Naples Alligator Guide: Safety Tips and 12 Places to See Them

If you’re a nature-lover or adventure family headed to southwest Florida, this Naples Alligator Guide has everything you need!

Agh! If you’re like many visitors to Naples Florida looking for a relaxing luxury stay in Naples, you might be thinking do I really need a Naples Alligator guide?

The answer — for you — is probably No.

But if you’re a lover of nature and the outdoors, and planning on spending time in the southwest Florida’s natural world while you’re here, then Yes, this guide will come in handy.

Seeing alligators and other wildlife is likely high on your bucket list.

Gators are among Florida’s most famous residents and they simultaneously terrify and fascinate us — we can’t help but watch them, just to see what they’ll do next.

And if you get the chance to touch a baby gator (while a trained expert holds it securely in a controlled environment of course) they’re surprisingly soft to the touch — just one of the lesser known Everglades facts to discover in southwest Florida!

Alligators in the Florida Everglades are amazing creatures, and understanding more about them is also a primer into their habitat as well.

The Everglades ecosystem offers these cold-blooded reptiles ideal year round conditions to live and reproduce.

Whether you want to see alligators in the wild or a zoo, here are safety tips and the best places to see alligators in Naples, Marco Island, and the Everglades.

We hope it helps you learn more about these fascinating creatures and their natural habitat.

What’s in this Article?

Where Are Alligators Found?

Naples Alligator Guide: Interesting Facts

Naples Alligator Guide: Important Things to Know

Top Safety Tips About Alligators

Where to See Alligators in Naples, Marco Island, and the Everglades

Where Are Alligators Found?

Alligators are found in both brackish and fresh waters, including rivers, canals, ponds and lakes.

They have even been known to occasionally get into salt water, though this is not their usual environment and they cannot survive there for long.

In Florida, there are millions of places where you’ll find alligators thriving — in over 6 million acres in all 67 counties in fact.

With continuous development into previously uninhabited land, and tourism bringing visitors into off-the-beaten-path places for adventure, the likelihood of you crossing paths with an alligator in southwest Florida is pretty good!

And you don’t always have to be in nature to see them!

You’ve probably seen pictures of alligators walking across a busy highway or a local golf course.

Anywhere that’s close to fresh or brackish water you might find an alligator.

Naples Alligator Guide: Interesting Facts

Alligator Facts

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimates some 1.3 million alligators live in Florida.

In the southernmost tip of Florida Bay, you’ll also find the American crocodile.

In fact, it’s the only place in the world where the two co-exist.

Of all cities in Florida, the largest population of alligators can be found in Gainesville!

Alligator Feeding

Alligators are swift, ambush hunters. They can sometimes stay underwater for hours while stalking prey in and above the water.

Juveniles gators eat mostly small fish, small amphibians, insects, small birds, and sometimes small mammals, while adult gators will eat small and large snakes, turtles, fish, birds and small to medium mammals including deer.

Alligator Attacks

You may have heard a tragic story about an alligator attack somewhere in Florida.

But let’s start out by saying this: the number of unprovoked alligator bites in Florida is very rare.

In fact, you’re far more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by an alligator!

Despite the more than 1.3 million alligators that live in Florida’s waterways — about one for every 15 residents — there are reports of only 413 unprovoked alligator attacks against humans since 1948.

They do not wait for humans to enter their radar so they can attack.

Rather, alligators are ambush hunters, opportunistic in the right circumstances.

They will ambush small animals, children and that are smaller than them.

Bites from alligators usually occur around or in water, since alligators can’t capture their prey as well on land.

In 2020, for example, data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported 12 instances of unprovoked bites by wild alligators on humans.

Of the 12, eight were considered "major bites," meaning that the victim "required medical care, beyond first aid, to treat wounds."

However, the year saw zero fatalities due to alligator attacks.

Naples Alligator Guide: Important Things to Know

If you’re new to visiting Florida or seeing alligators, you might have questions about their behavior, the likelihood of seeing one in the wild, and what to do if you do.

What to Do If You Encounter An Alligator?

