Excerpt of article by Susan Cocking
The Miami Herald – December 31, 2012

Naturalist Glen Stacell, center with cap, leads another group of swamp walkers out of the water and on to Janes Scenic Drive for the tram ride back to park headquarters.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park: If you have read Susan Orlean’s book, “The Ghost Orchid,” or watched the movie, “Adaptation,” based on the book, then you will want to join this wet hike into the region dubbed the “Amazon of North America.” Members of the park’s non-profit booster group Friends of Fakahatchee will lead you into a cool wetland shaded by royal palm and bald cypress that holds more native orchid and bromeliad species than anywhere in the U.S. You probably will see a gator or two, and if you are lucky, maybe a black bear or otter.

For more information see our Events Calendar.