Tour boats operated through the concessionaire are narrated by U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captains. There are also ranger-guided interpretative programs offered during the winter camping season. A walking dredge that blazed a trail across Tamiami Trail is on site. At 14th Avenue North off Goodlette Road in Naples, the center includes trails with guided nature walks, free mini-boat tours, a Natural Science Museum, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Nature Store. The museum has a live sea turtle tank, a mini-ocean display and a new marine aquarium.
Visitors can take in a two-hour stroll along a circular boardwalk.
The park is noted for its winter population of woodstorks, which nest there by the hundreds. Other animals that can be spotted are cottonmouth moccasins, alligators, otters and turtles, while wading birds such as great blue herons, white ibis and great egrets stalk the waters in search of food. The sanctuary also has this country's largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress, the oldest trees in eastern North America. Many tower 130 feet and have a girth of 25 feet, and are more than 700 years old. Other native plants include tangles of vines, Spanish moss, ferns, orchids, bromeliads and aquatic plants.