We went on the Haunted Walk and it was amazing. We had so much fun going through it. I dont know how theyve done it in previous years but I absolutely loved being able to go through with just my group. I feel like it made it a much more memorable visit. We got every scare and all thought it was completely worth the wait to get in. We will definitely be back next year. In todays world you have to be willing to wait. My group didnt mind the wait and the guy walking through the line periodically scaring people was fun too. We really enjoyed the scares and had a blast going through it. Well worth the $15 we paid.

This is a very interesting place to visit. Cost is $10 Adults, $9 Sr Citizens, $5 Children & that includes the Planetarium Show. Our group of 3 really enjoyed it.

My friends threw me a baby shower at the Calusa Nature Centers Pine Pavilion. The location was perfect. The weather was beautiful, and we were sheltered under a roof from the sun. There was a projector and screen that we were able to use for games. There were string lights to set the mood, and there was plenty of seating for all our guests, and no one felt cramped. It felt like a party in the woods, and was completely beautiful. The location is versatile, and can be decorated a number of ways for any event. I highly recommend using Calusa nature center as a venue for your future events.

More of a nature center for kids, the planetarium is very cool. The bigger trail was flooded due to the summer rains and the boardwalk has been decommissioned since 2017 due to the hurricane. Very friendly staff.

We spent a fair bit of time here in the planetarium and listening to a presentation by Snake Dude. I have now heard several presentations by the lady in charge of the planetarium. I enjoy listening to her very much. Snake Dude was very knowledgeable and quite passionate about his reptilian buds. It seems like everything had started to bloom. It was beautiful when walking through the trails. The only downside to the trip is that I lost one of my good hats. I have owned it for more than a decade. I called them but never heard back from them. It does not seem reasonable to me to penalize them a star or two for my own irresponsibility.

Great little nature center. I feel like its expanded since the last time I was here. My 4 year old loved it.

There were some cool displays and the planetarium was informative. The trails were very wet, rutted, and full of puddles, and the main boardwalk trail was completely shut down when we visited. For the price, its worth the visit, but I would love to see it with everything in better repair and open.

The Nature Centers staffs sweet and knowledgeable. You can tell the animals are loved and taken care of. The Planateruim staffs amazing. They took the time to answer all of the kids questions. The only thing I could say against the whole place is that the the show in the Planateruim was fantastic, yet hard for our 7year old to understand. Todd did a wonderful job helping with the kids questions. The show went from 2:15- 3:20. The animal show went from around 1:15- 2:45 but was interupted by a horrible storm.

A hidden gem in Ft Myers absolutely wonderful experience. Todd who ran the planetarium was absolutely incredible and the nature museum was a lot of fun for us and the kids.

We visited during their Haunted walk and had a great time! It brought back Memories from when I was young in Naples and did the yearly JC haunted walk. Well done Calusa Nature Center!

Great place to take the family & enjoy the day. My best friend, her son,my boys & myself enjoyed ourselves per usual. For those who are new to the area or havent been here.There are tables to have lunch & yes youll have to bring your own lunch but its worth having that quality time. The trails are good to walk & cute animals to see not to mention a nice staff.

For summer camp - my daughter found them to be very rude or mean. She was extremely upset when I picked her up from the one day she did the camp. She couldnt go the rest of that week due to an illness and they refunded us which was nice but I have to say I was really hurt by how she felt after the first day because we were both excited about trying the new camp and thought itd be great. Children have feelings too and deserve mutual respect. Writing this review so they can work on that and realize that some kids are looking forward to these camps and its a real bummer when the adults who monitor them arent kid friendly or whatever the reason is for not trying to give these kids the best time. This camp is NOT cheap... I really thought it would be different.Updated to reply:I’m not sure why the center is confused by my negative review - not all reviews will be positive ones. I’m sure that once you work on improving your program you will get many great reviews after mine. My daughter was 1) sick and I gave you a doctor note so you know she was sick - she had impetigo which can be contagious so no she couldn’t go back to camp 2) she had a very bad day at the one day at camp 3) she was sad she couldn’t go back because I had a long conversation with her about how not all people are going to be nice and she wanted to give it another try. 4) I hope you’re concerned for my daughter too not just your bad Google review. The kind of attitude you had in your email and your concerning reply to my Google review showing lack of empathy for my daughters illness or bad time is the kind of attitude my daughter explained your staff has. I hope you guys do better for future kids. Just work on remembering that kids look forward to camp and it means more than just giving them something to do.

