Overview: Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area is part park, part historical site and part natural area. It's 53-acres of ponds and marshes combined with manicured park. It's not exactly the kind of place to get lost in the woods, so to speak, but it is a peaceful spot to relax, walk and watch birds. Hard surface trails loop through the property. Interpretive signs provide details of both the history of the property and the nature that lives on it. The ponds and marshes are full of life and easily explored.
In a way, it is an unexpected place, sitting deep in an otherwise highly developed neighborhood just north of the Miami-Dade County line and away from major roadways. You have to know it's there in order to find it.
History: Archaeological evidence shows Snake Warrior's Island was inhabited as far back as 500 B.C. Miccocukee leader Chitto Tustenguggee, also known as Snake Warrior, camped here during the Second Seminole War in the late 1830s. Evidence of the war chief's camp was unearthed in 1991. That same year, the Trust for Public Land heard that a developer planned to build homes on the site, and negotiated an option to buy the land instead. The trust turned the land over to the state in 1992; Broward County leased it in 2004 and opened Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area that same year. One interesting fact: creation of the natural area and re-created wetlands not only preserved an important archeological site, it helped solve a flooding problem in the neighborhood by collecting and storing stormwater.
What You'll See: Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area is essentially a wetland in a park setting. Mostly manicured, but with some rough edges around the water. The water attracts myriad wading birds, American coots, moorhens, purple gallinules great egrets, wood storks, little blue herons, great blue herons and more. Look for mottled ducks year round, blue-winged teals in the cooler months. A variety of warblers gather here also during the cooler months. Look for a variety of wetland plant along the margins of the wetlands, including climbing hempvine, elderberry, willow trees, spatterdock, silverling and buttonbush.
Amenities: As noted above, there is plenty of parking here, interpretive signs explaining both the nature and the history of the area, two hard-surfaced accessible walking trails, picnic tables but not drinking water or restrooms.
Nearby: Miami-Dade's County Line Scrub Natural Area is a few minutes' drive away, but it might be closed. Call the county for further information.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation has no data on plants found within the natural area.
Of Note: The hours for Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area varies by the time of the year: 8 am. to 6 p.m. when Eastern Standard Time is observed, roughly early November to early March; 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. the rest of the year (while savings time is in effect). The natural area is closed on Christmas. There is no admission fee.
Cover Photo: The most prominent physical feature of the natural area is this island in the middle of the wetlands. Looking at it, one can get a sense of what this land might have been like nearly 200 years ago when this was the campsite of the Snake Warrior, Chitto Tustenguggee. Second Photo: American coots swimming peacefully in the re-created wetlands.
In a way, it is an unexpected place, sitting deep in an otherwise highly developed neighborhood just north of the Miami-Dade County line and away from major roadways. You have to know it's there in order to find it.
History: Archaeological evidence shows Snake Warrior's Island was inhabited as far back as 500 B.C. Miccocukee leader Chitto Tustenguggee, also known as Snake Warrior, camped here during the Second Seminole War in the late 1830s. Evidence of the war chief's camp was unearthed in 1991. That same year, the Trust for Public Land heard that a developer planned to build homes on the site, and negotiated an option to buy the land instead. The trust turned the land over to the state in 1992; Broward County leased it in 2004 and opened Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area that same year. One interesting fact: creation of the natural area and re-created wetlands not only preserved an important archeological site, it helped solve a flooding problem in the neighborhood by collecting and storing stormwater.
What You'll See: Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area is essentially a wetland in a park setting. Mostly manicured, but with some rough edges around the water. The water attracts myriad wading birds, American coots, moorhens, purple gallinules great egrets, wood storks, little blue herons, great blue herons and more. Look for mottled ducks year round, blue-winged teals in the cooler months. A variety of warblers gather here also during the cooler months. Look for a variety of wetland plant along the margins of the wetlands, including climbing hempvine, elderberry, willow trees, spatterdock, silverling and buttonbush.
Amenities: As noted above, there is plenty of parking here, interpretive signs explaining both the nature and the history of the area, two hard-surfaced accessible walking trails, picnic tables but not drinking water or restrooms.
Nearby: Miami-Dade's County Line Scrub Natural Area is a few minutes' drive away, but it might be closed. Call the county for further information.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation has no data on plants found within the natural area.
Of Note: The hours for Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area varies by the time of the year: 8 am. to 6 p.m. when Eastern Standard Time is observed, roughly early November to early March; 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. the rest of the year (while savings time is in effect). The natural area is closed on Christmas. There is no admission fee.
Cover Photo: The most prominent physical feature of the natural area is this island in the middle of the wetlands. Looking at it, one can get a sense of what this land might have been like nearly 200 years ago when this was the campsite of the Snake Warrior, Chitto Tustenguggee. Second Photo: American coots swimming peacefully in the re-created wetlands.
