Guide to Everglades National Park and Big Cypress Preserve

Everglades National Park is easily the most famous park of Florida's three national parks. The park is huge at 1.5 million acres- most of it extremely inaccessible due to it being swamp land. 

Everglades National Park is accessible via two different roads. This somewhat divides the roads into two different sections. It costs $30 per vehicle to enter Everglades NP and this is good for 7 consecutive days. 

The first and most popular section is what I will call the South Section. This is accessible via State Hwy 9336 or Ingram Hwy. After you enter the park and pay the fee the Ernest F Coe Visitor Center is the first thing you encounter.  Unfortunately it was completely shut down while we were there in January 2021. It looked rather large and appeared to house a very cool museum. 

State Hwy 9336 is a one way route to the southern most part of the NP. It takes roughly 45 minutes to get to the end of the road from the Ernest Coe Visitor Center. We decided to drive straight to the end of the road (to Flamingo Visitor Center) and then make stops on the way back out of the park. 

Unfortunately Flamingo Visitor Center was also closed due to covid (but I was able to get a stamp!). This is the area where you can rent canoes/kayaks if you feel so adventurous. Max put the kibosh on that idea pretty quick for fear of alligators.  There is small trail from the Flamingo Visitor Center to the the Flamingo Campground called the Guy Bradley Trail. This was a cute trail that gave us some cool views of the glades. 

Mahogany Hammock 

Before this trip I had only ever heard of hammocks that one sleeps in. Apparently in Florida a Hammock is cluster of trees that are elevated above the rest of the wetlands. This hammock is a hiking trail approximately 1/2 mile long. The trail is entirely made out of boardwalk above the wetlands. It gives you a cool look at the dense trees that make up the hammock. I would highly recommend this on your tour through the Everglades. 

The wetlands that surround the mahogany hammock 

Pine Lands 

The pinelands is a half mile paved trail featuring what I call "Florida Pine Trees." I never thought I would find pine trees in the everglades but we did! The trail is very mild and completely paved. We had fun finding snails hiding amongst the trees. 

Royal Palm Visitor Center 

The royal palm visitor center is very close to the Ernest Coe visitor center and serves as the trailhead for the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo trail. I would highly recommend stopping at this area however be aware that this is one of the more popular places in the park. Also there are birds that will eat the weatherstripping off your car. If you plan on staying in the area for more than an hour I would recommend bringing some type of tarp or cover or just checking on your car frequently. 

Anhinga Trail 

The Anhinga Trail is approximately 0.8 miles of boardwalk. It is named after the Anhinga bird which are all over the trail. Anhingas are also known as "water turkeys" and hunt for fish underwater. This was the best area that we found in the south everglades section to see wildlife. We saw alligators, anhinga birds and turtles. The trail is a very pretty boardwalk that looks out on to a small pond. 

Gumbo Limbo Trail 

The Gumbo Limbo Trail is right next to the Anhinga trail. It is a half mile dirt trail that is more wooded. It is not as popular as the Anhinga trail but it is still very pretty!

North Unit- Everglades 

Unfortunately we weren't able to go to the north unit specifically Shark Valley, because it was flooded and under construction while we were there. I have met some people who were able to go and they really enjoyed the area. 

Airboat Tour 

So anytime I have ever seen or learned about the Everglades there has always been an airboat in the picture. Neither of us had ever been in an airboat and I really wanted to do a tour while we were in the Everglades. There are many airboat tours in the area, some are affiliated with the National Park and others are not. We decided to go with a company that was affiliated with the park so that way we wouldn't be contributing to the destruction/pollution of the park accidentally. Our tour was roughly an hour long it was very cool. Just fair warning air boats are really LOUD. They give you ear plugs as you get on board and I would recommend using them. Our guide was very good at spotting alligators and getting close to them for us. At the end they had an enclosure of alligators that were bread in captivity and you could hold a baby alligator for $5.  It was a very fun experience and I am glad that we did it. 

Big Cypress National Preserve 

So when you look at a map of South Florida you will see Everglades National Park but you will also see Big Cypress National Preserve on the map (you can't miss it- its huge). When I first saw that I was like "what the heck is that?" Basically a National Preserve is not the same thing as a national park. While they are both federal land a preserve has less rules and regulations as to how the land can be used compared to a national park. You can still get a national stamp at the visitor center. We found a small hiking trail called "Kirby Storter Roadside Park"- weird name I know but it was a super amazing boardwalk hike. I would honestly say that this was the best "hike" of our entire visit to the everglades. I loved the cypress trees, the air plants growing in the trees and the cool plants growing underneath the water. The entire trail is 0.8 miles one way (you have to go out and back). 

Gator Stops

As we drove through Big Cypress National Preserve we stopped at many pull offs along the way with very cool opportunities to see gators. Another non- gator stop that we enjoyed was the USA's smallest operating post office on the same road. I love getting mail and I nerded out at this little post office. They sell post cards with a special stamp from the post office. If you want to get them make sure that you go during post office business hours. 

The little tiny shed is the whole post office. 

Overall

Overall we really enjoyed our trip to the everglades. I would recommend planning at least two days in the park- just to really be able to take your time and enjoy everything. 

Here is a list of random tips for visiting: 

Obviously be smart- alligators are wild animals that don't like it when you get to close, but they are really neat to learn about and watch from afar. 

Make sure you bring hats, sunscreen, sunglasses- the Florida sun is no joke, especially when reflected off the water 

When driving on the highways within the park make sure you have plenty of gas- there are no services and the roads can be long and windy. 

Always make sure you have plenty of food and water before venturing out. 

Max got a pair of binoculars for Christmas right before we went and we found them super helpful for spotting gators from afar.