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From San José there are several routes to the northern lowlands.
The main route follows the Pan American Highway west out of San José towards Naranjo, after 32 km turn right (north) on 141 to Naranjo followed by a 22 km climb to Zarcero that pays off when you get out and stretch your legs in the amazing topiary garden surrounding the whitewashed church (on your right in the center of town, you can't miss it).
Continue on 141 another 20 km to Quesada, then 8 km to Florencia where you turn right (north) on 35 which takes you the final 84 km to Los Chiles.
To get to the ranger station at Caño Negro village you have to turn west off of 35 onto a dirt road about 10 km before Los Chiles (there is no bridge at Los Chiles) to cross the Río Frío at San Emilio.
You can continue from Caño Negro village to Colonia Puntarenas where you can catch the paved road to Upala.
Caño Negro is quite off the beaten path, but worth the effort. Most visits start out at Los Chiles where you board a boat and glide up the Río Frío through canyons of green towards the everglade like Lago Caño Negro.
Migration plays a big role in the population of the waterways; you may see a bull shark's fin slice the surface; this area is the end of their annual trip up the Río Nicaragua from the sea, but most people come to spot migratory birds.
During the green (rainy) season from May to October, water from the mountains is plentiful and the Río Frío overflows its banks to form Lago Caño Negro positioned smack in the middle of the flyway for migrant North and South American birds.
Millions of birds arrive here to winter over during the dry season beginning in December. The water level falls continuously for the next three to four months until all that is left is the main channel of the Río Frío and the migrants depart.
Among the many birds found in Caño Negro are: glossy Ibis, black-necked stilt, neotropical cormorants, American anhinga, northern jacana, American widgeon, wood stork, white Ibis, black-bellied tree duck, northern shoveler, snail kite, green backed heron, roseate spoonbill, and blue-winged teal.
This is one of the best places to see the Nicaraguan grackle, whose only Costa Rican habitat is Caño Negro and other marshy areas just south of Lake Nicaragua.
