Beautiful view of the back water behind the island. The trails are all boardwalk which makes them very accessible. Very little parking, but we walked up the beach from our condo and crossed over the boulevard by the library.

The new boardwalk is very nice with benches along the way. However, the trail is not completely accessible in the rainy season where the boardwalk isnt built. Be sure to take bug spray for the wet areas.

Very nice, just make sure to bring mosquito spray

Great variation: hiking trails, historic structures, Flora fauna, great views of the bay and Matanzas pass. We saw dolphins too!The cottage is almost 100 years old and the docent was very informative.As to the closed trails, there is a 1.5 million dollar restoration plan that is scheduled to start in Fall 2019.As to the open trails, nice shaded Stroll. Good for everyone in the family.

We love this place. Under cover and can fish. Watch the boats and dolphins.

Beautiful nature walk and view of the water. Free + COVID friendly!

Cool little nature park. Saw tons of little crabs and some snakes. Very nice boardwalk which is accessible for those that need it. Some other areas were a little muddy where they didnt have a walkway. Although they did have a large portion of the walkway closed, wouldve been nice to explore that part.

This is a cute little preserve with a wooden boardwalk through the mangroves. There are several signs along the path with facts about the local wildlife and history. It would be great for small children and folks with limited mobility, because its an easy walk. We had kayaked through mangroves on the first day of our trip, so it wasnt as interesting as it would have been if we had not already seen them. I would recommend it if you want to see the mangroves, which are pretty neat. We were there on a day when the museum isnt open (hours are pretty limited), so I cant comment on that. Theres no fee to walk the paths.

This is a great hiking spot and somewhat of a hidden gem. Its mostly boardwalk style paths that are in mostly good condition. A portion of the trail was closed but I imagine they will make repairs in time. This area offers a longer hike as well as a shorter walk out to the inner coastal waters near Fort Myers Beach. It was beautiful.

Nice trail to see mangroves, didnt see any wildlife the day we were there though other than one bird. Very peaceful walk.

Beautiful little 1 mile round walk mostly shady and perfect for a little break from the beach life.

Nice trails. No wildlife though. Not even birds flitting around. Not sure why. Could have been the time of day we went...late afternoon.

Walked all the way over here to find this sign. Closed January 2020 for revamping walkways etc. wish it was better posted.

Cool little nature preserve. Part of the path was closed but we did see little crabs come out of the soft mud!

January 2020 - This place is closed for construction. You might wanna consider Bowditch or Estero Bay instead until it reopens.

This small preserve is surrounded by development, but it is terrific that they saved a little bit of the native mangrove forest you can see this area was before all the development. It is made of a well built raised walkway through the mangroves with some trail hiking once inland. Very nice place for a morning walk or an afternoon getaway.

Cool place. One of the walkways was closed but the rest was a great hike.

Free parking, however, its a small parking lot. Free admission to the park. Good for hiking, however, most of the walking paths are closed for reconstruction (January 2020).

Nice small wild park with well built boardwalk thru the woods. Did not see any wildlife but was relaxing stroll.

A treasure on FMB for certain! As a full-time resident, I am very pleased that the Matanzas Pass Preserve was established because if you look around, there isn’t much of “wild” area around - which means the few places that are represent critical habitat for wildlife. The boardwalk meanders through a red mangrove strand and has interpretive signs throughout to gain some insight into what you are seeing. Like most beauty in Florida, it is subtle and only shows itself to those that wait and watch!!

We walked here just to find the trail closed. Really disappointing. Wish they would have updated this on their website.

Love this place. It was a lil hard to find but well worth the search. Really enjoyed the look out. It was very calming and peaceful.

Ok

Bring your bug spray. Beautiful trails but youve gotta move quick or youll get eaten alive!

Take a walk back in time of what all ft Myers bch. Looked like many yrs ago. Gorgeous trails.

One hidden jewel in SW FL and is Free. What else can you ask. It is a gorgeous date with nature. Perfect for meditation, jogging, sightseeing or taking a date.....see ya one day

Great place to walk around and enjoy nature. Plenty of wildlife to see if youre quiet and stand still for a couple minutes

It is very beautiful..seen lots of birds(a very large falcon specifically) Awesome! Did some fishing(catfish,sheepaheads,mullet,star fish). The mangroves where beautiful as well..and Its free! There is a museum,its open Wed and Sat I believe but I have not been there yet. A defiant 2nd trip in the new future! #nature preserve #beach life #loving life

Nice nature walk, no Gators seen...

Claimed it was open but its not! Been closed since beginning of January. Please change the opening times to not open so we dont waste 30 minutes driving over.

Great trail. Nice to walk, run or bike through. One is so close to people, car, house and everything in between but was you start the trail, youll feel like you are 1000s of miles remove from everyone and everything. There is a cottage right on the matanzas bay. The best thing is on the cottage, one can see all kinds of fish big and small. Amazing. I love it. Ill do it again many many times over.

