The trail has stopping points that correspond with numbers in the trail guide lent to each visitor. There are benches for resting or pausing to observe nature's creatures in the wild. Visitors can also buy for a quarter a checklist to mark any bird sightings, a good activity to occupy the children, who may be so Disney-ized they may think nature is just plain unexciting in comparison. Corkscrew Swamp is a bird-watcher's paradise. The rare wood stork, which has a wing span of 66 inches, was seen nesting in the cypress trees along the Lettuce Lakes during our visit.
Vultures circle overhead and the red-shouldered hawk is a common sight along the boardwalk.
But many visitors hope to see Corkscrew Swamp's bigger attractions, and they are usually rewarded with several sightings of alligators who like to sun themselves, lying completely still, just a couple of feet from the boardwalk. We easily saw a dozen, not counting a mother and her numerous babies lounging on a fallen log that projected out into the water. Some of the adults are more than 10 feet long. Besides alligators, there have been bear and bobcats seen from the boardwalk, and an occasional otter. Bright green Carolina anoles or blue-tailed skinks are two of the most common lizards seen running along the boardwalk.