Things to do in The Everglades
-
A
10,000 Islands
One of the best ways to experience the serenity of the Everglades - somehow desolate yet lush, tropical and foreboding - is by paddling the network of waterways that skirt the northwest portion of the park. The 10,000 Islands consist of many (but not really 10,000) tiny islands and a mangrove swamp that hugs the southwestern-most border of Florida.
The Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile path between Everglades City and Flamingo, is the longest canoe trail in the area, but there are shorter trails near Flamingo.Most islands are fringed by narrow beaches with sugar-white sand, but note that the water is brackish, and very shallow most of the time. It's not Tahiti, but it's fasc…
reviewed
-
Wilderness Waterway & 10,000 Islands
The finest way to experience the serenity and beauty of the Everglades - which is somehow desolate yet lush, tropical yet foreboding - is by canoeing or kayaking through the excellent network of waterways that skirt the northwest portion of the park. The 10,000 Islands consist of many (but not really 10,000) tiny islands and a mangrove swamp that hug the southwesternmost border of Florida.
The Wilderness Waterway, a 99-mile path between Everglades City and Flamingo, is the longest canoe trail in the area, but there are shorter trails near Flamingo.
Most islands are fringed by narrow beaches with sugar-white sand, but note that the water is brackish, not clear, and very sh…
reviewed
-
Hell's Bay
The real joy of the Everglades is canoeing into the bracken heart of the swamp. There are plenty of push-off points, all with names that sound like they were read off Frodo's map to Mordor, including Hell's Bay our favorite.
'Hell to get into and hell to get out of,' was how this sheltered launch was described by old Gladesmen, but damn if it isn't heaven inside: a capillary network of mangrove creeks, sawgrass islands and shifting mudflats, where the brambles form a green tunnel and all you can smell is sea salt and the dark, organic breath of the swamp. Three chickee sites (wooden platforms built above the waterline) are spaced along the trail.
reviewed
-
Anhinga & Gumbo Limbo Trails
Two trails, the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo (the latter named for the Gumbo Limbo tree, also known as the 'tourist tree' because its bark peels like a sunburned Brit), take all of an hour to walk and put you face to face with a panoply of Everglades wildlife. Gators sun on the shoreline, anhinga spear their prey and wading birds stalk haughtily through the reeds.
Come at night for a ranger walk onto the boardwalk and shine a flashlight into the water to see one of the coolest sights of your life: the glittering eyes of dozens of alligators prowling the waterways.
reviewed
-
Loop Rd
A little further up you can detour down Loop Rd , which offers four interesting sites. One: gambling-enriched Miccosukee (this is still their reservation), whose houses all seem to have shiny new pick-up trucks parked out front. Two: great pull-offs for viewing flooded forests, where egrets that look like pterodactyls perch in the trees. Three: scary, isolated Florida types who make it very clear trespassers will be sorry.
And four: the short, pleasantly jungly Tree Snail Hammock Nature Trail. Be warned that the Loop is a rough, unpaved road.
reviewed
-
Tamiami Trail
Calle Ocho happens to be the eastern end of the Tamiami Trail, which cuts through the Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico. So go west, young traveler, along US 41, a few dozen miles and several different worlds away from the city where the heat is on.
Past Hialeah, Miami fades like a trail of diminishing Starbucks until…whoosh…it's all huddled forest and open fields and a big canal off to the side (evidence of US 41's diversion of the Glades' all-important sheet flow).
reviewed
-
Robert is Here
Hot? Hungry? Heading towards the Everglades? You must - must! - stop at Robert is Here for a key lime milk shake (unless it's September or October, in which case you'll just have to stare longingly at the sign). This roadside fruit stand has local produce and a bevy of milk shake flavors. But it's one of the few places in the world where you'll find a key-lime-flavored milk shake, which has the perfect sweet-to-tart ratio and will have you perky and refreshed in no time.
reviewed
-
Pelican
The area around Flamingo Visitor Center was damaged by Hurricane Wilma, and its restaurants and lodges were closed when we visited, but you can still rent boats or go on a backcountry boat tour with the Pelican; a 1½-hour sailing schooner tour (adult/child/sunset around US$22/around US$14/around US$33) is also available. Or rent a canoe (hr/day/half-day around US$8/around US$22/$32) or sea kayak (half-day/day $35/$45) and explore the channels and islands of Florida Bay on your own.
reviewed
-
Canoeing & Kayaking
From Flamingo, hit the visitor's center for a map of local canoe trails, such as the Nine Mile Pond Canoe Trail, a 5.5-mile loop that leads you into Florida Bay. You can rent canoes and kayaks at the Flamingo Marina, and be transported to various trailheads for an additional fee. For extensive kayak trips and kayak camping, make a beeline to the Gulf Coast center, which also rents canoes for three-, five- or eight-hour day-trips around the 10,000 Islands.
reviewed
-
Ah-Tah-Ti-Ki Museum
The best Everglades tourism news in years is the advent of this Seminole museum, 27km (17mi) north of I-75. With educational exhibits on Seminole life, history and the tribe today, the museum was founded with Seminole gaming proceeds. Never before have the Seminoles opened so much up to the public. Sure, it's good for business, but they really are dedicated to giving visitors a closer understanding of the Seminole and Miccosukee people.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Shark Valley
After endless variations of 'Zeke's Swamp Boat Alligatorama!', Shark Valley's friendly, knowledgeable rangers feel like a gift. The most popular and painless way to immerse yourself in the Everglades is via the two-hour tram tour that runs along the 15-mile asphalt trail. If you only have time for one Everglades activity, this should be it, as guides are informative and witty, and you'll likely see gators sunning themselves on the road.
