First we really enjoyed this reserve. Gorgeous and full of wildlife, and I highly recommend coming here! I am dealing with cancer treatments and have varied tolerance for walking (1-3 miles typically) and we asked the lady at the discovery center how long the paths were, and she told me about a mile. THIS IS INCORRECT In fact it is about 2.5 miles to take the popular alligator alley trail and then come back up the shortcut to the visitor's center and there are very few benches, and mid day, very little shade. The map is correct- if you actually look at it, but alligator alley (1.2 mi) is just part of the trail. To get to it, you have to take the shady oak trail (.7 mi) and to get back to the center you have to take Heron Hideout trail (.3 mi). AND on the map, a trail that follows the Shady Oak trail is FUCHSIA which looks nearly red and is easily confused to be a different part of the Alligator alley trail. This was a "1.5 mile day" for my tolerance and I was really struggling, looking eagerly for the cut back up to the visitors center for a long while. I hope this helps others wanting this experience. There is no shortcut for alligator alley from what I saw. One option I see is to take Heron Hideout trail from the center and go as far as you want as it meets up with Alligator alley, turn around and head back for a loop instead of the circle that is 2.2 miles.

See alligators for free and all in bird life as well as turtles. Drive to the site at the visitor center and go down the path by the mobile toilets directly down to the alligator path. Start by going left and then return to where you left TV. Then go th and see the remaining alligators. Bring drinks in a rucksack and good trainers and a cap as well as sunscreen. Remember sandwiches from home as no kiosk. There are good benches/tables in the shade. Good trip

Easy walking trails through natural habitat. Plenty of alligators in the water on each side of a raised trail, and lots of shore birds. Be careful which day you go, if you might need a bathroom. All buildings were closed on the day we went, and there were no bathrooms available. Just a heads up. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Wow! This place is amazing! I'm not from Florida so had never been to a place like this before. My brother and his wife took us here recently because we all enjoying walking trails and they thought we'd enjoy seeing all of the interesting birds here. They warned us there is a path referred to as "Alligator Alley" but I was really excited to check it out! As we walked, we did see, and were amazed by, a wide variety of beautiful birds - like White Ibis, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets. But we all stood in awe as a regal Bald Eagle flew overhead! And as we gazed out into Lake Hancock, which the trail ran along, we started seeing more and more alligators lurking about. At one point the trail narrowed and was sandwiched between the lake on one side and a marsh on the other. It truly felt like we were experiencing something pre-historic! And yes, we were about to enter Alligator Alley! Gators are known to cross this path and if they decide to hang out in the middle, trail walkers must wait until the gators are ready to move along. It was really exciting to come across a gator (looking very well-fed) doing just that! We could see a couple ladies a ways back on the other side of this guy that had been waiting 15 minutes. But luckily we only had to wait a couple minutes before he decided to leave. Parking is free and so is access to the paths. I would love to come back here again!

Our tram tour of the Circle B Bar Reserve was very peaceful and informative. Eric, our guide was a former educator and made the hour plus ride go by quickly. He told us how the area was a cattle ranch in the past and in the year 2000, it was purchased to restore the main wetland now known as Banana Creek Marsh. The restoration project is ongoing. All the changes create new food sources and habitats for thousands of wildlife and migrating birds. On our adventure ride, we saw a Great Blue Heron, Anhinga, White Ibis and a Bald Eagle. We even saw a glimpse of few alligators lurking in the beautiful, clear blue water. The reserve also has The Polk Nature Discovery Center, which provides information about Polk County’s natural resources and water. They also have monthly activities and nature workshops there. If you just want to hike the trails, you have a choice of Alligator Alley, Eagle Roast, Heron Hideout, Lost Bridge, Marsh Rabbit Run, Shady Oak, Wading Bird Way, Windmill Whistle and Treefrog Trail. It was an awesome way to spend the day, exploring all the nature that this former ranch has to offer.

Wow! I would suggest to anyone that short 5 km trail that included Heron Hideout, Eagle RoostWading Bird Way and Windmill Whisper. We could observe several bird species and almost tripped on 3 alligators keeling themselves Nice and warm in the December sunshine. Very pleasant.

This is a great place to walk with the family and explore nature. There are many trails and you could spend hours exploring. The little museum was very informative with displays of all the nature in the park. My wife and I took a long walk and some of the trees covered with Spanish moss reminded her of the movie Avatar. We didn't see any alligators but we saw lots of birds.