I pulled off the road in Florida expecting a quiet patch of marsh and maybe a heron or two. What I got instead was a shallow flat full of pink birds sweeping their spoon-shaped bills through the water about thirty feet from my windshield.
The whole route is only four miles long, paved, one-way, and slow enough that you can stop whenever something catches your eye. Bring binoculars, roll the windows down, and give yourself more time than you think you need.
Where the Pavement Meets the Mangroves
Sanibel Island curves like a shrimp off Florida’s southwest coast, and along its northern edge sits the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, at 1 Wildlife Dr. The entrance booth is modest. A staffer hands over a pass, mentions the tide, and points you toward a narrow ribbon of pavement that runs four miles through mangrove flats and shallow water.
Traffic moves at a crawl because everyone is looking sideways. The road is one-way, and pulling onto the right shoulder to get out and walk around is encouraged rather than frowned upon…