Six Mile Cypress Slough

I was having that overwhelming desire to explore and a need for peace and quiet, so I headed out to Six Mile Cypress Slough (pronounced "slew") in Fort Myers. Just 5 minutes from the I-75 Six Mile is a magnificent 1.2 mile long boardwalk that takes you through an unspoiled cypress swamp.

The greatest asset is the park is free. The only charge is $1.00 per hour for parking, maximum $5 all day. The interpretive center is a must either before or after your trip around the boardwalk. The building was designed to minimize its impact on the environment.

The slough is home to a widely diverse population of animals and plants. Luckily, I was on time to take a guided tour from one of the very knowledgeable slough volunteers, Kathleen. Our tour covered one of the 2 loops.

 

What is Six Mile Cypress Slough. First of all the slough consists of 3,420 acres of preserved wetland. It's 11 miles long and at it's widest is only 1/3 of a mile. The slough is a slow moving river or swamp that eventually empties into Estero Bay. During the wet season the slough has 2-3 feet of water making it look like a wide shallow stream. As the water moves slowly through the slough sediment and pollutants are absorbed by the plant life thereby cleaning the water. Because of the drought even the slough is dry by it's standards. The cypress trees in the below picture are at least 30 years of age. You can see old water levels on the trees.

Wild Iris

As we continued along the boardwalk we came to Gator Lake, which seems only fitting. This lake came about as a result of nearby road construction. They excavated material from the slough before it became a preserve to use as a base for roads. Yes there are gators but we also spotted anhingas, cormorants, turtles, herons and much more. There's also a beautiful outdoor amphitheater that faces the lake. It's so peaceful.

The slough has a wide variety ferns. We counted 11 different kinds. Here are just a few.

Virginia Chain Fern

Shoestring Fern

Another interesting fern we came across was the resurrection fern. This fern is a type of epiphytic fern meaning it grows on top of other plants or structures and it reproduces by spores, not seeds. Although resurrection fern grow on top of other plants, they do not steal nutrients or water from their host plant. It appears dead but it's not. During extreme drought they can lose up to 97 percent of their water content. When exposed to water it will come back to life, hence resurrection becoming green and healthy again.

Resurrection Fern during drought

As we continued around the boardwalk, Kathleen was able to point out many more interesting features. Here's just a few.

Strap Fern

Royal Fern

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is considered a parasitic plant meaning it grows on the branches or trunk of a tree where it will send out roots stealing vital nutrients from that tree. Consequently, the branch first then the whole will die. Note the dead branch.

One especially interesting feature about this slough is the absence of mosquitoes. Say what, how come we all asked. It's because of a small 1" long fish called a Gambusia Fish. They apparently live in the preserve waters feeding on mosquito larvae. No pictures couldn't see any to photograph. So I didn't have to put repellent on after all.

I spotted this next guy sunning himself on the branch. What's travelling through a swamp without seeing a snake or two. To me it looked like a water moccasin, not 100 percent sure. Got to love it.

There were so many more wonderful things we saw in the preserve. But this blog is getting lengthy so time to show one more pic and call it enough. You get the idea of how beautiful it is.