Love this area! Go visit...beach...swimming...rented a house with the whole family. Fun

Regularly spend time here, it’s peaceful and secluded in nature.

Its always nice to have a nature preserve right next to your home. Daily visits by all kinds of birds are topped by passing by dolphins and manatees!

Found this gem this morning and spent an hour hiking the trails. I was extremely impressed by the layout and the condition of the boardwalks and the trails. Will probably be my new go to walking place.

Very peaceful and out of the way. Wasnt much to see though. A great spot to get away from the hustle and bustle away from others.

Quite, beautiful, relaxing. Take a few beers with you and relax. Let all your problems go away.

Not much to brag about. It was just a boardwalk such was nice but the was nothing to see. No animals, no old houses ... nothing

Prepare for mosquitos. Bring bug spray/appropriate clothing for insects. Sunscreen/sun hat if needed. Boardwalk path is in sun most of the time. Also dirt paths. Lots of crabs, fish, spiders etc. Nice and peaceful short trails. Small parking lot. Free to park. Outhouse bathroom to use.

We had a great hike here, wish all paths were open. Took us for ever to realize there were little crab guys sprinting everywhere.

Went to the Upper Deck for dinner and to listen to Mary Winner. Had I known they allowed smoking and 3 couples would be cramped into a table I never would have gone. Mary Winner wasnt there, the food was mediocre at best and the smoking truly made for an unpleasant meal.

Not hard hiking. About a couple miles. There is a spot to take some beautiful pictures of Matanzas Pass. Wildlife, some lizards, squirrels.

Really great place to walk trails or enjoy the beach ... loved it

Absolutely worth a visit.

You can fish and walk thru trails. Nice place

Nice boardwalks and water overlook. Place to dock your kayak. Still recovering from hurricane damage. Good info and maps at the trail head. Great fiddler crab watching.

If the historic site is close on Saturdays then update it online.

Nice place to walk, especially on a hot day, nice and shady!

An enjoyable place to take a walk through nature and se mangrove trees.

Boardwalk is closed for the next 8 months. There is no notification on the website or on Google. They are replacing all the boardwalks and the entire park is closed. No other way to communicate this.

Very soothing and calm. Only downsides - one trail was totally closed and another was too muddy for me.

No pets allowed even Google says different

During our stay in Fort Myers, we often set off on foot, open to anything that crossed our path. So happy we ran across this preserve! Very relaxing and the trail is really accessible.

Very peaceful

Just perfect w dolphins & sea turtles.

Fun place.

It is a nice walk, but make sure you have bugs repellent!

Nice place to visit to understand what the island once was. (Bring OFF)

If, your on a mooring ball or need a room. They have friendly staff, laundry, showers. Dinghy dock. Upstairs bar and food. Downstairs inside or out. Bar and food. Great half shell oysters, 1/2 n full doz. And other yummy food.

Nice nature trails. Mangrove swamp.

Nice trails. Can see some animals most times.

Well maintained boardwalk for the majority of the trails. Nice island flora and fauna.

The boardwalk is a nice walk through mangroves where you can see some wildlife, like the tiny crabs. The dirt trails can be quite muddy if theres been rain in the recent past and it would be better to stick to the boardwalk unless you dont mind the mud.

Nice place to walk trails and boardwalk. Leads to Overlook dockhouse. You can also canoe or small boat to docks

Clean, well taken care of.

I didnt go very far into this preserve, as we ran out of time. I wish I had known about it before the last day of our trip so I could have explored it more!

Very nice walk though the mangroves, trails are marked. Enjoyed the quietness, would recommend you stop for a visit.

This preserve is a great place to take a walk down by the water. If you have time, look at the artifacts in the building. Be sure to bring bug spray!

Beautiful natural hiking spot, great afternoon trip with visiting family

Nice short walk. There were crabs everywhere.

Nice boardwalk

Great place to hike. Not much parking

If u want some place to sit and relax this is the place to go and watch the sea life

Good old Florida place to visit.

Great place to stop by.

Beautiful!

Very cool nature walk.

Beautiful and quiet

*Little piece of preserve land area where nature and birds interact in great harmony

Right on the water Beautiful place to Check-out

Beautiful place to walk!

I loved the nature walk, I became lost for hours but it was ok.

Good place to visit on a day trip

Beautiful trails; nice and peaceful walk!

Isolated, empty, a bit scary, felt like a gator was lurking

No dogs allowed, yawn!!!

Needs maintenance

Nice hiking trail

Magical awesome place

Short trails through mangroves. Free Parking And port-a-potty

Love it

Interesting place!!

Great family destination.

Is very bad

Been going since i was a kid!

Excellent!

Beautiful views

Kind of small

Nice and tranquil, well maintained

Bring the bug spray!