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Take trolley for free entrance to Everglades National Park on winter weekends

Admission is $35 per car to Everglades National Park, but if you take a free trolley from Homestead on weekends this winter, you get in free. 

Free trolley in downtown Homestead.
Free trolley in downtown Homestead.

The trolley system in Homestead links visitors with Homestead’s two national parks – Everglades and Biscayne National Park – as well as to Homestead Bayfront Park, which features a natural atoll pool for swimming.

In the 2023-2024 season, the trolley will operate every weekend from Jan. 6 – March 31, 2024, plus every day during the holiday Dec. 26 – 31, 2023.

Inside the free Homestead trolley.
Inside the free Homestead trolley to Everglades National Park.

Visitors can use the free parking in Homestead and then use the trolley to visit either or both parks.

The trolley has been offered for several years, but in recent years, each park has added activities, according to Homestead Public Information Officer Zachery Good.

Biscayne National Park offers additional boat tours, including snorkeling tours. (Florida Rambler’s story on the Biscayne National Park boat tours.) You also can rent kayaks, canoes and stand up paddleboards there.

The trolley to Everglades National Park stops makes a 20-minute stop at the delightful Robert is Here fruit stand, then at the excellent Coe Visitor Center (worth a visit) and then goes to Royal Palm, home of the Anhinga Trail, the most reliable place to see alligators and wading birds up close. There is a second hike leaving from there, the Gumbo Limbo Trail, and there are often ranger talks there too. It’s easy to spend several hours at this location.

From there, visitors take the trolley back to the visitor center and then on to Homestead.

There is no additional public transportation into the rest of the large park this year.

If you catch the 9 a.m. tour to either national park, it is possible to visit both parks in one day, Good said. “I’ve done it, and it is a pretty long exhausting day, but it’s possible.”

It is possible to reach the park from Miami all on Miami-Dade County Public Transportation. The trolley site recommends you use the Miami-Dade Transit Trip Planner at MiamiDade.gov for a step-by-step guide on catching bus 38 to Losner Park,  104 N. Krome Ave., where the trolley stops.

Please confirm this information with the trolley website or by calling, as schedules can change.

Here are details about the trolleys with schedule information.

Florida Rambler’s guide to visiting Everglades National Park.


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Ethan

Tuesday 12th of January 2021

It is unclear from your article and the nps website if the trolley is a hop on/off situation. There is mention of a 20 minute stop at Robert’s and some ranger talks but what are the logistics of the trips. Thanks and appreciation for all you do.

Bonnie Gross

Wednesday 13th of January 2021

Homestead Public Information Officer Zackery Good responds to your question:

The trolley is not hop on/hop off and due to COVID-19 we are now limiting capacity and requiring a reservation. Visitors can make their reservations by visiting www.cityofhomestead.com/gateway. Ranger-led activities at the parks are informal and visitors can encounter rangers during their visit to ask questions or receive a small tour.

For the Robert is Here stop, visitors are given 20 minutes to explore Robert is Here on the way back from Everglades National Park and must re-board at that time or will have to wait for the next Trolley.

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