Kayak/Canoe trail extended up Caloosahatchee

Lee County opened the third leg of the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail last week. The addition will introduce paddlers to the Caloosahatchee River's creeks and its meandering waters.

The trail, managed and marketed in a joint effort by Lee County Parks & Recreation and the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, has now nearly doubled in size to 190 miles.

The original 100-mile trail wanders from Bonita Springs north through Estero Bay and Pine Island Sound to Charlotte County. The new leg up the Caloosahatchee River and its tributaries adds 90 miles to the trail. Check it out at www.greatcalusablueway.com

The Blueway has been a boon to Lee County tourism since its inception five years ago. The county has been recognized as one of the best U.S. kayaking destinations by both Paddler and Canoe & Kayak magazines. The trail itself has garnered National Recreation Trail designation and is part of the evolving Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail.

The new leg of the Great Calusa Blueway Trail - extending from San Carlos Bay to the Hendry County line - debuted during the nine-day Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, a countywide eco-celebration that ended last week.

As with the Estero Bay portion (Phase 1) and the Pine Island Sound section (Phase 2), put-ins are designated along the trail, as are other amenities such as campsites, restaurants, marinas and cultural and historic sites of the Calusa Indians, for whom the trail is named. The new Caloosahatchee leg (Phase 3) now is among the most comprehensive maps available showing where public lands and stopping points are along the river. GPS coordinates are provided for the mouth of each creek and access points.

On the Blueway, novice to experienced paddlers can get up close with outstanding flora and fauna while exploring back bays, aquatic preserves, wildlife refuges, creeks, bayous, rivers, and mangrove forests. Many of the trails follow the course charted some 2,000 years ago by the area's earliest residents, the Calusa Indians.