What a very nice place! Great displays and watch out for the diamondback rattler (in a cage). Good displays that give helpful information. The birds were great and the huge alligators were incredible. Well be back again!

I love this place. I just wish more people would support it so that they can make some repairs that are desperately needed. Really good planetarium show and a variety of rescued animals that could not make it in the wild.

Beautiful Planetarium!! My kids and I loved it. The animal show, butterfly garden and trails were great too. I hadnt taken them since they were tiny and were so glad we went today! Aside from the lady that was a bit rude who ran the Planetarium, everything was A+!!! Will definitely return.

This is a great place to be able to get a glimpse into what our surroundings are like. They also have one of the greatest Montessori schools in the back. Ive been coming here since a kid and will continue to come as long as theyre open!

Loved the lazer light show in the planetarium with holiday music playing! Went on the lighted nature trail! 👣There is a spot to take family holiday pictures!

Beautiful place except 2021 haunted walk I usually don’t post stuff like this but for 20 bucks go out to eat walk with Christmas lights on the floor and darkness sorry but please come on

I visited Calusa Nature Center many times as a kid. However, today was the first time I visited the center in almost 20 years. I was excited to see that theyve expanded and are now caring for injured animals and other captive raised animals. They had a wide variety of exhibits on nature and local history, including the Calusa Indians. We loved the raptor aviary and the reptiles. Our son enjoyed the planetarium and the show From Earth to the Universe.We really need to support local treasures like the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium!

I liked this place. I bought a voucher in the Groupon. It’s small, but have a guide, a old man, so nice and gentility. Please, give a tip for the nice guide. I really recommend this place, especially if you have kids. For my, the attention for the guide made all different.

Such a fabulous peaceful walk. There is a small dirt trail that is the closest thing to natural Florida you can find. This path is uneven and has roots and other obstacles though, so it is for a person who is a regular walker. The path with the crushed shells is flat, level, and for anyone. The museum has interesting displays. The butterfly screened in area was FANTASTIC! Really worth visiting. Conveniently located, plenty of parking. I became a member, to support it.

Its a nice place to visit. I took my 19 month old baby girl who loves animals and creatures. Something we share. We walked the trails. It was a nice morning and chance to bond.

We went to see the Vinyl Laser Show. It was great! I would recommend their laser shows to anyone who loves music. The woman that ran the show the night we went was very friendly and professional and very knowledgeable even though she didnt usually work in the planetarium. Thank you for a wonderful time!

The Calusa Nature canter amd planetarium is a wonderful place to learn about nature and space. You will love this place. Fun for the whole family young and old.

A great experience and well worth the visit. Staff was very knowledgeable. Planetarian practiced social distancing which was nice.

Great place for families, amazing experience. The staff really cares about the preservation of nature and all animals inside the center are all well taken care of. This will definitely will become a regular spot for me!

Fun place with lots of neat animal exhibits.We got to see alligator feeding.

This is a beautiful place to get away and meditate. This place brings me more freedom, happiness and a fresh slate. The best time to go is in the early morning 7:30 8 AM. It’s absolutely beautiful as the sun rises, birds are everywhere, turtles, flying fish, the smell of the damp leaves and soil is relaxing.Bring your camera, binoculars as you will see great activity of wildlife. Paid parking required, large lot, has open public bathrooms.

Showed up 15min early for Haunted Walk, they made nearly 100 people wait an hour after the actual scheduled start time in the dark, crowded in, no explanation or apologies until shamed by the crowd of angry patrons who were then mocked by the unprofessional staff. Worst service experience ever and the Haunted Walk is lame, short, not worth 15$ per person.

Nothing like the website described.. my son was so disappointed on his birthday..

We had a great time here today, our group of 7 ages 9-45 all enjoyed it. The planetarium show was a little boring but that was just our opinion. Most all the staff was super friendly from the cashier to all the ones that interacted with us and the animals, they go above and beyond. The only complaint I have is Natalia B was very rude and definitely doesn’t belong in a job where there is customers. When we first got there there was a couple people in line so 2 members of our group took off to use the much needed bathroom after our trip here and the others where standing around waiting for us to get out so we could pay, apparently some of our group were looking at an exhibit and Natalia flipped out and was very rude to them because we hadn’t paid yet. I’m sure it’s not cheap to run this place and had I not cared about animals and supporting y’all I would have definitely left on account of her nasty behavior.

Nice place. Vthere are some animals to see such as gators, a large birds, and lizards. There is also a nice butterfly enclosure with lots of butterflies in it. There is a planetarium with shows and animal demonstrations as well. There are some hiking trails but unfortunately right now the best part of the cypress trail is closed.

