by Meg Drake

Created on: May 27, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Visitors to sunny Naples in southwest Florida can find a range of extraordinary outdoor activities to keep both young and old entertained. This beautiful seaside location set on the Gulf of Mexico, enjoys year round warm weather and has beautiful stretches of beach alongside natural mangroves and Florida's famous Everglades.
The Everglades are one of the most widely recognized landscapes in this part of Florida. The wilderness of the Everglades is a unique sub-tropical environment, which combines natural vegetation with an abundance of wildlife, such as birds, crocodiles and other animals native to the region. There are a range of tours available that can help you explore the Everglades, providing an exciting opportunity to see the unique flora and fauna of the Everglades first hand.

Another great nature based activity is offered by the non-profit Conservancy of Southwest Florida. This organization provides learning adventures at the Conservancy Nature Center, where the program has a strong focus on wildlife education. The learning adventure program includes a series of 45 to 55 minute long programs that you can participate in with a Conservancy Naturalist. The natural programs are a great opportunity if you're looking for unique outdoor activities both with the family or solo.
One of the programs the Hoot and Toot' program, provides a close up study of the adaptations of a live night owl. A CSI (that's Critter Scene Investigation!) program provides an opportunity to explore the clues that the wild animals leave behind. This hands-on program gives participants the chance to discover the identity of the animal suspects' by following the clues from the Critter Scene'. Last but not least there is the Nails and Scales' natural learning adventure program, which explores the lives of snakes, lizards and turtles.
Another popular destination is the Naples Zoo. This zoo has a strong focus on nature conservation, actively building the largest Wildlife Conservation Movement in North America. Naples Zoo is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and supports the work of local, national and international conservation movements. The work the zoo does for this movement is reflected in some of the popular attractions of the zoo.
One of the zoo's highlights is the series of African themed exhibits; these cover the African Oasis exhibit, featuring Gazelles and Kudus; the Tiger and Leopard exhibits, the Primate Pavilion, an exhibit of rare African Wild Dogs and a Panther exhibit. For those wanting to learn more about the local wildlife, the Alligator Bay exhibit includes a Heron rookery during the spring, as well as other local wildlife and of course, alligators.
Other attractions at the zoo include the all day fun day' packages, which provide participants with the chance to talk with keepers at the zoo, attend a guided tour through the zoological gardens with a master gardener or learn more about reptiles on the Fangs or Fiction' tour.
There are many educational and enjoyable outdoor activities to participate in when visiting Naples and with the naturally warm climate of southwestern Florida, there is really no better way to take advantage of the sunny days than by participating in one or more of the adventures on offer.

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