Collier-Seminole State Park — Attraction in Marco Island

OK typical state park: underfunded, staffed with "volunteers" that are paid with free camping and their own camping area. Some good things, some dumb stuff. Social events on weekends, and a snack store open sometimes are nice. Can be buggy, and noisy with trucks and Harleys on highway right next to camping area. Open setting keeps bugs down, but gives no privacy. Tent camping area is more wooded, and looked very nice. Very low Park attendance in summer months due to bugs, apparently. Washrooms iffy - can be clean, depending on time of day, may be closed for cleaning from 10 am to 2 pm. (What are they doing in there?) A new washroom is nice, but small, and wierdly accessed by a long wheelchair ramp. You could just walk directly to it, but a system of walls and rock piles and garden patches make it clear you must walk on the ramp, even if you have to circle the building like a vulture (have to see it). No one does this of course, but you can get hectored by the volunteers if they see you. We did, and called one on her high horse attitude and she refused to identify herself and fled on her golf cart. Other Hosts and volunteers were friendly and helpful, as usual. Canoeing the mangrove is worth doing once, although it's a monotonous biome, and a bumper-car ride with novice paddlers and tidal current in a narrow channel. The short walking trail is slightly interesting, but nothing like Highlands Hammock, for eg. Bike Trail was closed. "Full Services" do not include sewer hookups, so longer stays may need a trip to dump the gray water. We noticed a lot of turn-over, so Park may be more an overnight stop on the way to somewhere better. Except for the weekend large family gatherings that tend to take over a cluster of sites. Dump station is 2-sided, which is handy. As usual, road layout is screwy for RVs, not improved by one-way signs. Speaking of signs, 2 volunteers tried to set up a big sign right beside the road (where big RVs could hit it). Started with the post-hole digger, hit a buried wire and killed the power to the sites. Guess a gfi saved them from electrocution. They gave up on the sign, which I never did read. Don't let the Park's proximity to Marco Island or Naples sway you into visiting. You can't bike to them on the highways and they're not that close, Marco's beaches are hotelled up, and there are lots of closer places to stay to see the southwestern beaches. So, been there, done that,...

We visited on a Saturday afternoon in late December 2024. There was no one at the gate but remember to pay your entry fee. We visited for our excursion with Go Cats On The Water but there was a park ranger driving around on a golf cart asking folks for their park receipt or proof of payment.

We arrived a little early so we explored a bit before we headed to the marina area. We stopped at the Bay City Walking Dredge which was really cool. There was a large black snake we're sure basking and trying to take in some of the heat.

We didn't really have much time to explore much else but 100% recommend doing the Go Cats On The Water. They also had kayak rentals there. I wouldn't mind doing that either. You get to go through the mangrove trails out into the Ten Thousand Islands area. They offered 2 tours a shorter eco tour and a longer extended one where you go out onto an island and have food. Sadly we were afraid we wouldn't have time so we did the shorter tour.

Our tour guide, Russ, was amazing! He definitely wanted to make sure we were all having an amazing time. The Go Cats weren't too hard to drive. You get a lot of practice turning through the mangroves before you get to the more open areas. It was 100% worth the cost. We also booked our trip months in advance. It looked like they were fully book for our afternoon. I think our kids said this was the best activity we did on our entire 2 week winter break trip. Russ did mention that they were getting ready to move out of the park and would be based somewhere further north near Naples. Unfortunately with the other launch point there wouldn't be the maze of mangroves like they did here in Collier-Seminole State Park. We didn't see much wildlife but the activity itself of driving the Go Cats was amazing and the scenery couldn't be beat going through the mangrove mazes.

We also didn't notice too many mosquitos but that may also have to do with the time of year we visited. We would definitely need to visit the park again to explore the...

Horrible experience! The first night I was there, it was great. I sat outside and looked up at a sky full of bright stars in the night sky and listened to the barred owl. The second night, Friday, was sheer hell. A VERY large family came in behind me (WAY EXCEEDING the # allowed) in the evening and made a horrible amount of noise, shouting loudly with kids running around wildly and about 12 bikes blocking the road. It was sheer hell. The whole peaceful nature experience I had hoped to have was totally ruined. I had come to the park with a kayaking group and many of us called the ranger the first evening to complain, to no avail. There were definitely more people on this small campsite than should've been allowed, and cars as well. The campsites are very close together, but even if they weren't, the noise level would've still been an issue. There was a father with his six year old son next to this group, and he called in to the ranger because he and his son were going to go canoeing in the morning. He needed to put his son to bed before 11am (quiet hour). That didn't happen. I, too, wanted to go to sleep early so I could kayak the next morning. I called twice, and many of my kayaking friends called or complained as well, to no avail. I've kayaked at parks where there are signs that say: "If you are coming here to party, this isn't the place to go. This is a place for a quiet, nature experience." (John Sargeant Park on the Hillsborough River). The Collier-Seminole State Park is a beautiful place and should be managed well in order to uphold it's purpose of a nature retreat, not a place for loud parties. I missed out on what I hoped would be a serene camping experience, and wonderful paddling experience in the Everglades. Campers beware of this park!!! Never again for me! Please, Tallahassee mangers, correct this plague of partiers that are coming in to ruin this park. Many thanks to Ranger Savannah for listening quietly, and with understanding, to my complaint...