewood-Cape Haze, Little Gasparilla Island, Manasota Key, Knight Island, Placida, Babcock Ranch, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.
To learn more about Punta Gorda / Englewood Beach, visit www.PureFlorida.com, call 941.743.1900 or discover the destination on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @RealPureFlorida.
CONTACT: Lois Croft
Tel: (941) 743-1900
