Some people have said that when they walk the Ridge they feel the spirits of the Indians who honored this special area. Archaeological surveys have confirmed sites within Pine Island Ridge as the locations of hunting camps of the ancient Tequesta Indians. More recently, in the 1800s, as the historian Patsy West has written, “The Pine Island complex was probably one of the first permanent habitation sites occupied by the Seminole in southeastern Florida.”
West goes on: “During the Second Seminole War [1835-1842], Pine Island became known as the legendary refuge for the Seminole. The Island was in the uncharted Everglades where the military had never set foot, and appeared to be secure.” As West points out, Sam Jones, the Miccosukee war chief also known as Abiaka, was closely linked to the series of islands that included Pine Island Ridge and nearby Long Key. One of his primary residences was on Long Key, and Pine Island Ridge is where he was repeatedly besieged by U.S. government forces that wanted to corner and capture him. (The warrior is commemorated with a statue in Tree Tops Park, adjacent to Pine Island Ridge.)
As you stroll the Ridge you may see wildlife that still depend on this forest for survival, raccoons, opossums, armadillos, gopher tortoises, foxes, snakes, spiders, butterflies, and many birds.
A walk through the Ridge helps recapture a time when people were connected to the land. They depended on the land and respected it.
If you enter the trail from Tree Tops Park please note the following hours and fees:
November through March 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
March through November 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Admission is charged to enter Tree Tops Park on weekends and holidays only.
$1.50 per person (ages 6 and up)
$8 maximum charge per car or van (six to nine occupants)
$20 maximum charge per commercial vehicle/school bus (10 or more occupants).