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Everglades National Park
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9 reviews for Everglades National Park
Heaven.
Buggy, hot heaven.
I complain a lot about Florida. There are so many plastic, tacky aspects of the state. But then I come to a place like the Everglades and none of that matters. I'm big on bird watching (thanks dad!) and just absorbing as much of the wildlife as I can. There are a million places to explore and a myriad of things to learn. I've been covered with frisky orange and yellow grasshoppers, surrounded by gigantic fatty alligators, and driven to tears of laughter by the pig frogs that inhabit the marshes.
If you have a deep appreciation for nature or want to do escape the resort side of tourism to florida I suggest you visit this park. Who knows what you'll see?! I'm still waiting to see my 2nd Roseate Spoonbill and some Flamingoes. Next time!
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I lived in Florida for almost 20 years before I came here. I'm going to have to have a word with my mother for never bringing me here!
Once I discovered Everglades National Park, I was hooked. I've biked the 15 mile trail at Shark Valley, canoed through Flamingo, and walked the nature trails. It is simply beautiful. Nature at it's best. The first time I visited Shark Valley I was blown away. Once I reached the observation tower at the end of the bike trail, I thought for a moment I'd been transported to an African Savannah. Such a gorgeous view. It's a great place to disconnect from the Miami madness I'm used to.
Anywhere you go in Everglades National Park, you're face to face with wildlife- a gator crossing the path you're biking on, an ibis flying through the marsh as you canoe by...Absolutely breathtaking.
This is a wonderful place for taking pictures, so don't forget your camera when you come!
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Wow! If you're going to visit only one national park, do this one. My experience here was simply put, amazing. It's $10 for a 7-day pass for one vehicle is an absolute steal...I'd say it's worth ten times that much for even a single day.
I drove in the Main road and I walked all but the longest trails that go off the main road, and stopped at just about every little pulloff. You can do most of the main road in a very long day but it's probably best to take longer. Ironically, the main road hits only a tiny fraction of the park...most of it you need to explore by boat during the wet season. I visited in the winter, which is probably the best time for seeing the land-based parts of the park...fewer bugs and cooler temperatures (although in January it still got pretty hot).
If you're going to hit only one or two spots, I would recommend walking Anhinga trail (quick-and-dirty way to see as much wildlife as possible), and stopping at Mrazek pond (just a little pool right off the road, very far into the park, but if you go by it you absolutely MUST stop here--after Anhinga trail this is the easiest way to see as much wildlife as possible, plus I saw some things here that I did not see elsewhere).
If you're interested in the plant life, the Hardwood Hammock is probably the best place to see...Gumbo Limbo trail is also great, and the Pinelands trail is very interesting (and very different from the other two. Everywhere I stopped was interesting, though.
There's honestly not much at Flamingo at the end...this area was devastated by a hurricane and hasn't really been rebuilt yet...but it's kinda nice looking out into the bay.
I'd go back...and now I want to bring my friends...and come back at different times of year. This place is just amazing. And if you're in the area, don't forget to also stop off at Biscayne national park on the eastern shore of southern Florida too.
Not what it used to be, apparently, but it can still command awe, if you listen and look carefully. And look carefully for um, snakes, gators, and bugs. Lots of bugs. So many bugs that you would think the planet would tip over because of them. But somehow it doesn't, and if you are prepared, you can visit an Earth that looks pretty much like it did when humans didn't rule the roost.
Incidentally, you can go hiking and biking here, on Long Pine Key and the old Ingraham Highway, in addition to the kayaking and boating further down towards Flamingo. Or enter at Shark Valley, or from Everglades City. Just go. But be sure to know how to get back.
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Dude...everyone should make a visit to the Everglades, native or tourist, in order to appreciate what South Florida was before it got paved over. Ain't no other place like it in the world, and fyi, it's not a swamp, it's marshland.
Top 3 reasons to see the Everglades
1) Get away from the grind and explore your backyard, including catching another infamous burmese python vs. florida gator fight(read the Miami Herald or google it, trust me)
2) Doing donuts on the River of Grass is fun.
Where else can you strap yourself on to an airboat and peruse nature at 60 mph on water? What's an airboat? It's a flat-bottomed hull boat with an aircraft fan engine mounted to it, weee!
3) Cause it's freeeee...and educational...there's nothing like visiting the perfect Florida coast you'll ever see, the Florida Bay at Flamingo Visitor Center... that's my favorite part, just open nature for miles around and the open water ahead of you. Kayakers, boaters, can be found here.
Clyde Butcher is the Ansel Adams of the Everglades, his photos really do justice in capturing its natural beauty:
http://www.clydebutche...
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Very interesting area to visit and you can see a lot of different eco-systems and wildlife! The trails aren't incredibly long (1-2 miles for the entire trail) but the variety is interesting! Its always fun to walk on by a large 8 foot alligator that is just chilling on the grass right next to you... also saw a good amount of river otters and a wide variety of birds. Plenty of variety of trees and plants! Go check it out if nature is your thing but bring your bugspray!... those mosquitos will get you.
there are so many things to do here, my review is about overnight camping at pearl's bay chickee...
first at all, let's define a chickee: "Miccosukee Indians describe a chickee as an open-air structure which allows wind to blow through for comfort on hot days and to keep insects away. Everglades backcountry chickees serve a similar purpose."
so, camping here is an adventure, first at all, you have to rent a canoe (unless you own one?) at the everglades hostel. (http://evergladeshoste...) i believe they go for 50$ overnight, you also need to get a permit 24 hours in advance and reserve a spot.
so after you figure all that out (at the hostel) all you need to do is pick up your canoe and go.
its sorta of a long drive, price to come into the park is 10$ per car, which gives you 7 days of parking. pearls bay starting point is about 45 mins from the moment you pass the gate.
the actual chickee is 3.5 miles away, which is about 3 or 4 hours paddling so be prepared.
the only time i would camp here is in the winter. during hot months, well, crocs like to hang out and also mosquitoes and everything else that lives there. so you might want to avoid that.
the chickee is an elevated platform about 10 foot by 12, the one at pearls bay is double connected by a small walkway and theres a portable restroom in the middle.
this is a perfect spot to visit if youre into outdoors, its a good way of doing some exercise too while getting a tan. you might want to check the weather report before leaving on this journey.
there a whole bunch of other camping sites and chickees, theres even a 99 mile trail that you do in about a week, but thats recommended for experienced paddlers. definitely check this place out!
http://www.everglades..../
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I grew up in the Fort Lauderdale area, but every year as a kid, my dad would take us on an extended camping trip to Flamingo Campground, which is the southernmost area in Everglades National Park where the fresh and salt water meet. I have so many good memories of catching loads of fish, spending nights around campfires, and using an entire can of bug spray in one night. Through my later years, we would make the trip less often. For fishing enthusiasts of all types, this is Mecca.
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Unlike many other national parks, there is no topographical interest here. Instead, it is all about the amazing eco-systems and life forms that inhabit this area. While we did not do any back country hiking here, we took almost all of the short walking trails provided as well as visiting the marina at the end of the main road. In a single day, we got to see mangrove swamps, sawgrass prairie, mahogany hammocks, and gumbo limbo/pine forests. More spectacularly, we encountered cormorants, anhingas, herons, pelicans, roseate spoonbills (although only from a distance), American crocodiles and tons of gators. This is a great place to see the primeval Florida as encountered by the Spaniards and as occupied by the Seminoles. It is not quite as exciting or as unique (there are more Everglades outside the park) as some other national parks, so I would not give it a five star rating, but it is certainly well deserving of a visit if you are visiting South Florida.
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