Halfway Creek is a well-marked kayak trail just off the Tamiami Trail. It’s good for short or long paddles, taking you to a wild green world thick with airplants.
The Florida Everglades
The Everglades is part of a vast and slow-moving ecosystem extending hundreds of miles from its headwaters in the Kissimmee River basin near Orlando to Florida Bay.
It’s not just the National Park at the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula.
To help you explore this amazing part of our state, here are our stories of adventures, from camping to kayaking, swamp walks, boardwalks and scenic road trips.
These stories are your guide.
Camping in the Everglades, an experience like no other
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.
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.
Off-the-beaten path in Marco Island: Go beyond your hotel pool
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.
Take trolley for free entrance to Everglades National Park on winter weekends
The free trolley from Homestead to Everglades National Park & Biscayne National Park runs every winter weekend. Riders enter free, saving the $30 admission.
Turner River kayak trail: The best in the Everglades
I’ve paddled a lot of trails in the Everglades, but so far, the Turner River is my favorite. It goes from pristine cypress swamp, through mangrove tunnels to sawgrass marsh, and it teems with birds, gators and fish. It’s everything the Everglades offers in one trip.
Everglades National Park Hell’s Bay Kayak Trail: The name is a hint
Whoever named this kayak trail Hell’s Bay was giving you a hint: It won’t be easy. During National Parks Week at the end of April, I paddled this forbiddingly named trail. It’s mile after mile of mangroves with tight twists and turns that make going slow. If you’re heading for a backcountry camping site — a chickee on a platform in the middle of the Everglades wilderness — then this trail is worth the trouble. If not, well, I have some suggestions for you.
Canoe or kayak Everglades National Park: Coot Bay and Mud Lake trail
Our Everglades National Park paddle on the Coot Bay/Mud Lake trail offered two hours of gorgeous scenery through magical mangrove tunnels. It also required about two hours of hard paddling against the wind.
Kayak Everglades National Park: The best way to experience it
Kayaks and canoes are one of the best ways to surround yourself in the Everglades. Here’s a guide to the trails in the national park.
An Everglades hiking trail right off Alligator Alley
When crossing Florida on I-75, this hike is an easy way to experience the Everglades. You can hike for miles; even backpack to a campsite. Or stretch your legs for a short taste of the wild.
Ride the tide to Indian Key (A Ten Thousand Islands adventure)
Paddle the outgoing tide in your canoe or kayak through Indian Key Pass in the Ten Thousand Islands. Makes a great day trip in your kayak, or camp overnight on a tropical island.
Beach camping in the wild Ten Thousand Islands
EVERGLADES CITY — One of my favorite Florida getaways is to boat out to the outer islands and camp for a weekend on a remote, pristine beach fronting the Gulf of Mexico.