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Mound House

Mound House

Mound House
4.5
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
A museum and archeological site exploring 2,000 years of cultural and environmental history of Fort Myers Beach and Southwest Florida, while offering a variety of events and programs including guided kayak tours of neighboring Estero Bay.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Michael D
    Chicago, Illinois1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Historic Landmark at FMB
    The historic value of the property is described in detail by our excellent tour guide. There is so much to learn of the previous inhabitants culture dating back 2000 years. A must see for visitors to FMB with an interest in history.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 8, 2024
  • Colin R
    Shrewsbury, United Kingdom8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very interesting and informative.
    Last there a year ago. We were amazed at how the Mound House and grounds had recovered after Hurricane Ian flooded the area. The staff were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the history of the Caloosa Indians and the Mound House itself. If you haven't visited this fascinating place, make time to do it. We are from Shropshire in the UK and found our second visit even more interesting than our previous one last year.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written February 10, 2024
  • Saul W
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Historic Mound House
    We took the tour with Franklin, he was great. The Mound House grounds are beautiful. The tour was fantastic. The Calusa Indians were a facinating people. We had lunch on a picnic table overlooking the river and then took the tour. Great day trip when visiting Ft Meyers Beach.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written February 13, 2024
  • Lapell68
    Terre Haute, Indiana134 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fascinating, interactive tour of Fort Myers Beach and surrounding area history.
    We decided to get the guided tour on the grounds. Franklin was our tour guide and he was AMAZING! He was full of historic facts and fascinating stories about how the Caloosa survived and thrived on the land. Highly recommend this tour for old and young alike.
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written September 20, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles306 reviews
Excellent
220
Very good
60
Average
16
Poor
5
Terrible
5

Bobbielama
San Francisco, CA22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
I took a class of 25 students from Florida Gulf Coast University to visit the Mound House. Our guide, Dexter, made it both educational and entertaining as he led us over the property, telling us stories of the indigenous Calusa who once called that property home and who altered the landscape over tens of generations to accommodate their growing civilization. The tour wasn't the least bit dry as Dexter has a performer's soul and made the entire visit pure joy. The students especially loved the chance to learn about Calusa artifacts and how to use a traditional atlatl. I am looking forward to taking my own family there very soon.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gayle C
Fort Myers Beach, FL90 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
The Mound House is a Calusa shell mound museum located on Estero Bay. This stunning museum is a treasure located on a 7 mile long barrier island; Fort Myers Beach.
The Mound house has activities for all ages. The museum store is filled with educational books and toys, as well as many unique gift items.
Mound House has guided kayak tours twice per week. The Mound House offers a boat tour of Mound Key, the Calusa Indian capital.
Please visit their website; mound house.org; you will be amazed at all the programming.
Written January 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kvheltzer
Duluth, MN24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
We spent a couple of hours here one morning of our weeklong vacation in Ft. Myers Beach. It was a beautiful day and they weren’t many people there so we kind of had the place to ourselves. The volunteers were very helpful and provided excellent information about the history of Mound House and the area. In the excavation site where there had previously been an underground swimming pool was pretty amazing with all of the shells that were unearthed If you want to take a break from the beach we would highly recommend this spot. There is also a very nice fishing pier overlooking the estuary
Written January 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bluemermaid25
Chicago, IL566 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2021 • Couples
We took two kayak tours from here, the morning one and the sunset one. Adam is friendly, knowledgable, and patient. The kayaks are clean and well kept and Adam provides valet service by pushing us in the water, and out again at the end, without us even getting our feet wet! I like taking a guided kayak tour rather than renting on our own, because it’s relaxing to not have to decide which direction to go, and not have to pay attention to anything except the environment. We saw dolphins, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Osprey, and others, and learned about the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. The sunset tour is especially relaxing because it felt so calm and quiet. We finished before the sunset, which you cannot see from here anyway.
Written January 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

620barbn
60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
My husband & I took the Mound Key boat tour. We started out at Mound Key and learned about the Calusa people. They built their capital city on an island and built up the island using shells. Then we went to the Mound House to see an excavation of a mound and learned about the historical information learned from the excavation. The last activity was learning to throw a spear using an atlatl. We learned a lot. Thanks Dexter!
Written March 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steve from Florida
Cape Coral, FL6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
The Mound House is a beautiful historic home that sits above Estero Bay in Southwest Florida. We have lived in the area for 11 years yet had never made the drive to Ft. Myers Beach to actually see it. It was the site of a group of Calusa Indians for several hundred years. They built a huge sand and shell mound upon which the historic house was later built about 100 years ago. The lives of those original Calusa settlers, who thrived in the area for many hundreds of years in this part of Florida, was the subject of a fascinating presentation by our guide, Adam. He showed us replica artifacts that have been found in the excavations conducted by archaeologists over the years in the vicinity. In fact, we were each allowed to use an atlatl, a type of spear thrower used long before the bow and arrow made their appearance. He knew an incredible amount about the subject. He put flesh on the bones of these early men and women. He knows the information inside and out and did a great job in conveying it to us. Very impressive.
Written May 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gator58
New Port Richey, FL742 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
Great home and historical displays the amazing part is the museum below where the mound has been exposed. The movie playing explained the layers and historical dig at the sight well done. The park is great we did not have enough time to kayak be sure to view the website and plan a day
Written August 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

elpealto
Berlin, VT142 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
We stopped here with our two kids age 10 and 12 and a grandparent. Everyone enjoyed the trip. We took the shell mound tour which was extremely informative. Our guide was pleasant and knowledgeable. after that, we toured the house and grounds on our own. The day was rainy, but that did not stop us from enjoying our day. We stayed about 2 - 2.5 hours and would have stayed longer if the weather was better (we only toured the grounds a little bit). The only think I wished I had known was that this is really two places; the history of the house (dating back 100 years) and the history of the native people (dating back 2000 years). They only found the shell mound when they were removing the pool from the main house. I wished we had toured the house first then went on the shell mound tour. But overall, a great day and well worth the trip!
Written February 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

5frys
Belgrade, MT628 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Couples
We signed up for a kayak tour and we had such a wonderful time. We were fortunate because we went during high tide, so the wildlife was exceptional. We saw many birds ( including a rare round tipped billed bird), manatee, dolphin, and a jumping tarpon. Our guide, Bobby, was great and full of not just nature, but local attractions. He directed us to Publix for the Buffalo Chicken pubSub, and it was so yummy! Local volunteer, Kim was also a joy, and had an eagle eye for wildlife! The museum was also a delight and seeing the tribal shell
Mounds from below was a definite treat! What a great day!
Written October 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

The Pidge
Wayne, NJ609 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2021
I'd passed on the Mound House for years, always having something else to do and thinking there wasn't enough to make it worth the stop. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The minimal ($10) entrance fee grants access to the wonderfully restored house as well as an enlightening archaeological exhibit/movie explaining the formation of the shell mound that gives name to the site. Equally worth the price of admission (even though access to the grounds doesn't actually cost a dime) are the beautiful waterfront grounds with gardens, a small boardwalk over Estero Bay, and other short walking trails.
Written December 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Mound House - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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