Skunk Ape Research Headquarters

Dave Shealy's swamp-cryptid clubhouse, tucked into the front of his family's Trail Lakes Campground — the self-appointed field office for Florida's Bigfoot, the seven-foot, garlic-reeking Skunk Ape said to prowl Big Cypress. Half gift shop, half museum, half backyard reptile zoo — plaster footprint casts, grainy trail-cam photos, Shealy's own sighting reports from the 1970s, and racks of camo Skunk Ape caps, bumper stickers, and hunt-permit T-shirts. Out back, a boardwalk animal exhibit with a reticulated python longer than most bikes, resident gators, and handling sessions where staff will drape a snake or a young alligator across you for the photo. Pure Tamiami roadside Americana.

What to order

Pay the small admission (roughly $10–15) for the animal exhibit out back, hold the python or a baby gator, then grab a camo Skunk Ape cap or the classic "Skunk Ape Research Team" tee from the gift shop.

Hours

Daily 9a–5p (call ahead — small operation, hours occasionally shift)