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5 ways to explore Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands

Vast and remote, the Ten Thousand Islands off Florida’s southwest coast seems challenging to visit, a labyrinth of twisting channels through thousands of remote mangrove islands.

Anchored off the beach at Panther Key in the Ten Thousand Islands
Anchored off a beach in the Ten Thousand Islands at Panther Key. (Photo by Bob Rountree)

1. PADDLE TO SANDFLY ISLAND. The Sandfly Loop kayak trail is about five miles, out and back from the Visitor Center, a two to three hour paddle. Add an hour to explore Sandfly, where you can picnic, use the portable toilet, and walk a mile-long trail past vestiges of pioneer homes. The dock is in disrepair, so pull your kayak up on the beach next to the dock. Extend your paddle by exploring nearby passes, bays and islands, but keep your bearings. Use the portable toilet near the dock as a landmark in case you get turned around. It’s easy to get confused (and lost!)

Map of Sandfly Key kayak trail.
Sandfly Key kayak trail

Canoe or kayak rentals are available from two local companies that deliver kayaks to the launch area at the Gulf Coast visitor center: Everglades Adventure Tours and Ivey House.

Detailed Florida Rambler article: Sandfly Island is perfect ‘intro’ kayak trail to explore Ten Thousand Islands


2. RIDE THE TIDE TO INDIAN KEY. Slightly more advanced, this 15-mile out-and-back paddle takes you out to the Gulf of Mexico through the main channel (Barron River/Indian Key Pass) from Everglades City. This is the same channel the park service tour boat follows. Best time to start your journey is a few hours after the high tide at Everglades City and ride the tide all the way to Indian Key, where the channel empties into the Gulf. Take a swim and have a picnic until the tide turns, then ride it back. If you don’t time this trip with the tides, you will struggle against strong currents. (Do not confuse this Indian Key with Indian Key in the Florida Keys).

Fishing at Indian Key
Fishing at Indian Key in the Ten Thousand Islands.

Detailed Florida Rambler article: Ride the Tide through Indian Key Pass in the Ten Thousand Islands


3. PLAN AN OVERNIGHT KAYAK TRIP to an outer island for a brilliant night sky from your own private beach. We like Tiger Key and Picnic Key, just north of Indian Key Pass, the main channel out of Everglades City.

night camping ten thousand islands tiger key
Stars come alive on Tiger Key in the Ten Thousand Islands.

Picnic Key’s beach sites are on the windward side of the island with little protection from sudden storms, while Tiger Key has a sheltered crescent-shaped beach on the leeward side facing West Pass.

Sites on both islands are limited and must be reserved at the Visitor Center no more than 24 hours in advance. (Weekdays are easiest to book). It’s a nine-mile paddle, about four hours, each way. You can avoid the camping restrictions by paddling a little further north to Panther Key, which is outside Everglades National Park in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

Detailed Florida Rambler article: Beach camping in the wild Ten Thousand Islands


chickee camping on the wilderness waterway in the Ten Thousand Islands
Chickee camping on the Wilderness Waterway in the Ten Thousand Islands.

4. WILDERNESS WATERWAY. The 99-mile Wilderness Waterway is the premier Ten Thousand Island adventure, a week-long paddle from Everglades City to Cape Sable and Flamingo (or vice versa). You will spend your nights on raised platforms (chickees), hard ground islands and beaches. Not for amateurs or the feint of heart, this journey will test your skills. Motorboats are allowed in these waters, but all watercraft, motor or paddle, must carefully navigate varying depths, some too shallow at low tide and others even shallow at high tide. Select your gear carefully, but bring a tarp or pop-up tent, and understand that you may be sharing a cozy chickee platform with strangers. Don’t even think about taking this trip without up-to-date NOAA navigation charts and studying the park service’s Wilderness Trip Planner.

It’s easy to get lost in these islands, so closely watch channel markers (bring charts), and note landmarks, understanding that all of these islands look the same after awhile. You will deja vu over and over and over again. I’ve found that a handheld GPS that tracks your path can be very handy if you need to backtrack to a known location.

Be sure to use tide tables to plan any paddle trip in these islands. The currents can be tough to navigate against the tide. Ideally, you should paddle out on the falling tide and return on a rising tide, using the tide tables for the Barron River at Everglades City as your point of reference. Note that tidal flows seem counterintuitive once you get into backcountry channels. 

You can rent single or double kayaks or canoes from the concession at the visitor center, including for use on the Wilderness Waterway. A shuttle service from Flamingo is also available. 


