This park has the natural beauty and wildlife of the Everglades, as well as a forest of tropical trees. The 7,271-acre park lies partly within the great mangrove swamp of southern Florida, one of the largest mangrove swamps in the world. Collier-Seminole also contains one of the three original stands of the rare royal palm in Florida.

In the 1700s, Seminole Indians emigrated from the Creek Confederacy to Florida. Three wars took place to remove the Seminoles from Florida and send them to reservations. During the Third Seminole War, the Seminoles resisted and retreated to the swamps of southwest Florida. Soldiers searching for the Indians drew maps. One crude 1857 military map illustrates the Blackwater River with an area labeled `palm grove'. That area, now a part of the park, contains the beautiful royal palm trees. In the early 1920s, advertising tycoon and pioneer developer, Barron Collier purchased nearly a million acres in southwest Florida. In 1923, it became Collier County. The park was created to preserve the royal palm trees. The park served as a memorial to Barron Collier and those who fought on both sides of the Seminole Wars. In 1947, the county donated the land, which became Collier-Seminole State Park.

Collier-Seminole State Park looks much different today than in the past, due to quick growing tropical foliage. Hurricanes also shape the landscape, but plants grow back to quickly fill in the gaps. The tropical hardwoods will continue to grow, even when knocked down by a storm. Dense growth in the interior of the hammock regulates water and temperatures throughout the seasons.

The hiking in and through the hardwood forest and hammock is like nothing I have ever seen. The vegetation, the many birds and of course alligators is an amazing experience. Also taking a canoe trip down the Blackwater river was quite the workout but worth the trip.