Everglades National Park celebrates secret missile base on its 60th birthday

Last updated on November 30th, 2024 at 09:29 am

Park celebrates 60th anniversary of nuclear base hidden in wilds

Most visitors think of Everglades National Park as a vast place for wildlife and wetlands, and it is.

But for years it also harbored a secret — a historic Nike missile site whose mission was to be ready to fire a nuclear missile in the next 15 minutes.

Warning sign at Nike missile base Everglades National Park — Nike missile base in Everglades: They weren’t kidding about security. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

The Nike missile site is so hidden inside Everglades National Park that visitors for years didn’t know it was there. In 2008, the site was opened to the public, who could step back in time to the Cold War era on guided tours.

The base, built in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis, opened in 1956. The national park is celebrating the birthday of its opening with a festival and a winter season of open houses and tours at the base.

For lovers of history, folks who remember the Cold War or aviation fans, the Nike missile site tour is a fascinating trip back in time, available only during the winter season.

secret missile base cuban missile crisis Tour secret Nike missile base deep in Everglades National Park

It started with the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Nike base was built in response to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis – the closest the US ever came to a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union. It remained in operation until 1979 and today it is listed on the U.S. Register of Historic Places. The Everglades base was one of four Nike bases in South Florida, each with 18 Hercules missiles ready to intercept a Soviet attack from Cuba,

Since tours began at the Nike base, the park has been “overwhelmed by interest,” according to Ranger Leon Howell, who recently retired from the park service.

The rangers who give tours are military veterans and the tour emphasizes the experiences of the men who served here, according to the tour manager, Ranger Kirk Singer.

“Today, less than one percent of the population is serving in one of the four branches of the military and most people not only never served, they don’t know anybody who has served,” said a ranger who served in the Marines for nine years.

Nike missile site in Everglades takes you back to the ’60s

Original artwork by soldiers in place at Nike base — The original artwork by soldiers stationed at the Nike base in the ’60 and ’70s is still in place in Everglades National Park.

The highly effective tour I attended was led by now-retired Ranger Leon Howell, an excellent storyteller. He began by evoking the era. When this base was built, Bob Dylan was singing A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and the daily weather report included information on radiation levels in the atmosphere (because of all the nuclear testing being done.) People were building fallout shelters in their backyards.

“And we were doing duck-and-cover drills in school – as though that was going to help,” Howell said on his tour. I remember it well: Nuclear war seemed very possible, some thought inevitable.

Nike base little changed from its heyday

Nike base is on National Register of Historic Places — The historic Nike missile site in the Everglades is especially well preserved because it is in a national park. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Once the Nike base was abandoned, because it was in a national park, it changed little. Thus the buildings have the original murals painted by soldiers and you can see the scary original warning signs (“U.S. Army Restricted Area. Use of Deadly Force Is Authorized.”)

One inexplicable thing that hasn’t changed is that the administration building is pink. Now called the Beard Center, a workplace for Everglades scientists, the admin building for the Nike base is a large pink structure where the tours begin. Originally, this site would have had five tall radar towers.

After getting the scene-setting intro talk, participants drive two miles to the missile site – what the soldiers called “down range.”

High security made Nike base an intense spot

Lock door message at Nike base Everglades National Park — **Inside the assembly building, little has changed at the Nike base, including this warning.**

A locked gate is only a hint of the security once present. Because the site held nuclear weapons – or “special weapons” as the U.S. Army called them – the level of security had an intensity that is hard to imagine. Fierce Army attack dogs were kept in on-site kennels. Howell joked: “There were no ‘bring your kid to work’ days here.”

On the tour, you get to peek into the bunkers built into berms where the men hunkered down sometimes for days, to be prepared to fire the missiles.

Refurbished Nike Hercules missile is highlight

Ranger Howell with photo of Nike missile launch — Before unveiling the missile, Ranger Leon Howell talks about what a missile launch would be like. (Photo: David Blasco)

Our tour’s indisputable highlight, however, was the missile assembly building and the ranger built up the drama. Standing in front of the building (one of three on the site) he showed photos of the launch of a Nike Hercules missile and described how it would be one mile high in 3.5 seconds after its explosive launch.

Opening doors to Nike missile assembly building — The big reveal: Opening the doors to the assembly building on the Nike base in Everglades National Park. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Finally, it was time for the Big Reveal. With the help of kids on the tour, the ranger slid open the doors to the large assembly building where the white 1960 Nike Hercules missile gleamed.

Inside the assembly building, the walls and bulletin boards are original. Doorways are still painted with the message: “Lock door immediately upon entry.”

Here also is the park’s second missile, captured as it would look while being unpacked from its crate (actually a tube). Missile crewmen assembled the weapon in this building, tested it with control panels on display, and pushed it out (by hand!) when the time came to fire. Then they’d take shelter in an underground bunker while soldiers in the pink control building 3,000 feet away pulled the trigger. Fortunately, they never had to. This Nike facility never fired a rocket even as a test. Crew members had to journey to White Sands to practice that.

Refurbished 1960 Nike Hercules missile at Everglades National Park.

Nevertheless, the men who worked here, Howell, said were “the heroes of the Cold War.” Looking back, we know they were safe here. But every time a Cuban aircraft came into U.S radar, he said, “these guys got an alert and they got these missiles ready.” For them, the Cold War was a real war.

After visiting this site, it is a little bit more real to all of us.

Visiting Nike missile site in Everglades National Park

If you are planning a visit to the park, check the schedule of tours on the park’s website. You don’t need reservations for the Nike tour; just meet at the Daniel Beard Center, a few miles down the road that takes you to Royal Palm. Please confirm this information with the desk staff at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center as schedules can change.

There are no bathrooms at the Nike base, so a quick stop at the visitor center is a good idea. Pick up a map too.

Here’s the 2024-25 tour schedule for the Nike base:

On Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, there will be an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a ranger tour at 2 p.m.

Tours will then be offered at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from Nov. 16 until Dec. 14,

Tours will continue daily at 2 p.m. from Dec. 15 to April 1.

Here’s another option for seeing the Nike site. Partnering with the park, the Everglades National Park Institute also offers a 3 1/2 hour small-group bus tour to Royal Palm, the Nike Missile Site, and the Pa-hay-okee overlook. The bus tour is offered daily at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. thrugh April 30, 2025. The tour is $50 per person. Information on bus tours.

Nike Site Festival, Sunday, Jan. 18

Everglades National Park will bring back the era of the Nike base in a special family-oriented festival celebrating the 60th anniversary of the site. Plans include live music from the ’60s, muscle cars of the era, food trucks and other activities and exhibits.

A police-canine-unit will provide a demonstration in the same place where trained attack dogs were used to help provide the high security for the base. A program called “It IS rocket science!” will help people learn about rocket engines, build their your own water rocket, and help launch those creation into the sky. Here are details of the Jan. 18 event.

Note: Admission to Everglades National Park is $35 per car, with a pass good for seven days. (As soon as you turn 62, get a senior pass. For $80, it offers lifetime admission to national parks. Also: Take advantage of these free days in national parks.)

Here’s Florida Rambler’s guide to visiting Everglades National Park, complete with insider tips on best walks and side trips.

Here’s the history of Nike base from National Park Service.

Tour secret Nike missile base deep in Everglades National Park