Fred C. Babcock – Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area – Florida

We spent some time in Cape Coral Florida during in March 2023. At the end of our trip I discovered the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area. This preserve is Florida’s oldest wildlife management area and it is around 81,000 acres. It’s located just southeast of Punta Gorda in Charlotte and Lee Counties. The area is accessed from its own exit off of Interstate-75.

My wife and I took the drive traveling from Cape Coral and of course we got lost. Our first google maps attempt took us to a residential area with an entrance to the back of the preserve and the gate was locked.  It was a dirt road entrance and my wife looked somewhat relieved that the gate was closed and there were no other access points. This area looked a bit unfriendly so we agreed to keep looking knowing there had to be a main entrance. I wasn’t giving up, there website made it sound to cool to pass up. After a couple hours…eureka we found it! This is one of those times that looks are deceiving. As you approach the preserve, you go for semi-heavily populated town to the preserve in a matter of minutes.

There is a small booth (tiny hut) at the entrance to the preserve, it’s on your right as you enter the preserve. The cost is $3.00 and you pay on the honor system and only cash. Who carries cash? I had to dig change out of the center console of my truck to pay. It has to be the best three dollars I ever spent. Please take the time to stop and pay, it helps maintain the preserve.

During our outing we stuck to a paved area and while it was a bit populated for my taste we saw unbelievable wildlife in preserve. The paved area was fairly large, moving slowly through the preserve and keeping a watchful eye will offer you a much better trip. The paved area would be perfect if you are exploring with children. If you get out to walk be careful, we saw many croc’s in the water that the paved road wraps around. We did the entire paved area and a couple of the easy access dirt roads and saw turtles, many species of birds, deer, croc’s, snakes and a variety of cool bugs. We stayed occupied for a couple hours.

On the way out we stopped to talk to a Wildlife Management Officer and he gave us the lay of the land. He explained the gravel road leading to several dirt road turnoffs had much more to offer. Exploring off-road is allowed in many areas of the preserve (clearly marked) they simply ask that you are respectful, it’s not an off-road course and they don’t want the preserved damaged.

Preserve management was extremely nice, knowledgeable and helpful!

On the ride home from our excursion and after talking to the officer I decided my time there was not nearly long enough. I understood my wife was hesitant to go off road. I get it, she is not a fan of gators, snakes, bats and all kinds of unseemly creatures.

So knowing there was much more to see I went back solo two days later. I arrived at sunrise and left at sunset, this time and it took me about 45 minutes to drive from Cape Coral and it was well worth it! All my time was spent off the beaten path and I barely covered 10% of the available trails. Personally I wouldn’t suggest the dirt roads without 4-wheel drive. I drive a Ram 1500 and no problems other than beating up the truck a bit. Some of the roads get a little narrow but are passable, and if there are limbs in the road I would suggest moving them verses driving over, I have a decent sized dimple in my driver’s side door because I was lazy.

You can get out of the car and wonder around, children and pets will definitely add some challenges if you decide to wonder. I had the crap scared out of me while stopping on a dirt road with small pond on both sides of the road. While taking a picture of birds to my left I heard an insane snort behind me, like right behind me. It was about a 10 foot gator in the other pond staring at me. I easily could have been lunch, lesson learned! It sank into the water growling and as it was going down little water spouts were coming off it’s back. It was extremely intimidating so got back in the truck and moved on, I swear he looked as long as my truck. As I was driving home I thought to myself it may not be the best place to travel solo. We’ll see what happens next year when I go back.

If you have a four wheel drive you can easily spend a day in the preserve and not make a dent, the preserve is huge. The trick is to find water, every creature needs water and that’s where I had the best time and saw tons of wildlife. A GPS is unless in the preserve with one exception, it helps you find water. Don’t expect it to get you home if you get lost (which I thought I did once) but the images on your GPS will show you the water around your trail that you can drive to for viewing wildlife. Keep in mind that GPS has dated information and in the heat some of the water on the GPS had dried up.

With a fishing rod in the truck and a license in my pocket I stopped and fished a couple ponds. After my scare with the gator I have to say I had a little anxiety but it looked too good to pass up. Every pond I hit produced some bass and some really nice sized bluegill. I had a partner fishing with me at one of the ponds, he did well, got one nice Bass, I did better. If you decide to fish stay very watchful, I did see gators in some of the ponds I fished, most were small but I’m sure they could do some damage. That being said, all of them kept their distance and I was grateful.

Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area is located at 29200 Tuckers Grade, Punta Gorda, FL and the preserve offers: