Estero Bay Preserve State Park, State park in Lee County, United States.

Estero Bay Preserve State Park is a protected area spanning roughly 10,000 acres across Estero Bay with dense mangrove forests, salt marshes, and tidal flats. These interconnected habitats support a wide range of marine life, birds, and terrestrial creatures that depend on the bay for survival.

Estero Bay Preserve State Park was established as Florida's first aquatic nature preserve, protecting 10,000 acres of water, inlets and islands along 10 miles of Estero Bay between Fort Myers and Naples. The Seaboard Air Line Railway, one of two railroads serving southwest Florida, once ran through the area; its old rail bed survives near the Florida Power and Light easement, now isolated by development to the north and south.

The park's name comes from Estero Bay, the shallow water body it protects between Fort Myers and Naples. Visitors today fish, boat, cycle and canoe along its 10 miles of bay, inlets and islands, watching for gopher tortoises, fiddler crabs and bald eagles.

The park is open from 8:00 A.M. until sundown year-round. Access is by boat along the water, inlets and islands of Estero Bay, or on foot and by bicycle on land routes; canoeing and fishing are allowed. The old Seaboard Air Line Railway bed lies near the Florida Power and Light easement, heading northwest, and can be followed on a hike.

The old Seaboard Air Line Railway bed runs near the Florida Power and Light easement, heading northwest. Development to the north and south has orphaned this stretch, so it lies isolated within the preserve and can be reached on foot during a hike.