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Things You Should Not Miss
1. The film, "Everglades: River of Life" at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center.
2. The narrated tram ride, two hours long, at the Shark Valley Visitor Center.
3. Take a ranger guided walk, offered all year at the Royal Palm Visitor Center and in winter months from the other Visitor Centers as well.
(Photo above) Seminole Indian Village along the Tamiami Trail, circa 1972.
* Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Located near the main park entrance west of Homestead and Florida City
* Flamingo Visitor Center - Sixty-one miles southwest of the main entrance, near the south end of the park. (This area was damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Wilma, some facilities may be closed.)
* Gulf Coast Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands area, it is located in the northwest corner of the park in Everglades City.
* Royal Palm Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - On the east side of the park, four miles from the main entrance. (Check to see whether this is now open, had been closed for renovation.)
* Shark Valley Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Located along U.S. 41, the Tamiami Trail, on the northern border of Everglades Park. Located in the middle of the "river of grass" a two hour narrated tram ride is available from this center.
Transportation - Take advantage of the main options to view the park. While the park may be viewed by private automobile, boat tours and tram tours are available.
Lodging - The Flamingo Lodge, a 103 room and cottage lodge, was damaged due to the hurricanes in the fall of 2005. It will be demolished, and plans are being made to replace the lodge with another, hurricane resistant complex, including a motel, cabins, and tents.
Tropical Everglades Visitor Information
Marco Island and the Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau
Homestead & Florida City Chamber of Commerce
Greater Miami Convention & Visitor Bureau
Everglades Area Chamber of Commerce
Florida State Park Information
Cypress Gardens
Miccosukee Indian Village
Monkey Jungle
Parrott Jungle
Seminole Indian Tribe
2. The narrated tram ride, two hours long, at the Shark Valley Visitor Center.
3. Take a ranger guided walk, offered all year at the Royal Palm Visitor Center and in winter months from the other Visitor Centers as well.
(Photo above) Seminole Indian Village along the Tamiami Trail, circa 1972.
What is There Now
There are five Visitor's Centers, four of which are open all year, in Everglades National Park, situated near the entrance of each section.* Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Located near the main park entrance west of Homestead and Florida City
* Flamingo Visitor Center - Sixty-one miles southwest of the main entrance, near the south end of the park. (This area was damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Wilma, some facilities may be closed.)
* Gulf Coast Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands area, it is located in the northwest corner of the park in Everglades City.
* Royal Palm Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - On the east side of the park, four miles from the main entrance. (Check to see whether this is now open, had been closed for renovation.)
* Shark Valley Visitor Center (Open Year Round) - Located along U.S. 41, the Tamiami Trail, on the northern border of Everglades Park. Located in the middle of the "river of grass" a two hour narrated tram ride is available from this center.
Transportation - Take advantage of the main options to view the park. While the park may be viewed by private automobile, boat tours and tram tours are available.
Lodging
Camping - Two areas within the park, plus Wilderness or Backcountry Camping, are available. The Flamingo Campground in Flamingo and the Long Pine Key Campground seven miles from the main entrance both provide drive-in sites (neither have hookups).Lodging - The Flamingo Lodge, a 103 room and cottage lodge, was damaged due to the hurricanes in the fall of 2005. It will be demolished, and plans are being made to replace the lodge with another, hurricane resistant complex, including a motel, cabins, and tents.
Everglades Links
Everglades National ParkTropical Everglades Visitor Information
Marco Island and the Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau
Homestead & Florida City Chamber of Commerce
Greater Miami Convention & Visitor Bureau
Everglades Area Chamber of Commerce
Florida State Park Information
Nearby Attractions
Big Cypress National PreserveCypress Gardens
Miccosukee Indian Village
Monkey Jungle
Parrott Jungle
Seminole Indian Tribe
Everglades Then and Now
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Everglades Then |
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Indian Culture
- On display throughout the park in private exhibits, as well as
National Park exhibits, the culture of the Everglades Indians
(Seminole, Miccosukee) is ever present. Pictured above; two
Seminole Indian women in 1941 cook cane syrup on the Seminole Indian
Agency. Pictured below; a Seminole Indian man spears garfish in
1930. The history of the modern Seminole Indian began in the
early 1800's as a result of Creek and Muskogee people moving south from
the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Once in Florida, they became
known as Seminoles, numbering nearly five thousand. During the
Trail of Tears campaign when the federal government forced Indians east
of the Mississippi to move west, a number of the Seminole people
refused. They declared war on the U.S. Army, fighting two wars
(1835-1842, 1855-1859), which saw immense casualties on both
sides. Only one hundred and fifty Seminoles remained after the
wars, hiding in the Everglades, where their descendents still live
today.
 History of the Everglades Itself - The Everglades, or what the Seminoles called "grassy water", has a rich history, although the history was replete with changes in philosophy as for the waters of the Everglades ecosystem. Early settlers thought south Florida and the Everglades was essentially wasteland, and urged the state legislature and Congress to drain it in the beginning part of the century. Actually, a large network of locks, and canals were subsequently created into the marshes, culminating in the controversial Central and Southern Florida Project that cut the Kissimmee River into a three hundred foot canal now half the length of its original meandering river. This project, along with the partial draining of the Big Cypress Swamp, caused a great problem in the Everglades system, which the current restoration projects hope to restore. Big Cypress Swamp in now protected as the Big Cypress National Preserve, located on the northwest side of Everglades National Park. The Nature of the Everglades on View - Thoughout the park, trails on both land and water, traverse the far reaches of the Everglades. Pictured below; the Auhinga Trail, from 1972, shows an elevated boardwalk through a slough. The Auhinga Trail is still the place to enjoy a one-half mile trail in 2006. Alligators, egrets, water turkeys and garfish can be seen along the side of this path during the appropriate season.  |
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Everglades Now |
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Today's Nature - Throughout the modern everglades, both remnants of past culture and today's nature abound. The center picture above shows the ruins of a traditional Seminole hut in the middle of the Everglades. On both left and right, the sites that can be seen during a walk or boat ride around the park include alligators and peacocks, while not on parade for visitors, within view for the visitor on watch. The Auhinga Trail (mentioned above) is just one of the many available hikes throughout the park. Other short jaunts include the Gumbo-Limbo Trail, near Royal Palm, the Pineland Trail, seven miles from the main park entrance, the Pahayokee Overlook in the river of grass, and the Mahogany Hammock Trail, through a dense jungle hardwood hammock. Longer trails are also plentiful, particularly from the Longe Pine Key area near the campground and near the Royal Palm Visitor Center, the old Ingraham Highway. Endangered Nature - Due to the increase in development pressure throughout Florida, and water management practices that have robbed the Everglades of enough water during the wet season, as well as chemical usage and air pollution, the Everglades is now one of the most endangered parks in the nation. A concerted effort is being made to rehabilitate the Everglades and its ecosystem.
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