Very educational and took the time to explain everything about the animals and the reptiles.

We had 930 pm to 10 pm tickets we got into line at 930 pm and it took till 1045 pm to get through the line. 80 % of the walk was just walking through the dark woods, and like only 5 attempted jump scares the entire way through. It was horrible dont waste your money go somewhere else, and the parking was horrific.

The Calusa Nature Center is an amazing place! Their new aviary is truly beautiful and they are a staple of the Ft. Myers community.We took our 1 year old and he adored the animals and nature trails (& we cant wait to enroll him at the school there when hes old enough)! If you can, please support this local wildlife treasure.

I love taking our grandkids here. We took our kids here when thy were little 20+ years ago. It is not crowded and I love the friendly staff. They answer your questions, which I am sure they get asked the same questions over and over. It is a good place for a short 1-2 hour stop. Just long enough for the grandkids! And grandpa!

Love that they rescue animals. Lots of animals to touch and learn about. The planetarium is neat too. Havent been to one since I was a kid.

Awesome place for a visit! The staff was super nice and helpful. We learned a lot from the animal caretaker! Part of the trail is closed due to damage, but there is still a nice loop you can take there. Planetarium is small, but was still really cool. Lots of stuff to fill your day!

Wonderful kid friendly place. The planetarium show was outstanding. The girl at the snake show was knowledgeable and personable. Fantastic experience and not too expensive!!

Sooooo cool for all ages!!! Highly recommend.

Ally was amazing with her animal show. Planetarium was out of this world. Great for family day, would visit again!

My husband and I found it very interesting and informative. Worth a visit and hopefully will return with our Grandchildren sometime this summer.

My sons wedding was held in the Planetarium this past month. It ended up being a lovely setting. The grounds and building were very clean and the staff went above and beyond to make the day very extra special. Would highly recommend for planning your next function.

Fantastic place, great guides. My teens and I did the guided nature walk, even though the path was flooded from last weeks storm the guide was able to keep our attention and teach us many many fun facts about the swamp land ecosystem. Wonderful place, if you really pay attention and get engaged with each exhibit you can spend a whole day here. Bring a lunch as no concessions are available. Cant wait to go back and see the planetarium presentation also. :)

This was our 4th lazer show there and they are always so cool. Great songs and pretty decent lazers. Will keep going back as long as they keep having them. Good time for the whole family.

This was fun. The only animals I saw were at the main center. It was a great walk on the long trail but didnt see any gators. A more keen eye mightve though

I wanted to see more rescue animals than I did. I think that overall the experience was fun and I loved the live show with the animals. Great place to bring young children to but adults not so much.

Had a great time yesterday it was seeing all the animals & different types of birds & I really didnt get to see everything at the park but I still enjoyed it my favorite part was when we went to go see the Planetarium! It was really neat to see & learn some new things about Space! 🙂🌌🌌🌌🌌🌠🌗🌖🌗⭐⭐⭐

Todd is an AMAZING planetarium presenter! Blew our minds

Calusa Nature Center is a gem!! They are always educational and exciting. Every time we go it is a new experience. The people who take care of the animals love to answer questions and are so knowledgeable about them. You cant beat the price and it includes the planetarium shows and animal talks. The laser light shows are $10 and well worth the price. Get the glasses for a dollar extra it is so much better.

We enjoyed our visit but due to flooding and lack of funds trails were closed. Place needs fundraisers to help update it.

What a wonderful time had at the center. The facilities, staff and offerings were awesome and unique. I highly recommend to all, especially families and nature lovers. My daughter and I watched Halloween films at the planetarium and just loved the experience! What a unique setting to watch 50s pulp films. The executive director was so welcoming and made us feel at home. Bravo Calusa Nature Center!! I hope to visit soon again!!

A diamond in the rough... Awesome place to escape from the crazy city life...

We loved our experience at the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and had safe COVID protocols in place. The Planetarium show was informative and entertaining. I would highly recommend this for families with young children or nature enthusiasts.

I dont know why its so hard to find this when searching google maps for nature centers, zoos or animal encounters in the Naples area, but the place is an absolute gem. We found the place, drove out from Ft Lauderdale to check it out and ended up buying a groupon that we stumbled upon while driving over. The place is worth full price admission. We will be back

Nice volunteer guide was awesome 👍👍

It was ok.....The staff was VERY friendly! The animals are well cared for.They need funds....Some of the boardwalks are closed due to disrepair and you can see wear and tear on the propertyBUT the gentleman who was showing us animals was fantastic! Knowledgeable and very friendly!

