everglades-national-park.us

The Entrances

Everglades National Park has three entrances from land and one main entrance area with facilities from the water. These are:

• Gulf Coast Visitor Center, on the northwest tip of the Park 
• Shark Valley Visitor Center, on the northern central edge of the Park 
• Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, on the eastern edge of the Park 
• Royal Palm Visitor Center, just a few miles inside the Homestead entrance to the Park, after Ernest Coe Visitor Center 
• Big Cypress National Preserve Visitor Center, in Big Cypress National Preserve, next to Everglades National Park 
• Flamingo Visitor Center, on the southern coast, accessible by water and via Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center 

Each of these entrances and visitor centers offers a different angle on the Everglades, and depending on where you’re driving from, and what you plan to do, each one offers different activities as well.

What to Do in Everglades National Park

The National Park itself offers all kinds of ways to enjoy the outdoors and explore the Park. Join a group or set out for a private excursion, and you’ll definitely have a wonderful, surprising day of adventure. Here is what you can do in the Park itself. Scroll down further for a short list of what there is to do just outside the boundaries of the Park.

• go cycling on park roads and trails
• go canoeing, the best way to see the Everglades because you’re practically right down in the water
• experience fantastic bird watching
• go freshwater fishing, but don’t eat the freshwater fish, because of high mercury levels
• go saltwater fishing. Charter a boat or take your own. If you fish on your own, you’ll need a State of Florida fishing license. These are available at bait shops or from the Florida Dept of Conservation.
• take an organized tram tour throughout the park led by a naturalist
• go camping, but not during bug season. Get a permit for the backcountry and the primitive camping spots

Here’s what you can do just outside Everglades National Park

• go for an airboat tour: these unique “boats” cut through the sawgrass and actually lift off the water to skim through the Everglades’ thick grass. They’re prohibited in the Park.
• visit the Everglades Alligator Farm
• take an Eco Tour
• Paddle along the Wilderness Waterway
• shop for handicrafts at the Miccosukee Indian Village, located on the road between Miami and one of the entrances to Everglades National Park

The Gulf Coast Visitor Center is the spot where the Everglades brush up against the Gulf of Mexico, located near the remote outpost of Everglades City, about 2.5 hour drive west of Miami. There are also touristy attractions and enticements along the way, but it’s a remote drive, sometimes a little monotonous if you’re not really into driving.

The Royal Palm Visitor Center is located about four miles inside the Everglades National Park entrance from Homestead. There are walking trails here that are worth visiting even if you’ve already spent time at the larger Ernest Coe Visitor Center. Each trail is half a mile long and offers interpretive signs. After viewing some of the unusual Everglades flora and fauna, you may have questions, and the interpretive signs do a good job of answering some of the most frequently asked questions. For example, you’ll learn about why the strangler fig has such a deadly name. Mostly the trails are wheelchair accessible. There are also rangers here at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, who lead educational walks along the trails, year-round.

signs marking the trails, and easy pull-off spots for your car. They make it easy to explore and get outside your car to see the wildlife and the plants that make up the Everglades National Park.

• Gumgo-Limbo Trail

  This trail is half a mile long.

• Anhinga Trail

  It’s also half a mile long.

• Pa-hay-okee Overlook

• Pineland Trail

• Mahogany Hammock Trail

• West Lake Trail

The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center is at the Southern entrance to the Park, located just outside of Homestead/Florida City. If you’re on your way the the Florida Keys, Homestead is the last stop before the mainland ends and the Keys begin, at the tip of the country. This entrance is very convenient for people driving from Miami, because the entrance to the park is literally just outside Homestead/Florida City. No long road to drive before you get to the entrance, like at Shark Valley. There are walking trails galore in here, and you’ll see tons of wildlife as you walk. The Pa-hay-okee Overlook Trail boasts a boardwalk and observation tower where you’re likely to see hawks and all sorts of other native birds.

The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center was recently expanded and it’s now the best place to get info about your visit to Everglades National Park. Learn about boat rentals, tours, trail maps, wildlife, activities. You can also enjoy films, interactive displays and a thoroughly-stocked modern gift shop in this state of the art Visitor Center. Just down the road is the Royal Palm Visitor Center, which was designed to teach you about the nature of the Everglades, and is the starting point of two trails, the Anhinga Trail and the Gumbo Trail.

The Shark Valley Visitor’s Center has a 15-mile loop road into the Everglades park and provides a great day trip from Miami since it’s only about a half-hour drive from the turnpike. There’s an observation tower and the road is very scenic. On the way to the entrance you’ll pass by all sorts of touristy things to tempt you…signs for airboat rides, various alligator farms, left over from the days when the alligator was endangered, (not anymore: it’s now so prevalent it’s considered a nuiscance and you can now get a permit to hunt them). The alligator farms do provide a wonderful way for toursits to get up close and learn about these unique creatures that are ever so much a part of Florida’s image and landscape. There’s a tram tour that leaves the visitor center and delves deep into the Everglades. It’s an excellent tour, but if you’d rather stay more private, the tram road is also great for cycling.