Be sure to check out nearby Biscayne National Park Jones Lagoon Tour and 1 Week Florida Itinerary while planning the Best Things to Do in the Everglades National Park!
*Last updated February 15, 2025
Best Things to Do in the Everglades National Park
Table of Contents
- Everglades National Park
- North vs. South Everglades
- When to Visit the Everglades
- Gulf Coast, Shark Valley, Ernest F. Coe, Royal Palm and Guy Bradley Visitor Centers
- Hiking Trails (from northeast to southwest)
- Wildlife
- HM69 Nike Missile Base
- Kayaking and Canoeing
- Flamingo Marina and Boat Tours
- Air Boat Tours
- Robert is Here Fruit Stand
- Biscayne National Park
- Conclusion
Everglades National Park
When I think of Everglades National Park, I would picture wetlands, birds and alligators. However, one the coolest things I noticed when visiting, was how diverse the landscape is. Additionally, when you drive from Homestead to Flamingo, you encounter not only marsh, but pine forest, mahogany forest, cypress swamp, lakes, fields, shoreline and mangroves.
North vs. South Everglades
The Everglades is a big national park. In fact, it is the 10th largest national park and 3rd largest in the lower 48 states (not counting Alaska). Additionally, there are two main sections. First, there is Shark Valley visitor center in the north, which has a road stretching from Everglades City to Miami. Second, there is Flamingo to the south, which stretches from Homestead down to Flamingo marina.
The Shark Valley area is less than an hour from Miami. Also, there is a hike/bike trail, a guided tram tour, trails and an observation tower. Flamingo is a bit more remote and the road that passes through the park takes about 45 minutes to drive from Homestead to Flamingo, without any of the turnoffs. We decided to go to Flamingo, so the trails listed are from that section of the park.
When to Visit the Everglades
I’d recommend not going in the summer. However, it depends how much you like heat and humidity. We went over New Years and even then the temperatures were in the high 80s!
To take advantage of more comfortable temperatures at national parks, we like to go out early to help miss the heat. Additionally, wildlife tends to be more active in the morning and evenings.
Gulf Coast, Shark Valley, Ernest F. Coe, Royal Palm and Guy Bradley Visitor Centers
There are five visitor centers in Everglades National Park. There are two to the north, Gulf Coast Visitor Center, which is close to Everglades City and Shark Valley Visitor Center, which is towards Miami.
Additionally, there are three to the south. Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, which is just at the entrance of the park from Homestead. Additionally, there is Royal Palm, which is a smaller center next to Anhinga Trail. Finally, there is Guy Bradley Visitor Center all the way next to Flamingo Marina. It is named after the Guy Bradley, who was a hunter turned game warden. Additionally, he was murdered while trying to arrest illegal poachers in the area.
Hiking – Anhinga Trail
Anhinga Trail is about a one mile loop with some various offshoots. Additionally, it is one of the more popular trails in the Everglades, and for good reason. You are pretty much guaranteed to see numerous wildlife on this trail, including alligators and a variety of birds.
If you visit my page, Birds of the Everglades, you can see which birds we saw on Anhinga Trail. Additionally, I would consider this a “must do” for anyone visiting the southern side of the park.
Hiking – Mahogany Hammock Trail
Mahogany Hammock Trail is a short 1/2 mile loop and was a fun trail. Also, while you won’t see as much wildlife as Anhinga Trail (or as many people), it is a great little hike through a mahogany forest.
The turnoff for Mahogany Hammock is about half-way along the drive from Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center to Flamingo. Also, there is a boardwalk path leading though the wetlands. Additionally, we saw a red shouldered hawk at the trailhead.
Hiking – Snake Bight Trail
Snake Bight Trail is a 1.6 mile (3.2 round trip) path that runs from the road through mangroves to Florida Bay. We only did the first 5 minutes as we had a boat tour to be at. Additionally, it had rained before we arrived, so the trail was extremely muddy. For trail conditions, you can check with a ranger at the Guy Bradley Visitor Center in Flamingo.