Awesome place. Enjoyed it. The planetarium was wonderful. Great for children!

Loved walking on the boardwalk. The Cypress trees are beautiful to be surrounded by and getting to see different animals is great also!

Wow!!!! Awesome people they take care and love there animals....Thank you ...

I like the show in the Planetarian. The trail is long and peaceful. It is worth the price. I suggest the annual ticket.

Love the animals, nature zen and the staff is very nice and polite!

Their planetarium is super cute! We got to watch Santa conquers the aliens and the year 2889 and it was awesome. The man running the event would give us facts about the movie and also told us about the exhibits too :) really nice event :)

The nature center is a hidden gem in Fort Myers. So nice to have this much nature in the middle of a city. The trails are great and easy. The nature center is fun to bring kids to and see all the turtles and snakes they care for. My favorite exhibit is outside with the alligators and bald eagle. We need more places like this in the city! I’d highly recommend bringing your young children here for a fun afternoon!

This place was awesome!Small and cozy, allows for a very upclose expérience.Staff was super friendly and very knowledgable.Alligators, crocodiles, snakes, turtles, birds of prey, aquariums, butterfly house...ect.Grounds are clean, animals are well taken care of.Interactive live animal encounters.The Planitarium is awesome too.Adult admission is only 10$ for everything!They are also not-for profit so bonus points.Kids will enjoy this place as well.They also have several rescue animals that cant be released into the wild.This place is definitley worth the visit. 👍

We attended the Boos and Brews event as vendors and we were blown away by the hospitality and professionalism. Kaitlin and her team of volunteers made us feel at home. The event was well organized and a lot of fun. The actual center itself is meticulously clean, fun and educational!

Awesome time!! Definitely recommend:)

It was a pretty cool place.the people who work there really seem to care about what they are doing.enjoyed the day there.

My family loves it here. Over the years my kids grew up visiting the animals, going on nature hikes and enjoying shows at the planetarium. From special Halloween and Christmas events to birthday parties and picnics we’ve appreciated the center for years and hope it sticks around for years to come! Please donate to help a local educational cause!

Girl Scout Troop have a great time. Fun place for children

An overlooked gem- an urban oasis; a 105 acre nature center and planetarium located among car dealerships and Wal-Mart strip centers. A full slate of educational programs for children and teenagers, including summer programs.

The experience I just had at the calusa nature center, was down right traumatizing, to say the least. I am a homeschooling single mother who decided to take her daughter for a day of learning at the center. Due to medical conditions, we are both exempt from wearing masks, which was said to be respected in their policy. Upon arriving I expressed our situation to the woman at the front desk. She immediately began pressing me on political views, and laughing manically when I told her I believe everything will soon be okay in the world, giving out the notion that I was insane for believing so, in front of my 6 year old daughter..she proceeded to insinuate that she didnt believe I sounded like I have asthma, which is immensely unprofessional + completely illegal when it comes to medical rights in this country. When I told her I felt uncomfortable with her actions + that we were just going to leave, but that I first wanted her name to carry out legal measures, she immediately starting manically laughing + screaming that she was now afraid of me! entirely flipping the script..she proceeded to frantically jump up + down, grabbing her neck and face like a lunatic, screaming to the other side of the building that she is scared of me and that I am a pyscho. To the extreme point where her employees had to calm her down and pull her aside. This experience was terrifying to not only myself, but more importantly my impressionable 6 year old daughter who was so excited to spend a day at the center learning about Nature. To bring up political views + insinuate that I was lying about medical conditions is something that should be taking extremely seriously by any establishment. As a being of that nature has no buisness handling visitors during this extremely trying time in the world, where with diversity, some people truly have underlying health issues, it is down right sinister to bully them out of an experience. This woman had blond long curly hair, and I belive her name is susan...though Im not sure as they unprofessionally wouldnt disclose her information, it is vital for mothers like me to be informed of her atrocious pyschotic episode, to prevent this awful experience to ever repeat to innocent beings who are merely trying to enjoy their day. Through the entire episode I remained cool calm + collected, although internally terrifed, as it was highly apparent she is suffering with extreme psychosis. Be warned, this establishment does not value your medical rights + are liable to bully you out of pressure + ridicule. My 6 year old child left with tears in her eyes, as all she wanted to do was learn about animals for her day, in turn the lesson ended up being that, unfortunately, some humans too, have tendencies to act like rabid animals.

