Everglades National Park, located in Florida, is one of the most unique and diverse ecosystems in the world. With over 1.5 million acres of wetlands, mangroves, and sawgrass prairies, the park offers visitors a variety of experiences and activities to explore. Here are the top 10 must-do experiences when visiting Everglades National Park.
1. Take a Boat Tour:
One of the best ways to explore the park is by taking a scenic boat tour. These tours take visitors deep into the heart of the park, providing an up-close look at the wildlife and vegetation that call the Everglades home.
Some of the popular boat tours include the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway and the 90-minute Mangrove Tunnel Tour.
Flamingo Adventures offers both rentals and tours for your boating goals. For kids, we suggest the 90-minute Back Country Boat Tour. It is short enough to sustain everyone’s attention, and it departs from the Flamingo Marina. We love this marina for wildlife viewing, too, as we discuss below!
One of the highlights of our trip to the Everglades was our airboat tour. The feelings and sounds of the airboat tour are exactly as you would expect. The breeze intensifies the adrenaline rush of the experience. This is the perfect, top pick tour for most families. (If your children are under 4-years-old, the tram tour discussed below would likely be a better fit.)
The airboat tour is so iconic of the wetlands and such a unique experience to most visitors that our family would never miss an opportunity for this ride no matter how many times we return to the Everglades! The park has three concessionaires for this service.
I cannot recommend the company that we used last time, although we enjoyed the boat ride, itself. On our next Everglades adventure, we will likely use THIS company which offers walk-up tickets priced around $25 per adult.
2. Walk the Anhinga Trail:
The Anhinga Trail is a 0.8-mile boardwalk trail that takes visitors through the heart of the park’s sawgrass prairies. The trail is known for its abundant wildlife, including alligators, turtles, and a variety of birds such as herons and egrets. This is a fantastic, accessible trail that children and adults will all enjoy!
Be sure to hold onto little ones’ hands during this journey. It does not disappoint with the number of alligators it showcases!
3. Go Wildlife Spotting:
Everglades National Park is home to a variety of wildlife species including the elusive Florida panther, American crocodile, and West Indian manatee. Visitors can spot wildlife by taking a wildlife drive or by exploring one of the park’s hiking trails.
When we visited in January, the park employees suggested that we go to the marina for some manatee-spotting. We saw so many!
We also saw a crocodile which is more difficult to find than the abundant alligators of Everglades.
4. Explore the Shark Valley Observation Tower:
The Shark Valley Observation Tower is a 45-foot-tall tower that provides stunning views of the park’s sawgrass prairies. Visitors can take a tram tour or hike the 15-mile round trip trail to the tower.
The tram tour is two hours long and takes visitors on an open-air tour of Shark Valley. It stops at numerous sites offering far-reaching views of the park. Although it was not operating when our family visited, the tram tour looks like a fantastic and fun way for families to enjoy this trail!
5. Visit the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center:
The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center is the main visitor center for the park and offers a variety of exhibits and educational programs about the park’s ecology and history.
The rangers and volunteers who work at this center are very helpful and can advise you on additional tours and events based on your family needs.
6. Canoe or Kayak the Park’s Waterways:
Canoeing or kayaking the park’s waterways is an excellent way to explore the park’s unique ecosystem up close.
Rentals are available at Flamingo and Gulf Coast visitor centers. Additionally, the Everglades Institute offers numerous, guided paddling opportunities.
The minimum age for most of the paddling adventures, however, is 12-years-old. Ensure that your children meet the age minimums and that they can comfortably paddle for the duration of the tour!
7. Visit the Mahogany Hammock Trail:
The Mahogany Hammock Trail is a short, 0.5-mile trail that takes visitors through a dense hardwood forest. The trail is known for its abundance of mahogany trees and other plant species. It is one of the park’s most well-known trails and worth the time it takes to enjoy it.
8. Attend a Ranger-Led Program:
Everglades National Park offers a variety of ranger-led programs, including guided walks, talks, and hikes. These programs provide visitors with a more in-depth look at the park’s ecology and history.
There is a lot of seasonal variability in the ranger program schedules, and the park calendar is sometimes a struggle for users. We suggest the you start your trip to Everglades National Park at the visitor center, and ask for the programming schedule immediately. Some parks include these in their newspaper, and some do not.
The scope of programs at this park is broad. You are likely to find one that will engage your family well. Since these are free, we suggest that you prioritize these programs when possible!
9. Become a Junior Ranger:
With all of the unique wildlife in Everglades National Park, investing some time to learn about the ecology and biology is essential. The Junior Ranger Program is a great way to ensure that you and your family aren’t missing any of the park’s highlights. Plus, it will put you on a mission and leave you with great context to go home, learn more, and return to the Everglades with new questions and interests!
10. Go on a Cypress Slog
If you’re brave and have older kids, you may want to take a foot tour through the wetlands with a guide from the Everglades Institute. While our family have not done this tour, it looks fascinating for the more adventurous spirits!
Everglades National Park offers visitors a unique and diverse range of experiences and activities. Whether you’re interested in wildlife spotting, hiking, or boating, there is something for everyone in this very special national park!