Here are several important things to know if you encounter an alligator unexpectedly on a hiking trail, golf course, or even in someone’s backyard:

• Alligators are shy animals that usually avoid human contact. Give them ample room if you see them in the wild to avoid an attack.

• Alligators can generally outrun human beings for around 20 feet, so always keep a minimum of 40 to 50 feet of distance from any alligator.

• Fight back! If you’re bitten or grabbed by an alligator, make sure you fight back. Kick or hit it or even give it a poke in the eyes.

  Alligators are likely to retreat from anything they’re unable to easily overwhelm.

• If you are grabbed by an alligator on land, avoid being dragged to water by tying yourself or your clothes to a permanent structure if possible.

• Run away! It’s highly unlikely, but If you do find yourself close to a lunging alligator, run in a straight line away from the alligator and its habitat, which is where it’s likely to retreat to.

  Humans can easily outrun a gator on land — their top speed is around 9.5 miles per hour, and it can't maintain that speed for very long.

• Can you kill an alligator? It's a third-degree felony under Florida law to kill or injure an alligator.

  It's also a felony to capture and keep an alligator or its eggs unless you purchase a special alligator trapping or farming license from the state.

Top Safety Tips About Alligators

Alligator injuries are not all that common, but it pays to have some common sense when you’re out and about Southwest Florida.

Here are a few more expert FWC safety tips:

• Be vigilant and pay attention! Keep an eye on your surroundings near fresh or brackish waters. Avoid vegetation-filled areas of rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.

• Dogs and Alligators — Always keep your pets away from the water.

  Dogs are in more danger from alligators than humans, because they resemble the reptiles' natural prey. Therefore, do not let your dog swim in waters where you know alligators live.

• Never Swim at Night — Swim in fresh and brackish water during daylight hours only — but never at night when alligators are most active.

  Be especially cautious around fresh and brackish water at dawn and at dusk.

• Stay with children — Never allow small children to play unattended near water.

• Paddling and Kayaking — When paddling, keep hands and feet inside the boat. Be cautious and aware when entering or leaving the water.

• Fishing from a canoe or kayak — Always be careful when pulling fish from the water.

  Don’t keep fish on a stringer in the water and don’t throw fish scraps in the water while cleaning fish, even on shore.

  Remember, inflatable kayaks are also deflatable.

• Never feed alligators— First, feeding alligators is illegal! Second, alligators — like any wildlife — that are fed by humans come to associate humans with food.

  Eventually, they lose their natural fear, creating a potentially dangerous situation. Never throw fish scraps in the water or leave them near boat ramps after fishing — throw them into the trash cans.

  
  

12 Places to See Alligators In and Near Naples

Now that you have a good understanding of these cold-blooded creatures, and how to stay safe while seeing them, where can you go to see alligators in Naples?

Here are 12 amazing places in the Naples area to see alligators:

1. CREW Bird Rookery Swamp

Located 11 miles inland off Immokolee Road and not quite as far out as the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp offers superb wildlife viewing and a perfect day hike along a well-groomed 12-mile nature trail loop.

Part elevated boardwalk and part flat, well-trodden grassy trail, the trail brings you past several swampy areas where you’re likely to encounter a large female alligator with one eye sunning herself.

Give her a very wide berth and observe from a distance. And be on the lookout for other gators along the trail.

1295 Shady Hollow Blvd W, Naples, FL - https://crewtrust.org/bird-rookery-swamp-trail/

2. Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Here you can walk around a loop of around two miles and spot gators and other types of wildlife from Florida.

Even though it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to see a gator, it’s very common to see at least one or even a bunch of them.

If you choose the shorter walk, you can walk a mile to see the gators.

There are also guided tours where you can find out facts about gators and other native animals and plants, such as gopher tortoises and bald cypress trees.

375 Sanctuary Rd W, Naples, FL - corkscrew.audubon.org

3. The Naples Zoo

Located off Goodlette-Frank Road across from the Coastland Shopping Center in central Naples, the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is a fun activity for everyone visiting Naples.

You can see alligators swimming in the zoo’s Alligator Bay and sunning themselves near the shore.

You’ll be surrounded by tropical plants and foliage, and see plenty of gators in a safe, secure environment.

