[1] Elevated boardwalks meander through an old-growth bald cypress swamp with cabbage palmettos, ferns, bromeliads, orchids and other epiphytes.

White-tailed deer, American alligators, gopher tortoises, frogs, otters, golden silk spiders, pileated woodpeckers, red-shouldered hawks, barred owls and Florida scrub jays are common in the park.

Local citizens, concerned about plans to turn the hammock into farmland, asked the Skipper family for the property in 1931 and promoted it as a candidate for national park status, an early example of grass-roots public support for environmental preservation.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established during the Great Depression, built a camp at Highlands Hammock as a headquarters, and developed additional park facilities and the beginnings of a botanical garden.

During the fall and winter season the Friends of Highlands Hammock sponsor a Music in the Park Concert series the third Saturday of the month.