Ding Darling and Ahninga in late March

I am planning a trip to Florida the 3rd week of March and will be there until middle of April. I want to visit Ding Darling and Ahninga Trail while I am there. Any tips or hints on these two destinations would be helpful and appreciated. I will be staying on Cudjoe Key, 20 miles north of Key West. Thankyou in advance.

Bruce Kapla

Get to ding darling before it opens.. i think around 730 am because there can be a line and you want to be first in the park.... as far as the anihinga trail, the light is the best in the am but it can also be great round sunset however the last bit usually dips behind the trees in the pm... both spots are great but like always if you want good pics get there before sunrise...also try,

corkscrew swamp-- near ding darling
loop road is a must
any other questions let me know

I'll be heading down to Naples, Fl next weekend and Ding Darling is on the menu for me as well, so thanks for that info Jeffery! I'm also considering heading down to Key West for a couple days- any thoughts as to photogenic hotspots in that region? Besides the obvious, I mean. I was there last year and visited Corkscrew Swamp, Loop Road, and Turner Road as well (got my best gator shots, such as this one, on Turner). Stopped by Clyde Butcher's studio on the way back also, and got to chat with him a bit. I'd never seen prints so large as the ones in his studio. If you want to see some of my Florida pics from last year, you can see them at http://www.timfeeney.net

Ding can be iffy. March is usually good. The best time to go to Ding are in the fall and the spring when they install the flap gates in the culverts. They do it for about three weeks at the first impoundment (viewing pools 1 and 2, before the cross dike) and then about three weeks at the second impoundment (the third viewing pool, obeservation tower, past the cross dike) this keeps the water in the impoundments artificially low for the migrating shore birds. The gate opens at 7:30 and closes about a half hour before sunset, closed on Fridays. The impoundents are a morning shoot. If you get in before the gate closes, you can stay for sunset.

If it's birds you're after, Estero lagoon at early morning low tide is usually a good bet.