Swamp hikes? Yes, you can do that in SWFL. Here are five you should try

Note to readers: This is the fourth installment of our special series on the great outdoors of Southwest Florida. So far we have covered where to see amazing birds, places to spot an alligator and where you can get the best view of the stars. We will continue to bring you these unique points of view from our expert reporters, Amy Williams and Chad Gillis and visuals journalist Andrew West.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of wetlands to the environment.

These watery places – swamps, sloughs, strands and marshes, not to mention the River of Grass - help prevent flooding by holding rainfall. They also filter pollution and recharge our aquifers

Practical benefits aside, wetlands offer astonishing beauty. They shelter some of Florida’s most prized species: Florida panthers, ghost orchids, wood storks.

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Yet for centuries, humans have busily drained, dredged and filled until more than half of our original wetlands are now gone.

If you’d like to see some of what’s left, here are five you can either traverse from dry ground or have a full immersion experience. As famed Florida photographer Clyde Butcher says, “To know the swamp, you have to get into the swamp.”

COLLIER COUNTY

Fakahatchee Strand

Pull of S.R. 29 in Collier County and into another world: the Fakahatchee Strand. Janes Scenic Drive offers several pull-offs for hiking the old logging roads and tram routes shaded by towering bald cypress and sunny ponds edged by alligator flags, a wetland plant whose umbrella leaves shelters myriad species of wildlife.

Big Cypress

What Clyde Butcher has dubbed “muckabouts” are a fine way to get up close and personal with the Big Cypress Swamp. Come ready to get wet – these are up-to-your-waist experience - but also expect unparalleled views of cypress, bromeliads and wading birds, along with a soundtrack that includes  frog trills and drumming woodpeckers. Walks leave from his Big Cypress Gallery on the Tamiami Trail.

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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

In this Collier County must-see stop, more than two miles of boardwalk wind through pines and wet prairies past a marsh and into the largest old-growth bald cypress stand in the U.S. Visitors to the Audubon-run sanctuary can glimpse a plethora of songbirds including the brilliant painted bunting.

LEE COUNTY

Four Mile Cove Eco Preserve

In this wild corner of Cape Coral's flank, hikers can explore 365 acres of mangrove fringe on the Caloosahatchee River. Walkways are lined by sabal palm, gumbo limbo and strangler figs and wading birds stalk the shallows while raptors like hawks and osprey soaring above. Some of the watery paths can get quite narrow and shallow, especially at low tide, but turnaround points are marked, and signs help guide return trips.

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Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

This urban oasis within the Fort Myers city limits is 3,000-plus-acres  of green wilderness just five minutes from I-75. Its 1.2 miles of well-maintained boardwalks make it comfortable for those with diverse abilities, and from August to October, visitors can step off the boardwalks and into the water for wet walks  through the preserve’s namesake trees.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Swamp hikes: Our expert picks her five favorites spots in Lee, Collier