Chekika offered a quiet day of relaxation in the Everglades, with picnicking opportunities and a short hiking trail through the hammock. It was also a good staging location for bicycle rides along the paved roads and canal banks in the East Everglades section of the park. There were no concessions, though bathrooms were available. Barbecues were provided and chickee huts were available on a first come, first served basis. Chekika was added to Everglades National Park in 1991, as part of the Everglades Expansion Act of 1989. Prior to that, before becoming Chekika State Recreation Area in 1970, the area was a private resort called Grossman Hammock Mineral Springs, famed for a bubbling mineral spring that some believed had healing powers.