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Cone Communications Company
Special to the Naples Daily News
Published 6:00 AM EDT Jul 4, 2020
Nestled on 200 lush tropical acres along the east side of Goodlette-Frank Road just north of Golden Gate Parkway, Wilderness Country Club offers a relaxed country club lifestyle right in the heart of Naples.
Established in 1974, Wilderness Country Club is a groundbreaking residential development that holds the honor as the very first private, gated golf course community with a mandatory membership built in Naples. It is located just minutes from Fifth Avenue South, Waterside Shops and Gulf of Mexico beaches.
Wilderness Country Club boasts a uniquely low overall density with just 300 low-profile condominiums situated around an 18-hole Arthur Hills designed golf course that was totally refurbished by Hills in 2003.
Individual condominiums range from approximately 1,700 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet of living space and feature an abundance of glass that brings the striking beauty of nature inside. Each residence overlooks the Wilderness Country Club golf course and comes with its own dedicated golf cart and golf cart garage. There are no trail fees and golfers can ride or walk the course any time of day.
The exterior façade of each condominium building blends naturally into the surrounding environment. Each building also was carefully sited to offer sweeping views of golf course fairways, sparkling ponds, trees and other native plants, while everything possible was done to protect the existing habitat.
The golf course is reminiscent of Old Florida. With a beautiful, natural habitat surrounding the course, Wilderness Country Club carries a reputation as one of the finest places to play golf in Naples, so much so, that the course was chosen to host a regional qualifier for the 2019 U.S. Senior Open Championship.
The clubhouse at Wilderness Country Club is the hub of the community offering formal and informal dining for up to 200 people. Activities in season include organized Bridge and Mahjong, twilight golf followed by dinner every Wednesday, Sunday afternoon croquet and a mixed winter/spring bocce league.
Other amenities include a full-service Golf Shop offering in-season clinics and private lessons taught by a Master Professional of the Professional Golfers Association of America and a practice area featuring a driving range, short-game area and putting green. In addition to golf, there is a vibrant tennis and POP Tennis program with lessons and matches led by a U.S. Professional Tennis Association Certified Elite Professional. Five heated swimming pools are conveniently interspersed throughout the community.
Members also enjoy Frank Park, a 5-acre site featuring numerous specimen trees and shrubs from all over the world. Many of the plantings are labeled so visitors can learn their common and Latin names as well as place of origin. The park was dedicated in 2013 to the pioneering Frank family and sits on the family’s former Hole in the Wall Ranch, which is one of the highest points in all of Collier County.
Other features of the park include four Har-Tru bocce courts and a regulation size croquet court where members can enjoy spirited competition. Also, within the property is a dedicated Dog Park area where members’ four-legged friends can participate in daily “Yappy Hour” celebrations throughout the year.
Near the edge of Frank Park overlooking one of the 12 ponds surrounding the golf course is a butterfly garden with a variety of flowering plants aimed at attracting the beautiful, brightly colored butterflies. The food and beverage team at Wilderness Country Club also visits the private park by maintaining raised beds of seasonal garden herbs that can be used in preparing creative dishes at the clubhouse.
For more than 20 years, Wilderness Country Club has been designated as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. An abundance of native trees, shrubs and other plants can be found throughout the property and more than 80 species of birds, including Bald Eagles, Ospreys, White Ibis, Anhingas, Great Blue Herons, Red Shouldered Hawks, Barred Owls and Swallow Tail Kites, have been documented on the site.
The lush surroundings at Wilderness Country Club provide the ideal location for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to use as a safe place to return rehabilitated animals, such as turtles, hawks and owls, to their native environment. Since 2014, Wilderness Country Club has also collaborated with the Conservancy on the not-for-profit organization’s Upper Gordon River Wildlife Corridor project.
Wilderness Country Club has been member-owned and controlled from its inception. For additional information or to view available properties for sale, call 239-261-6060 or visit www.wildernesscc.com.
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