Hey there! Are you ready to plan an exciting trip to Everglades National Park?! This wild and mysterious river wilderness is home to alligators, crocodiles, manatees, dolphins, birds, and more. You are sure to find something here that everyone in your group will LOVE.
Everglades National Park is a place where memories are made — and somewhere you will talk about for years to come. Adventures of all kinds can be found here, and you’re guaranteed to see some fascinating creatures!
There is so much to do. You may have already looked at a map and been a little overwhelmed — and eager — to make sure that you don’t miss the best sights.
I’m a former park ranger, and I’ll help you plan your vacation down to the details. I’ve extensively explored Everglades National Park and am here to help! Whether this is your first time to the Everglades, or if you are returning after many years and would like to be reintroduced to the park, this list of 10 things is for you.
What You Need to Know About Everglades
- Everglades National Park is 1.5 million acres, making it the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S.! This massive wetland protects hundreds of unique and rare animal and plant species. Everglades actually isn’t a swamp — it’s a giant, slow-moving river.
- Two seasons exist at the Everglades — wet season and dry season. The dry season (November-April) is the most popular time to visit the park. Park facilities and activities are fully open, temperatures are more bearable, and you’re likely to see more wildlife.
- Entrance fees are required, and you’ll find entrance stations at the Homestead, Shark Valley, and Everglades City areas of the park. Everglades is open year-round, but be sure to take a look at the operating hours and current conditions before you go.
- This park has 3 main areas, and these areas are not interconnected. The main park entrance is found near the town of Homestead, and this entrance connects you to Flamingo via the longest road that travels through the park. The smaller Shark Valley and Everglades City entrances have very short roads into the park and do not connect with the main park road. You’ll also drive through Big Cypress as you travel between the different sections of Everglades!
- Due to its proximity to Miami, there are plenty of places to stay in the area surrounding the Everglades. If you want to stay in the park, check out the in-park camping options or stay at Flamingo in the lodge, on a houseboat, or in an eco-tent.
I’ll make sure that you don’t miss the most popular sights, but I also want to provide a few treasures that are off-the-beaten-path as well. Let the adventure begin!
Click NEXT to see this list of 10 things you can’t miss on your first visit to the Everglades.
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Hi! I’m planning a trip this weekend to Palm Beach for my fiancé‘s birthday… We’ve been to Palm Beach several times so I thought it would be fun to drive down to the Everglades for the day on Saturday and be back in time for dinner. Do you have a recommendation of an itinerary – what time we should leave and what order we should do things in? Would you be open to being our guide?
That’s so exciting! I don’t have an itinerary for that park, but you will find an article called “How Many Days Should I Spend in the Everglades” that will give you a good idea of what you’ll have time to do in one day. Have fun!
Planning a trip first week in April to Miami, Key West & Everglades. Trying to decide if 1 or 2 days should be allotted for Everglades. Also, prioritizing list of things to do whether it is a 1 or 2 day allotment. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
I would give yourself 1.5-2 days for the Everglades. One day for driving the main park road out to Flamingo, and another half day at Shark Valley. Add another half day if you want to take an airboat tour or drive out to Everglades City.
I was listening to your recent podcast about the everglades. It was great! I’m doing 4 days in the area, with the days 1 and 2 in the Everglades NP, then on day 3 a boat tour over at Biscayne NP and day 4 going over to the gulf side. What’s to do on that side?
I don’t have a ton of experience with that side of Florida besides what you can do in the park over there. We like to hang around Naples, Marco Island, or Sanibel Island. I like the beaches better on the gulf coast :)
If you haven’t gone yet, try Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Lovers Key State Park, which is on the beach. Both are near the Naples Ft Meyers Beach area. A great urban spot is the Edison Ford Estates right on the water in the city of Ft Myers.
Hello, I’m headed there in early March. I was planning on e-biking the shark valley loop. Is there a self-guided tour guide?
Not that I’m aware of. But you will love biking the loop!
Headed to the area in a few days! Last minute trip and I see that the shark valley tram tours and the bike rentals are sold out. Should I skip this? Really want to see wildlife and now I’m disappointed – that’s last minute travel though!
I would still go in and walk the path for a minute. If you head along the pathway near the visitor center for a minute (the straight portion of the Shark Valley path if you look on the map), you should still see some alligators!
Hi! We’ll be traveling with a baby along — our kids are ages 11, 8 and 9 months. Are any of these tours doable with a baby? Thx!
You can still take the Shark Valley Tram Tour with a baby :)
We are planning to visit the Everglades for one day in December. We plan to stay in Homestead. Based on that and trying to fit in as much as possible, would you suggest starting a Shark Valley, and then working the list from there? Thank you so much for any insight.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’d do!
Spent a few high school years on loop road. Went to everglades city school. It was nice to see this article.
Very cool! What a fun area to spend so much time in!
My family and I will be vacationing a couple hours from the Everglades in July. I know summer is not the best time to visit the park for multiple reasons, but we have also never visited this national park. I’m having a difficult time determining whether we should try to fit in time to visit even if it may not be the ideal season. Would you recommend we take a half to whole day to visit the park in July or wait until we can visit in the winter months for a better experience? If so, which area would you recommend? We will be traveling with our seven year old son who enjoys doing the junior ranger programs and we all enjoy viewing wildlife and hiking kid friendly easy to moderate trails.
I think if you really want to visit, you should! If it were me, I’d go to Shark Valley. That’s where you’ll probably have the best luck seeing wildlife!
Thank you for your info! It’s kind of a lot to try to understand having not been there. I’m thinking if we fly into Miami then we would head down to Homestead and stay there a couple nights and drive trails and do hikes from the entrance there and then head into Shark Valley and do a tram tour and then head to Everglades City and hike in the Big Cypress National Preserve or rent a canoe and go through the mangroves.
SO my questions for you are…
Can we go from Homestead in the morning and to Shark Valley and do a tour and then do Everglades City all in a day? Or will Shark Valley take a day and we should go back to Everglades City and give that it’s own day?
Also, if we were to choose one place to bike, where would you go biking in the Everglades? Would you get an e-bike?
Thanks for you help! Feel free to reach out to me through my email or here, whichever is easier.
Annette
Hey Annette,
It would be a long day, but you could do it if that’s all the time you have. I’d plan at least a half-day in Shark Valley, so that won’t leave you much time at Big Cypress. If you want to bike in the Everglades, I would bike Shark Valley instead of taking the tram…it’s amazing!
Does the Everglades allow pet/dog inside the park?
You’ll find the dog regulations here: https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/pets.htm
Excellent. Very Helpful!
Have fun in the Everglades!
This was really helpful. Thank you!
You’re welcome!