Lane Bay is a great site if you can get it! It is our 4th chickee, and 6th backcountry site in the Everglades. Unlike the other chickees, it is a single platform, so your group will be the only ones out there. It is right on the wilderness waterway, so we did have 2 small skiffs go by, but other than that, we were completely alone. The site was easy to find with no GPS; just the maps that I printed out ahead of time. I was happy to have studied them, but it wasn't difficult. The paddle out from the Hell's Bay trailhead was fine. 13 kilometers was rather easy as there was little wind, and this route is not really dictated by the tide. The porta-potty was very clean, and the mosquitos were very bad as expected. Make sure you're in your tent come sunset and you'll be okay. This platform has posts on the west side of the platform which was pretty great for tying the canoe to so that it wasn't bumping against the platform during the night. It does not have a small bench for food prep like many of the others do. Wasn't an issue, but if you've done other platforms and have come to expect it, it is not there. While this wasn't an awful paddle out to do in a single day, it may have been a little rough turning around and doing the whole thing back the next day. I would suggest pairing this with Hells Bay or Pearl Bay(what we did) for a 2 night trip. Decent fishing for smaller fish (little snook, red drum, jack). There is no cell phone service. The platform is the perfect size for our 2 person tent, a hammock, and some free space for cooking. Do not rely on the roof to protect from rain; bring the fly for your tent.
