everglades national park

The Everglades are a massive wetland complex that are impossible to visit in one day, but we SUPed the Coot Bay paddle trail and had a great time paddling through the mangroves!

I was disappointed in the amount of wildlife we saw. The ranger station was ok and had some good info, but, I've seen more wildlife in Kansas City. Wish we had taken the tour out to the reef instead. We went from Florida City to Flamingo and saw a tree full of buzzards. I took photos to remind me to not go that way again.

We went in from the east to Flamingo and also from the North at Shark Valley. We took the tram at Shark Valley and saw wild life everywhere and no walking except to see a tower if we wanted to.From the east was more walking after short drives and you also saw wild life but not near as many in a short distance as at Shark Valley.

We loved the bike ride in Shark Valley. We saw tons of alligators and many different birds. The ride is flat and the bikes were easy to ride. Take a picnic lunch and eat it at the halfway point where there is a tower to take some great photos.

I didn't but won't make the mistake again.. Thought we could see the bulk of points in a few hours... very wrong unless you don't want out of your car. At the visitors center you can get a list of what is going on and when. We were fortunate enough to hit a ranger tour and couple of speakers. The rest of the day we tried to follow the map we had...just not enough daylight. Were I to do this again from scratch would get a room at Florida City and get to the 'Glades early with plan in hand. I'm not a big camper or outdoorsman but you cannot be less than amazed by all of the plants and animals everywhere. