Page Updated: March 06, 2024
Everglades National Park
He’s Lee - I'm V. He's quiet, funny, and intelligent. I’m impatient, determined and super awkward. He’s the yang to my yin and my best friend in life. If I’m taking the leap, there’s no one else I’d rather have by my side.
River of Grass - Everglades National Park
Coming in as the 3rd largest park in the lower 48 states, Everglades National Park works to protect 1.5+ million acres of the largest wetland in the world. Segmented into three main areas, the park hosts an average of 1 million visitors a year in its 9 distinct ecosystems; including freshwater sloughs, tropical hammocks, and coastal lowlands.
Popular activities extend to boating, biking, and kayaking - with the most unique activity being Slough Slogging: a wet, off-trail hike through the water, muck, and uneven terrain of the Shark River Slough with a park ranger!
Everglades was designated as a National Park in 1947.
Often mistaken as swampland, the Everglades is actually a diverse wetland ecosystem fueled by the world’s slowest moving river. Its flow (from Lake Okeechobee overflow) travels at a rate of 3ft per hour all the way to the Florida Bay.
Everglades is the only location American alligators and American crocodiles coexist naturally.
The invasion of the Burmese python has created a dramatic decrease in mammal population, including opossum, rabbit, raccoon, and bobcat.
Scenic Drive
Despite of its immense size and because of the nature of its terrain, a single scenic drive exists within Everglades National Park. Mail Park Rd stretches roughly 40 miles from the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center to the Guy Bradley Visitor Center passing boardwalks, overlooks and trails along the way.
Visitors to Everglades seeking a longer scenic drive can find a 63 mile (point-to-point) route along Hwy 41 from west Miami to the Everglades Gulf Coast Visitor Center.
Camping
Ground sites, beach sites, and elevated platforms (also referred to as chickees) allow for dispersed wilderness camping throughout the park. Info and reservations for backcountry sites can be found here.
Front country camping with groomed sites for tents and RVs can be found at Long Pine Key Campground and Flamingo Campground.
For current info, new, and updates on all things Everglades - including fees, permits, and closures - visit Everglades National Park at nps.gov
2022 May
I wasn’t super excited about having to tick this one off our National Parks list. In my mind, the Everglades equated to stinky stagnant swamp water full of gator and mosquitos. Our 2022 visit
