History
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Effective Jan. 27, 2025: The following trails at Collier-Seminole State Park are open at this time for use: The Prairie Hammock Trail (3.5 mile), Strand Swamp Trail (5.25 mile), Flatwoods Trail (3 mile) and canoe/kayak trail (13.5 mile). The Royal Palm Hammock Nature Trail (0.9 mile) is closed at this time for maintenance/repairs.
New Camp Store
Effective Jan. 27, 2025: The Friends of Collier-Seminole (FOCS) will be offering canoe rentals on Saturdays and Sundays from February – March. FOCS has also opened a new camp store in the campground. It will be available throughout the week with limit hours through March.
Partial Campground Closure
Campsites 20-39 and 81-105 will remain closed for now due to the damages received from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Extensions on these current closures are a possibility until the necessary repairs can be made.
The park was originally created by Barron Gift Collier to preserve the royal palms and later the park was donated to the county. The park then 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 that became Collier-Seminole State Park.
In the 1700s, Seminole Indians emigrated from the Creek Confederacy to Florida. Three Seminole 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 Native Americans drew maps. One crude 1857 military map illustrates the Blackwater River and an area labeled “palm grove.” That area, now part of the park, contains the beautiful royal palms.
In the 1920s, advertising tycoon and pioneer developer Barron Collier purchased nearly a million acres in southwest Florida.
In 1923, it became Collier County. Barron Collier was a major investor in developing the Collier County section of the Tampa-to-Miami highway, the Tamiami Trail.