Ten Thousand Islands everglades tour boat 5 ways to explore Florida's Ten Thousand Islands
Ten Thousand Islands Tour boat leaves National Park Service docks in Everglades City

5. THE EASIEST WAY to see the Ten Thousand Islands is a narrated boat tour based at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center of Everglades National Park in Everglades City. The two hour tour is $54 (2024 rate) for adults. Children 5 to 16 are $36. 

Until fall of 2024, the Ten Thousand Islands boat tour is launching from a temporary location two miles north of the Gulf Coast Visitor Center because of reconstruction of the visitor center. You should book ahead. The launch site is on DuPont Street, which you reach on the right as you are coming to town before your cross the bridge into Everglades City.

You’ll learn about the islands’ unique environment and will often see dolphins play in the tour boat’s wake. You will undoubtedly see a variety of bird species, including soaring bald eagles, hawks, nesting osprey and colorful roseate spoonbills. The guides are naturalists trained by national park staff and the boat has a quiet engine to reduce scaring away wildlife. 

The 2024 tour includes a stop at a boardwalk with a 15 minute walk.

Boat tour details at evergladesfloridaadventures.com


Gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands

Explore historic Everglades City and Chokoloskee Island by car, bicycle or on foot. These outposts in the Ten Thousand Islands are on U.S. 29, off the Tamiami Trail (US 41), and have a legendary past as fishing village, smuggler’s haven and hideout to more than a few notorious characters.

Today, there is far more fishing than smuggling (or so we are led to believe), with several unpretentious seafood restaurants that feature the local catch, most notably the delectable stone crab in season. Consider Triad Seafood, 401 School Drive West, or City Seafood, 702 Begonia St.

Visit iconic buildings from the 1920s: Old Collier County Courthouse, Bank of Everglades Building and the legendary Rod and Gun Club, which has hosted Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Nixon, as well as Ernest Hemingway.

On Chokoloskee Island, visit historic Smallwood Store, which opened in 1906 when this was the Wild West and Ted Smallwood was a pioneer. The former Indian trading post on stilts overlooking Chokoluskee Bay served a small community of hardy and often ornery individualists. Today, the store is a museum, still owned by descendants of the founder. Admission is $5.

Other ports of entry to the Ten Thousand Islands

Port of the Islands — Accessible from Tamiami Trail north of Everglades City, Port of the Islands is a cluster of condos, adventure resort and marina complex with an RV park and boat ramps with excellent access to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. This may be the best choice for those who want to bring motorboats into the islands for a week or a weekend of fishing. Not the best choice for paddlers because of the long, time-consuming journey down the Faka Union Canal. On the positive side, the channel takes you straight to Panther Key with its great beach camping (no permits) and nearby fishing (fishing license required).

Collier-Seminole State Park — This state park is a jewel with an excellent boat launch for kayaks, canoes, and motorboats (up to 24 feet) with access to the Blackwater River, which dumps into Blackwater Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. There is also a paddle trail that branches off the Blackwater into the depths of the park.

Goodland/Marco Island— Just off the southeast access bridge on Marco Island (State Road 92), Goodland is a rustic little fishing village with a couple of interesting restaurants and quite a few characters. A modern marina with boat ramp, as well as several access points for canoes and kayaks, make Goodland a good alternative to access the northern tier of the Ten Thousand Islands.

Detailed Florida Rambler article: Off-the-beaten track Marco Island, beyond your hotel pool


Related Information

Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center, 815 Oyster Bar Lane. Everglades City, Florida 34139; To talk to a ranger, call 239-695-3311. Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Mid-November through Mid-April); 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Mid-April until Mid-November) Approximate GPS coordinates: 25°50’49.03″ N 81°23’06.85″ W

Sandfly Key trip report

Eating stone crabs in Everglades City

Ride the tide to Indian Key 

Beach camping in the wild Ten Thousand Islands


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Erin

Tuesday 29th of March 2022

Thank you so much for this guide! I linked back to it in my Everglades National Park Itinerary, all of the info on the Ten Thousand Islands will definitely be helpful to my readers! :)

See it at www.supersimplesaltylife.com/the-perfect-everglades-national-park-itinerary/

Dave K

Sunday 25th of June 2017

Guided Overnight Everglades Kayak Camping Tours Come kayak, explore and truly experience the REAL Everglades! We offer fully outfitted and guided 3-5-8-day overnight kayak camping tours in the backcountry of Everglades National Park. You can find complete details at http://www.everglades-kayak.com. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Dave Kochendorfer, Owner/Guide Florida Outdoor Adventures – Everglades Kayak Tours http://www.everglades-kayak.com [email protected] 386-295-1850

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