Enjoy The Jungle On The Fakahatchee West Main Tram Trail

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I’ve been curious about the West Tram Trail at Fakahatchee Strand State Park since the first time I visited.

And on my most recent visit I finally got to see it! I figured it would be similar to the East Tram Trail (the one for the Fakahatchee Hilton), and while it is, it also feels completely different.

I took about a million pictures on this trail and have a gallery at the end with tons of them, so be sure not to skip that!

The trail is an old logging road at gate 7 on the Janes Memorial Scenic Drive. There is a gate number sign and a board with some information at the trailhead.

Parking is pretty limited, there is room for maybe five cars at most, but I’ve never seen more than one or two here at a time.

Like I said, the trail is an old logging road, so it’s fairly wide, which is nice if you encounter alligators on the trail.

There are literally no twists and turns to tell you about on this trail. It is the straightest trail I’ve probably ever seen.

The first thing of note was a rusty old car chassis off on the right. I don’t remember how far in it was, but it’s pretty easy to spot.

We saw one lone alligator just hanging out on the side of the trail, off in the water a bit.

Then a bit later, on the left, we saw a mama gator with THIRTEEN BABIES! I’ve never seen so many baby gators at once. They were split on both sides of the trail.

We spent some time with them before moving on. The mom kept an eye on us but was pretty chill.

We continued through the jungle (or the Florida equivalent of one) and got to see wild oranges along the way!

We didn’t eat any (I think they’re really bitter or sour, not good for eating) but I did love seeing them.

Eventually we came to a small clearing with a little swamp shack cabin thing! It’s reminiscent of the Fakahatchee Hilton in the way that it’s a cabin in the swamp, but other than that, it’s very different.

This one is much smaller and I don’t think can even be used at all. The dock didn’t connect to the cabin and it wasn’t in the best shape.

That said, I loved it! The water in this area was really open and you could see all the plants under it and the reflections of the palm trees, it was so beautiful!

There was also a very photogenic old chair at the end of the dock with the cabin behind it which I also loved.

We lingered here for quite a while before continuing on. This next little section of the trail wasn’t as jungle-y and was my least favorite part of the trail.

But if you keep going it will go back to the dense jungle of the first section before tapering off into the water. Where exactly this happens may depend on current water levels.

I really loved the view from the end of the trail, it’s perfect cypress swamp. On our way back in this area we also saw a cottonmouth! I named her Lucy.

She was a perfect lady and let us take her picture and pass with no problem.

The way back was fairly uneventful (but that’s ok!) and we got to see the mom and baby gators again. She did hiss a couple of times as we passed but she let us go safely.

We didn’t really have much choice as far as passing her to get back, anyway. There’s only so much room and babies were on both sides of the trail so going into the water at all, even a little bit to pass, wasn’t an option at all.

By the time we made it back to the car, I was ready to be done. It wasn’t a difficult trail but it was on the higher end of mileage of what I’m used to. I know it’s not that much but for me it is.

I really loved the West Tram Trail and am so glad I finally got to see it, I would definitely recommend it! I even think I may have liked it more than the Hilton trail!

The Hilton and the pond by it are fantastic and if you can only pick one trail, I would probably go with that one, but if you have time for both, absolutely do both!

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

Where is the West Main Tram Trail?

The West Main Tram Trail is in Fakahatchee Strand State Park and Preserve, on the Janes Memorial Scenic Drive.

It’s at Gate 7 which is about 4.5 miles from the park office/ranger station. It may also be called the West Tram Trail, the West Main Trail, or the West Main Trail.

There is room for 4-5 cars at the trailhead, just be sure not to block the main road or the tram road gate.

It’s about 30 minutes from Everglades City and an hour from Naples. It is a rough, potholey dirt road, but as long as you’re careful and it’s not flooded from rain, any car should make it.

How long is the West Main Tram Trail?

AllTrails says it is 4.4 miles but I tracked it and we went 5.23 miles. I’m not sure where the difference comes from, or if being in dense trees had something to do with it.

Is the West Main Tram Trail hard?

Nope! There is 16 feet of elevation gain throughout the trail, which is probably a lot for Florida, but it feels flat.

It’s also completely straight, there isn’t even a thought of any kind of bend in this trail making it super easy to follow. It took us about 2.5 hours for the whole thing.

Is the West Main Tram Trail where the Fakahatchee Hilton is?

Nope! The Fakahatchee Hilton is on the East Main Tram Trail at the end of the scenic drive. There is another old cabin on this trail but it’s not maintained like the Hilton.

Is the West Main Tram Trail worth it?

Yes! Even though it’s just straight and an old road, I really loved the West Main Trail!

We saw a couple of alligators and a cottonmouth (which is always exciting) and of course the cabin, which is super cool. The view at the end as the trail goes into the water is also really pretty.

At the beginning of the trail I wasn’t expecting much bit it turned out to be great!