Route #72 Ave Maria - Golden Gate - Lely - Pelican Bay

This route covers 79 miles across northern Collier County, where new highways and massive real-estate developments rise over what was once an agricultural and wetland frontier at the edge of the Everglades. Through drainage canals built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the use of elevated hammocks as farmland, settlers, landowners, and Seminoles were able to establish themselves in a harsh environment filled with water, predators, and dense vegetation.

The ride begins in Ave Maria, a planned university town founded in 2007, dominated by its large Catholic cathedral. From there the route heads west through a long chain of gated communities, luxury subdivisions, and large residential developments, many of them still unfinished or existing only as future projects. The towns and neighborhoods along the way include Orangetree, Golden Gate, Golden Gate Estates, Lely Resort, Naples Manor, Lely, Vineyards, Pine Ridge, Pelican Bay, Vanderbilt Beach, and Naples Park.

One of the most striking segments crosses Golden Gate Estates, one of the largest subdivisions ever created. It became infamous for the fraudulent sale of swamp land in the mid-twentieth century, when buyers were shown dry lots that later flooded during rainy seasons. Canals, abandoned roads, and empty parcels still reveal the scale of that speculative project.

The route then reaches Lely Resort and the surrounding golf-course communities near Naples, where manicured lawns, lakes, and luxury homes dominate the landscape. The final stretch follows the Tamiami Trail north, passing Naples Park and Vanderbilt Beach before looping back east along Immokalee Road.

The return leg crosses more suburban developments and former wetlands before reaching Ave Maria again. This route highlights the contrast between modern expansion and the fragile natural systems that once defined this part of Florida.

This route can be found in Discovering Florida – Volume 3.