Eco-pond, across from the campground in Flamingo in Everglades National Park is full of birds in winter. Here, American avocets rest below a roseate spoonbill. (Photo: David Blasco)
Getaways to outdoor recreation in Florida’s Everglades, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, RV and tent camping, swamp walks, lodging, unique restaurants, road trips and Funky Florida.
If you have one day or its your first visit to the Everglades, this guide will help you see wildlife and experience the essence of Everglades National Park. We offer tips, too, for more in-depth Everglades experiences.
The historic agricultural area surrounding the Homestead entrance to Everglades National Park offers so many cool experiences — a park where you can see and sample exotic fruits, a historic village of shops and restaurants, a local tropical-fruit winery and famous fruit milkshakes and cinnamon rolls.
Winter is the best time for Everglades camping in both Everglades National Park and Big Cypress Preserve. Options run from recreational vehicles to tents in the back country and glamping.
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.
Stone crab season starts Oct. 15 and Everglades City, a small, isolated fishing village south of Naples, is a place to feast on this Florida favorite in an authenic Old Florida atmosphere.
Since Hurricane Wilma destroyed lodging in Flamingo in 2005, the only way to stay overnight in Everglades National Park has been to camp. At last, new lodging has opened at Flamingo — 20 eco-tents, a cross beween a tent and a cabin, with beds and linens but using a central bath facility.
Renting a houseboat in Everglades National Park lets you glide into the wilderness of Whitewater Bay and experience its splendor at dawn, at sunset and marvel at its starry skies. Fishermen will love it, but even without fishing, there’s plenty to enjoy.
Crossing the state on Alligator Alley? Here are tips on a how to spend 15 minutes, a half hour or a half day exploring the Everglades from I-75. This mile marker guide helps you decide where to stop and what to do along the way.
The Seminole Arts Celebration offers tradition — fry bread and alligator wrestling — but also celebrates the diversity of native cultures.
Big Cypress National Preserve offers excellent Everglades experiences. It’s adjacent to the famous national park, is free and has some spectacular scenery.
The beach town of Marco Island is all manicured and modern, but here are four adventures into the wild and authentic Florida that are within a quick drive. You can wade across a lagoon to a wild beach or have lunch in a funky fishing town or stroll on a boardwalk into a beautiful old growth cypress swamp.
HOMESTEAD — Robert Is Here, just outside Everglades National Park, is a must-stop for my family on the basis of its Key Lime milkshakes alone. But we also love the menangerie out back, the exotic tropical fruits there for the tasting and the overall ambiance.
Flamingo is a long way from the entrance to Everglades National Park, but we love it for the wildlife — manatees, crocodiles and an osprey nest right in the marina. Kayaking into Florida Bay is a splendid way to see the many birds and spectacular scenery. Our guide provides tips for hiking too.
Cape Sable is 11 miles from Flamingo, the end of the road in Everglades National Park. It’s a wild and wonderful destination for a canoe/kayak camping adventure.
One of the best ways to see Florida’s Everglades is via the Tamiami Trail to the Shark Valley entrance, home to a terrific bike trail and abundant wildlife.
The free trolley from Homestead to Everglades National Park & Biscayne National Park runs every winter weekend. Riders enter free, saving the $30 admission.