1590 Goodlette-Frank Rd, Naples, FL - www.napleszoo.org

4. Conservancy of Southwest Florida

The Dalton Discovery Center is one of Naples’ most amazing places for conservation and education in Naples.

The Center affords visitors the chance to see baby and small alligators up close inside the Center in secure glass enclosures.

1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, FL - https://www.conservancy.org

5. Everglades Wonder Gardens

One of the oldest, continuously operating Old Florida attractions in the area, Everglades Wonder Gardens continues to please families and children.

Alligators can be seen in several enclosed areas, and there are weekly events that feature them.

If you’re lucky, and adventurous, you can even volunteer to help feed them!

27180 Old 41 Rd, Bonita Springs, FL - evergladeswondergardens.com

6. HP WILLIAMS ROADSIDE PARK

If your vacation plans bring you to southwest Florida during the dry season a great place to see gators is at HP Williams Roadside Park on Turner River Road in Big Cypress National Preserve.

This is a good day trip from Naples and takes less than an hour to drive the 39 miles.

From nearby Marco Island, the Everglades are even closer.

12580 Turner River Rd, Ochopee

7. SHARK VALLEY VISITOR CENTER

While it’s not as close to Naples and Marco Island as HP Williams Roadside Park and Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, it you’re looking for a longer hike or full day Park experience, Shark Valley is worth the trip.

Take US 41 (Tamiami Trail) approximately 70 miles east to the Shark Valley Visitor Center where you can pick up brochures for the area, check out the educational displays, and watch a short video about the Park.

36000 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL - https://www.sharkvalleytramtours.com/

8. Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf

It might seem a strange place to spot gators, but trust us. This family fun spot is famous for their unlikely attraction that kids love seeing!

Located in Fort Myers Beach, Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf has been delighting families for decades as the place at the beach for mini-golf.

Most kids think the alligators are part of the course until they get a look at the 20-30 live young alligators in the middle of the course.

No doubt this is one of the most unusual things to do in Ft. Myers Florida.

17450 San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL - smugglersgolf.com

9. BIG CYPRESS BEND BOARDWALK

Just 25 minutes south of Marco Island is the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk on the Tamiami Trail which makes a short but interesting southwest Florida day hike through native forests and wetlands.

An elevated boardwalk runs through the lower part of the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and is just over a mile long to the end and back.

As you stroll the boardwalk, interesting informational plaques are posted along the way describing the native plant and tree species as well as animals who inhabit the area.

Bring binoculars if you have them — in addition to the the many royal and sabal palms you’ll see thousands of ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and bald cypress, and there are loads of Everglades animals all around, especially birds.

27020 Tamiami Trail E, Naples, FL - https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm

10. Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours

With these airboat tours you can watch the professional handler as they show off a gator’s beauty, talk about their knowledge of the gators and use skills to entertain and amaze you, such as holding open the mouth of a gator during their live show.

Following the show, it’s possible to hug juvenile alligators.

Be sure that you have a camera since having a picture with a gator’s something you’ll want to keep.

32330 Tamiami Trail E, Ochopee, FL - wootenseverglades.com

11. Everglades National Park

The Everglades is home to over 200,000 gators, so there’s a really good chance that you’re going to see a few gators while you visit.

There are more than 1.5 million acres that goes from Miami to Homestead or Everglades City.

The park has a total of four centers for visitors, which includes Ernest Coe and Shark Valley.

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, 40001 State Hwy 9336, Homestead, FL - www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/coedirections.htm

12. Everglades Alligator Farm

This place is known as South Florida’s oldest alligator farms. You can see live alligator shows as well as alligator feeding demonstrations.

Live alligators are handled by experts while the experts educate their guests about the fascinating creatures.

If you’re fortunate enough to be there during feeding time, you’ll learn and witness the way that alligators eat prey.

40351 SW 192nd Ave, Florida City, FL - https://everglades.com/

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When you are looking for places to see alligators, you can see there are plenty of fun and unique places to go, see, and learn all about them.

Check out these 12 places to see an alligator up close and personal or venture out into the swampy wilderness.