The land for Koreshan State Park was deeded to the state in 1966 by the remaining members of the Koreshan Unity Community. Dr Cyrus Teed was the founder of the group and he established a Planatary Council made up of 7 women to rule the community. The park has preserved the buildings so you can step back in time to a simpler era where goods were delivered by ship on the adjacent Estero River. You can explore the buildings where the Planatary Council lived, where they held gatherings and musical events, see the blacksmith shop and other areas.
The Estero River is part of The Great Calusa Blueway a series of paddling trails on the west coast of Florida. We were able to spend a day paddling a small portion of the trail on the Estero River. The water was really low. We found a racoon foraging for food in the river. Which is much better than them being in your campground or popping out of a trashcan. Ask Wayne about this.
The other days were spent exploring the area. We were able to visit one of my favorite parks Corkscrew Swamp for a day and the other day we explored Ft Myers beach and then Sanibel and Captiva islands.
Wildlife sightings: Racoon, Yellow-bellied cooter, Brown Water snake, Great Blue Heron, Alligator, Pileated Woodpecker, Gopher Tortoise, bunnies,Ibis, Barred owl, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Wood Storks, Snowey Egret, Little Blue Heron, Anhinga, Carolina Wren, Green Heron, Osprey, Manatee, Softshelled turtle, American Oystercatcher, starfish, Royal terns, Bald Eagle, Laughing gulls, Ring-billed gull, Herring gull, Black Vulture, catbird, Magnificent Frigatebird, American White Pelican, Brown Pelicans, Reddish Egret, Ruddy Turnstone, Willet or Short-billed Dowitchers.
The day we visited Sanibel and Captiva the red-tide had moved in and there were dead fish floating in the water and washing up on shore. There was so many gulls and vultures that were feeding on the dead fish it was not a picture the chamber of commerce would like you to see. Red-tide is natual but it is exacerbated by the fresh water that is full of nitrogen (food for red tide) that is released from Lake Okeechobee through the Caloossahatchee River in order to keep the lake healthy. This is an on going battle that you can learn more about here. This river empties into the Gulf at Sanibel. Dead wildlife seen on the beaches due to red tide: Catfish, mullet, spider crab, ladyfish, stargazer, stingray. On top of the red tide these islands are still recovering from Hurricane Ian in 2022 where they had a 13 foot storm surge and then in 2024 Hurricane Milton hit them with a 5 foot storm surge. There was rebuilding going on all over and parts of the islands are still not open.
What is red-tide? If you are traveling to or live in Florida you can check the status of red-tide at this link What is the current status of red-tide?
We woke up early one day and drove to Corkscrew Swamp. The morning was foggy, which took hours to burn off and made for a mystical morning amoung the crypress trees. We spend almost all day on this 2.25 mile boardwalk. Going slow, looking and listening to find the creatures is a must. If you do not want to go on a wet walk as I have describe in other posts then this is the next best thing. You will feel regenerated by being in nauture and especially the swamp.
Note: All photos and videos unless otherwise stated are property of Wayne and Margaret Shoemake. If you would like to use any of them please email us at [email protected].