For Herald Hirsch of Fort Myers, a trip to the beach had been out of reach for eight years — his wheelchair simply couldn't handle the sand at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in North Naples. That changed this past August when the park received an EcoRover, an electric-powered chair with wide, tractor-style wheels designed specifically to roll across soft and wet sand alike. Hirsch drove himself out to the water using the chair's joystick, went shell hunting for the first time in years, and left with what his wife described as the biggest smile she'd seen from him in a long time.
The EcoRover is built for real-world beach conditions. It's 39.5 inches wide, supports up to 400 pounds, and runs on a lithium battery that lasts roughly 10 hours on a single charge. It comes equipped with a cup holder, an umbrella holder, and a rear shelf for gear. For users who can't operate a joystick themselves, an attendant control lets a companion steer instead. The chair is free to use, available on a first-come basis at parking lot No. 1 near the portable ranger station — no reservation required.
Delnor-Wiggins is one of four Florida state parks to receive an EcoRover through a $100,000 grant from the Surfing's Evolution & Preservation Foundation. The Florida State Parks Foundation secured the funding and selected the locations based on greatest need. The other three chairs went to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale, St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, and T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Port St. Joe. Naples was chosen in part because its existing manual beach wheelchair — the large-wheeled, push-only variety — had become damaged and was difficult for most caregivers to manage in soft sand.
Paula Russo, a foundation staffer of more than 30 years who uses a mobility assistive device herself, helped lead the EcoRover initiative. She described the chair as transformative compared to being pushed in a manual beach wheelchair, where the direction and pace are decided for you. "This gives you a kind of freedom. You can move your own self around to the direction you want to go in," Russo said. She has also used EcoRovers at Paynes Prairie State Park and Blue Springs State Park and called both experiences positive ones.
For families like the Hirsches — and for locals like Jen Sanchez, who plans to bring her 93-year-old grandmother to Delnor-Wiggins — the chair represents something that goes well beyond convenience. The Hirsches, who make the drive from Fort Myers, say they plan to return to the beach every week. This article was originally reported by Andrea Stetson for Florida Weekly.