The guided NIGHT WALK was fabulous! One of our leaders was Edwin Everham, a long-time environmental studies teacher and researcher at FGCU. We loved the mysterious feel of the dark and the smells. Full moon! Rebecca led part of the tour. Both were so engaging and knowledgable.

Fun for the kids for quick peaceful enjoyment. Animals, trail, the planetarium is great. Very affordable, donate if you want, to keep the fort myers center going ! All good things. Fun shows when the animals come out for live demonstrations.

Fantastic. Absolutely love this place. Cant recommended it highly enough! Recently attended for their Halloween Led Zeppelin laser show and it was wonderful. I will be back very soon for more planetarium shows!

Laser Light Show was great.Pink Floyd. I havent wasted an hour that fast in years. Good price. A nice evening starter.

Love this place, the laser shows are great and so is the staff, come check out a piece of Mars and multiple meteorites

Nature museum was super awesome to explore. The planetarium as cool as well with a newly updated sound system. They should get the chairs that lean back for the planetarium but other than that it was definitely a fun adventure and the planetarium guy was super fun, knowledgeable, patient, and easy to understand.

Terrible experience at the front desk with a woman staff member with blonde curly hair (Susan?). She was extremely unprofessional laughing maniacally and demonically, bringing politics up when we were unable to wear a mask at their outdoor uncrowded event. She followed us around when we went to bathroom pleading and begging us to leave. All other staff members were very nice and professional.

Very nice and quiet. A great place for a calming break!

Expected a lot more. I know Covid is going on, but thought we would be able to see other animals. Also, masks are required, but the man at the front desk had his mask completely down and others weren’t wearing theirs.Mostly reptiles with two owls.

The staff was so kind and informative! They took so much time sharing with us. You can tell they love what they do.

Enjoyed the haunted hike for Halloween. Got spooked by the creepy clowns and cannibals! Will be visiting again for next years haunted hike 👻

No way to go there! Masks mandatory!! No medical exceptions

Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. More here than we thought! We will visit again

Great walk to see the lights! However, at 64 I tripped a time or three on roots in the pathway. The laser show was fabulous!!

Great to see rescue animals being well taken care of. We saw an eagle up close. Staff was knowledgeable and very friendly!

Wonderful hostal they were all very knowledgeable

I used to come here a lot when I was a kid and I havent been here in many years, it was nice to see that they are still here and its still a fun place to come. The staff here are amazing, lots of fun stuff to see and do! The planetarium is enjoyable as well as the many different nature exhibits. Im so happy to see this place is still up and going.

Enjoyed the planetarium, live animal show and the displays.

This place was super fun for my 6, 10, and 11 year old and myself!

Holiday Lights were very nice walk! Enjoyed

Very poorly maintained. Aviary sad. Birds in distress. Please, do anything and everything to make this better or close it.

My wife Rebecca Gammey Theis and I saw two different Laser shows. One was to the music of Pink Floyd and the other was to the music of the Beatles. Both were awesome shows. The Refractive glasses are worth it at a $1 upcharge. Trust me.

Not worth a 1 star rating and definitely not worth your money or time. Nature center had a few reptiles, fish, and turtles. Birds were in small cages in disrepair, as were a few mammals. There were no guides, and many exhibits were without any descriptive info to know what we were seeing. The 30 minute planetarium show was BORING and ran on for an hour. Stairs were poorly marked making it difficult to find seats and exit the show. After being thoroughly disappointed with the facilities and program, we opted for a nature walk through the grounds. Trails were very poorly marked causing confusion as to where we were. With only 15 minutes to closing we attempted to call the center to alert them to our still being on the trails, but they did not answer. When we finally came to a clearing on the trail, we found ourselves at a golf course. When we finally returned to the nature center and complained about the poorly marked trails, they simply replied it is our responsibility to find our way back and they would have locked our car in the lot without searching the grounds for missing visitors on the trails. This could have ended very badly. I have never experienced such disregard for visitor safety and animal welfare!

Holiday lights and nature walk are wonderful! What a Lee County gem!!

Such a fun an educational experience! Up close and person would some beautiful animals, the workers are extremely knowledgeable and even checked out a plantetarium show which was an awesome experience! The guy who runs the planetarium show was really nice and knew so much! Definitely recommend this place

I love coming here to blow off steam from nursing school. It is proven that even 20 minutes in a green space can lower your blood pressure significantly. I enjoy seeing Erica the bald eagle and adventuring out to the wild lands trail where I have been able to spot hawks, animal tracks and even a wild bobcat! I go to the community events sometimes to support my sister and they are doing better and better with each event!

Excellent stop. The planetarium is a must see.

Loved the planetarium.