reviewed
-
North American Canoe Tours
North American Canoe Tours rents out camping equipment and canoes for full/half days ($35/$25) and touring kayaks ($45 to $65). You get 20% off most of these services and rentals if you’re staying at the Ivey House Bed & Breakfast, which runs the tours. Tours shuttle you to places such as Chokoloskee Island, Collier Seminole State Park, Rabbit Key or Tiger Key for afternoon or overnight excursions ($25 to $450).
reviewed
-
Gulf Coast - Picnic Area & Boat Cruise
The northwest park entrance, Gulf Coast, near Everglades City, has a small waterfront complex offering a picnic area with gorgeous vistas, plus daily boat tours which take you into the mangrove estuary of the Gulf of Mexico, motoring around the 10,000 Islands, where you'll see dolphins, roseate spoonbills, alligators, eagles and the occasional manatee. The main activity out of the Gulf Coast center, though, is kayaking.
reviewed
-
Florida National Scenic Trail
There are 31 miles of the Florida National Scenic Trail within Big Cypress National Preserve. From the southern terminus, which can be accessed via Loop Rd, the trail runs 8.3 miles north to the Tamiami Trail. There are two primitive campsites with water wells along the trail; pick up a map at the visitor center. Most campsites are free, and you needn't register. Monument Lake has water and toilets.
reviewed
-
JT’s Island Grill & Gallery
Just a mile or so past the edge of town, this awesome café-cum–art gallery sits in a restored 1890 general store. It’s outfitted with bright, retro furniture and piles of kitschy books, pottery, clothing and maps (all for sale). But the best part is the food (lunch only) – fresh crab cakes, salads, fish platters and veggie wraps, made with locally grown organic vegetables.
reviewed
-
Everglades City
The end of the track is an old Florida fishing village of raised houses, turquoise water and scattershot emerald-green mangrove islands. Hwy 29 runs south through town into the peaceful, residential island of Chokoloskee, past a great, psychedelic mural of a gator on a shed. 'What's there to do around here?' we ask our waitress. 'Eat.' Pause. 'Or go on an Everglades tour.'
reviewed
-
Christian Point
Further down Rte 9336 you can take a good two-hour, 1.8-mile (2.9km) hike to Christian Point . This dramatic walk takes you through several Glades environments: under tropical forest, past columns of white cypress and over a series of mudflats (particularly attractive on grey, cloudy days), and ends with a dramatic view of the windswept shores of Florida Bay.
reviewed
-
Seminole Safari excursions
Seminole Safari excursions offer day (adult/child around US$49/around US$34) and overnight (adult/child around US$110/around US$90) very touristy packages. Overnights include sleeping in a screened-in chickee, listening to campfire storytelling, taking an airboat or swamp buggy ride and having Indian meals (catfish, fry bread, gator nuggets).
reviewed
-
ArtSouth
This colony of artists’ studios is a good place to see local talent and pick up Glades-inspired artwork. It’s also a nice sight in and of itself; outdoor exhibits make the compound feel like a dreamy sculpture garden (or at least a decent free museum), and provide a good aesthetic anchor to the north side of Homestead’s main-street project.
reviewed
-
Ochopee
Drive to the hamlet of Ochopee (population about four)…no…wait…turn around, you missed it! Then pull over and break out the cameras: Ochopee's claim to fame is the country's smallest post office. It's housed in a former toolshed and set against big park skies; a friendly postal worker patiently poses for snapshots.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Mahogany Hammock
Rte 9336 cuts through the soft heart of the park, past long fields of marsh prairie, white, skeletal forests of bald cypress and dark clumps of mahogany hammock. There are plenty of trails to detour down; the half-a-mile Mahogany Hammock Trail leads into an 'island' of hardwood forest floating on the waterlogged prairie.
reviewed
-
Seminole Museum
If you want to learn about Florida’s American Indians, come to this Seminole museum, 17 miles north of I-75. All of the excellent educational exhibits on Seminole life, history and the tribe today were founded on gaming proceeds, which provide most of the tribe’s multimillion-dollar operating budget.
reviewed
-
Pinelands Trail
Rte 9336 cuts through the soft heart of the park, past long fields of marsh prairie, white, skeletal forests of bald cypress and dark clumps of mahogany hammock. There are plenty of trails to detour down. The half-a-mile Pinelands Trail takes you through a copse of rare, spindly swamp pine and palmetto forest.
reviewed
-
West Lake Trail
Rte 9336 cuts through the soft heart of the park, past long fields of marsh prairie, white, skeletal forests of bald cypress and dark clumps of mahogany hammock. There are plenty of trails to detour down. The West Lake Trail runs through the largest protected mangrove forest in the Northern Hemisphere.
reviewed
-
Flamingo Restaurant
Offers everything from eggs and bacon for breakfast to burgers or shrimp for dinner. And if you've caught your own supper, the eatery offers a 'fish service,' and will cook up your already cleaned and filleted catch. For after-dinner drinks, hit the Anglers Bar at the front of the restaurant.
reviewed
