Things to do in The Everglades
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Pa-hay-okee Overlook
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. Further on the Pa-hay-okee Overlook is a raised platform that peeks over one of the prettiest bends in the river of grass.
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Miccosukee Resort & Convention Center
Here the long-storied legacy of the nation’s indigenous peoples has culminated in…slots. Lots of slots, and comatose gamblers pouring quarters into them. If the Miccosukee and Seminole are cashing in on this stuff, more power to them, but it’s still depressing to watch.
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Rosita's
There's a working-class Mexican crowd here, testament to the sheer awesomeness of the tacos and burritos. Everyone is friendly, and best of all, they'll give you a takeaway plate if you're staying at the next-door Everglades International Hostel.
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Big Cypress National Preserve
The 1139-sq-mile Big Cypress Preserve (named for the size of the park, not its trees) is the result of a compromise between environmentalists, cattle ranchers and oil-and-gas explorers. The area is integral to the Everglades' ecosystem: rains that flood the Preserve's prairies and wetlands slowly filter down through the Glades. About 45% of the cypress swamp (actually a group of mangrove islands, hardwood hammocks, slash pine, prairies and marshes) is protected. Great bald cypress trees are nearly gone, thanks to pre-Preserve lumbering, but dwarf pond cypress trees (more impressive than the name suggests) fill the area with their own understated beauty. The Oasis Visitor…
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Big Cypress Gallery
The highlight of many Everglades trips, this gallery showcases the work of Clyde Butcher, an American photographer who follows in the great tradition of Ansel Adams. His large-format black-and-white images elevate the swamps to a higher level. Butcher has found a quiet spirituality in the brackish waters and you might, too, with the help of his eyes. Every Labor Day (first weekend in September), the gallery holds a gala event, which includes a fun $20 swamp walk onto his 30-acre property; the party attracts swamp-stompers from across the state. At the time of writing, the gallery was setting up two homes located in the cypress woods as guesthouses – the properties look…
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Seafood Depot
Don't totally sublimate your desire for fried food, because the gator tail and frog's legs here offer an excellent way to honor the inhabitants of the Everglades: douse them in Tabasco and devour them.
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Otter Cave
At the park entrance, the easy Otter Cave walk makes a boardwalk-ed loop through a thick copse of tropical hardwoods before emptying you out, disoriented, right back into the Shark Valley parking lot.
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Farmers Market Restaurant
This restaurant's as fresh and hardy as the produce in the next-door farmers' market and its rural-worker clientele. It's a bit barebones on the inside, but the food will fill you up, and nicely too.
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Coral Castle
'You will be seeing unusual accomplishment,' reads the inscription on the rough-hewn quarried wall. That's an understatement. There is no greater temple to all that is weird and wacky about South Florida than the legend: a Latvian gets snubbed at the altar. Comes to the US. Moves to Florida. Hand carves, unseen, in the dead of night, a monument to unrequited love: a rock compound that includes a 'throne room,' a sun dial, a stone stockade (his intended's 'timeout area') and a revolving boulder gate that engineers around the world, to this day, cannot explain. Oh, and there are audio stations situated around the place that explain the site in a replicated Latvian accent,…
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Coastal Prairie Trail
The 7.5-mile (one-way) Coastal Prairie Trail follows an old road once used by cotton pickers; it's only partially shaded by buttonwood trees, so bring plenty of sunscreen.
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Pit BBQ
The barbecue is decent and served on picnic tables with a side of country music and Confederate- flag accoutrement. It is as cheesy as a dairy, so if you can't arm yourself with irony, drive on.
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Shark Valley Observation Tower
Halfway along the Shark Valley trail is the 50ft-high Shark Valley Observation Tower, an ugly concrete structure that offers dramatically beautiful views of the park.
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National Preserve Headquarters
The National Preserve Headquarters, just east of Ochopee, has information and hosts cultural programs like artist-in-residence exhibits.
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Boat Cruises
Flamingo Lodge Marina & Outpost Resort has naturalist-lead boat tours through the backcountry for two hours and sailboat cruises on a 50ft schooner.
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Otter Cave Hammock Trail
In Shark Valley, the easy Otter Cave Hammock Trail, which enters a tropical hardwood hammock, is a one-mile round-trip walk from the visitor's center.
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Joannie’s Blue Crab Café
This quintessential shack, east of Ochopee, with open rafters, shellacked picnic tables and alligator kitsch serves OK food on paper plates.
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Casita Tejas
This popular storefront eatery on the main drag has affordable, delicious Mexican lunches and dinners.
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Long Key
Lagoons, trails and an observation tower.
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Shark Valley Visitor Center
For a quick peek from Miami, come here. On the excellent two-hour tram tour along the 15-mile asphalt road, you'll see copious numbers of alligators and lots of migratory herons and ibis in winter. The narration by park rangers is both knowledgeable and witty, providing an ideal overview of the Everglades and its inhabitants. Halfway along the trail is the 50ft-high observation tower, an ugly concrete structure that offers a dramatic panorama of the 'river of grass.' The pancake-flat road is also perfect for cycling stop and gawk as long and often as you wish. Bring water.
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Shark Valley Tram Tour
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Long Pine Key
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Gulf Coast Visitor Center
This is the northwestern-most ranger station for Everglades National Park, and provides access to the 10,000 Islands area. Boat tours depart from the downstairs marina into the mangrove flats and green islands – if you're lucky you may see dolphins springing up beside your craft. This tangled off-shore archipelago was a major smuggling point for drugs into the mainland USA during the late 1970s and early '80s; bales of marijuana were nicknamed 'square grouper' by local fishermen. It's great fun to go kayak-ing and canoeing around here; boats can be rented from the marina, but make sure to take a map with you (they're available for free in the visitor center).
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Flamingo Visitor Center
From Royal Palm, Hwy 9336 cuts through the belly of the park for 38 miles until it reaches the isolated Flamingo Visitor Center, which has maps of canoeing and hiking trails. Call ahead about the status of facilities: the former Flamingo Lodge was wiped out by hurricanes in 2005, and at the time of research Flamingo Marina was closed for renovations. It should reopen again and offer backcountry boat tours and kayak/canoe rentals for self-guided trips along the coast.
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Ernest Coe Visitor Center
Those with a day to give the Glades could start with this visitor center in the south. It has excellent, museum-quality exhibits and tons of activity info: the road accesses numerous short trails and lots of top-drawer canoeing opportunities. Call for a schedule of fun ranger-led programs, such as the two-hour 'slough slog.' Most programs start at the nearby Royal Palm Visitor Center, where you can catch two short trails. The Anhinga Trail is great for wildlife spotting, especially alligators in winter, and the Gumbo-Limbo showcases plants and trees.
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Flamingo Marina
The Flamingo Marina offers boat rentals and tours, plus a store where you can buy food and supplies.
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