Hiking – Eco Pond Trail
Eco Pond Trail is a half mile loop around a small pond. There are some markers that detail the wildlife and habitats of the area. However, we only made it a short way before turning back. Even though we had put on insect repellant, the mosquitoes were the worst we experienced on this trail.
Hiking – Guy Bradley Trail
Guy Bradley Trail starts at the Guy Bradley Visitor Center and is a 1 mile paved trail (2 miles round trip) and leads through mangroves out to a Florida Bay beach.
The day after heavy rains, many trails were pure mud, which made this a great trail since it is paved. There were a couple small sections that had standing water, but it was easy enough to get around. You will see sections of both mangroves and views of Florida Bay.
Wildlife – Alligator vs. Crocodile
Alligators can be found up and down the coast of the eastern US and gulf coast region. However, the American Crocodile, can only be found in southern Florida. Crocodiles are larger and have a lighter color than their alligator relatives.
We only saw one crocodile, so I felt lucky to get to see one. We saw it sunning itself on a pier near Flamingo Marina. However, we saw a lot of alligators during our time in the Everglades.
Wildlife – Manatees
We saw some manatees near Flamingo marina. They seemed to enjoy drinking fresh water from the storm drainage pipe that was emptying into the marina.
I was told that most manatees migrate inland and north during colder, winter months. However, we were still able to see some manatees that hang out in the marina area.
Wildlife – Birds
We saw a lot of birds in the Everglades. Be sure to check out my page Birds of the Everglades to see a list of all the birds we saw during our time here. We saw around 25 that I counted, but the Everglades is home to over 360 species of birds throughout the year.
HM69 Nike Missile Base
The HM69 Nike Missile Base is located along the same turnoff as the Anhinga Trail. It is a military base that was built during the Cold War to protect against a nuclear attack by Russia from Cuba. Also, you can view the Nike Hercules missiles.
Additionally, it is open for visitation from 10am-2pm most days between December and April. However, be sure to check with the visitor center for current times. Additionally, there are free daily guided tours offered.
Kayaking and Canoeing
There are numerous options for boating in the Everglades. Numerous people bring there own canoes and kayaks, which is the only way (outside of a private tour) to paddle through the Noble Hammock and Hell’s Bay Trails that you will see from the road.
However, you can rent canoes and kayaks directly from Flamingo Marina (visit Flamingo Adventures to see more about rentals and rates) to either paddle in the bay or up the Buttonwood Canal to Coot Bay.
Additionally, you can paddle at Nine Mile Pond. One option is to rent 2 person canoes that will be dropped off at the pond, which is a 5 mile paddling trail. Additionally, you can schedule a guided tour to paddle Nine Mile.
Flamingo Marina and Boat Tours
One fun option would be to rent a half-day or full-day pontoon boat from Flamingo Marina. You can take boats up the Buttonwood Canal to Coot Bay.
Additionally, Flamingo Adventures offers both a tour of Florida Bay and a Backcountry Boat Tour. We chose to do the Florida Bay tour on their last time, so that it completed near sunset. Additionally, we saw a lot of birds on that trip, you can see some at our page here.
Air Boat Tours
I looked into it, but we decided to take the Flamingo Marina boat tour above instead. However, I know that many people want to do an air boat tour in the Everglades.
Robert is Here Fruit Stand
We drove by the Robert is Here Fruit Stand in Homestead a few times passing into and out of the park. We didn’t stop until our very last time heading out and I’m glad we did. They have a lot of fun food items and we even got to chat with Robert himself. Additionally, they have numerous animals, birds, turtles and more housed out back.
Biscayne National Park
Finally, Biscayne National Park is not far from the Everglades and makes a wonderful compliment to an Everglades visit. Be sure to check out our journey on the Jones Lagoon tour in Biscayne National Park.
Conclusion
We had a great time during our 3 days in the Everglades. However, it was hot enough during the winter, I don’t think that I’d love going in the summer! Also, if you are planning a Florida vacation, be sure to visit our full 1 week Florida Itinerary.