Hell's Bay Trail

"Name is accurate. Not much wildlife but a fun experience"

"Absolutely amazing kayaking experience like no other! We kayaked to and back from Pearls Bay chickee, about 3.5 mile down the Hell's Bay trail. It took us about 4 hours on the way in, and 2.5 hours on our way back. A few pieces of advice: 1. Be weary of the time taken, it's easy to get lost later in the Bay as the poles are very, very far apart in the last 1-2 miles of the trail. 2. Account for sunset time; the trail is not doable after sundown unless you are absolutely well prepared. 3. Give yourself a good 1 hour of padding in case you are lost 4. Follow standard Backcountry camping rules if you plan to camp on a chickee 5. If camping on a chickee, the weather gets pretty windy at night. 6. Don't pack a lot of stuff on the kayak, and bring plenty of water. There is no water anywhere on the trail. 7. You can make a pitstop at Lard's Can on the way to Hell's Bay."

"Definitely my favorite kayaking experience. This trail is so quiet and peaceful, and you’ll hardly ever see anyone else on it. I saw a couple alligators, but they were on the side of the trail; they seemed more afraid of humans and relatively calm. I rented a tandem kayak for 4 hours, and this worked out pretty nicely! Be sure to get a couple small paddles, as navigating a long kayak is very tedious on some parts of the trail. Also, trail markers are your friend! There were lots of splits in the trail and it could be fairly easy to get lost if not paying attention."

"Super fun but also difficult to paddle and control two person canoe. The trail is not too wide. Nice experience being inside the mangrooves. Unfortunately almost no animals land next to it. We barely saw some birds."

"Great place to start your journey into Hells Bay or into Whitewater Bay. You can park and leave your car while you are on your kayak or canoe journey. There is a small dock from which to launch. The trail is marked with PVC pipes and numbers. It is on this trail where I saw my first python in the everglades. It was about 6 or 7 feet and it swam across the creek and into the mangroves ahead of my kayak."