Located on the edge of the Everglades and The Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Collier-Seminole State Park offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience an impressive Florida eco-system with a variety of activities. Guests can enjoy their surroundings with hiking, biking, camping, fishing, paddling, and birding. For those looking for little more adventure, Collier-Seminole State Park has now added Go Cat Florida Backwater Mangrove Boat Tours.
Go Cats are small, two-person, catamaran style boats that can go up to 30 mph in the open water. Adventurers steer their Go Cats through a labyrinth of channels winding through mangrove islands and into the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Â Boaters may see manatees, crocodiles, alligators, panthers, dolphins and over 200 species of birds within the refuge.
Tours are operated by Go Cats on the Water, with two options: A 2.5 Hour Island Eco-Tour and a 75-minute Backwater Tour. The 2.5 Hour Eco-Tour explores the mangrove swamp before stopping on a remote island with a sandy walking trail and excellent shelling. This tour includes free photos taken of the group during the tour. The 75-minute Backwater Tour offers a shorter experience without the island stop. Both tours require reservations.
What to Expect:
Tours begin with a quick lesson on how to drive the two person Go Cats, switching speeds, emergencies, and maneuvering the tight turns inside the mangroves.
Guests are paired up and assigned boats, single riders may end up with the guide or piloting their own boat.   Each boat contains a dry box for items you don’t want to get wet and a cooler of water. My guide hinted that a can or two of beer may be permitted. Â
The tours start at a relaxing pace through the snug channels of the mangroves. For drivers new to piloting boats, there may be a bit of a learning curve maneuvering the boats through the passages. But don’t worry, the guides keep a watchful eye on all the boats and are quick to react to any issues.Â
As you leave the narrow waterways of the park, the channel opens up to the Ten Thousand Island Refuge where boaters will be able to speed up. After a short cruise, guides will stop to check on the boats and give information about the refuge. Following the informational stop, boaters on the 2.5 hour tour will pick up speed and head to the small sandy island where the boats are beached.
Guides give their groups the option to spend more time on the island so they can explore and shell or depart earlier to take a longer winding way back to the park. Â The ride back to the park is relaxing, giving guests the chance to enjoy the scenery and quiet of the park.
The tour ends with boaters parking their boats on the plastic ramps, with assistance from the guides. Guides are happy to point visitors towards a fun, bar or restaurant for a post-tour bite and pint. Â
If you are looking for a fun and unique way to explore the backwaters of the park and the 10,000 islands, this is the way to go!
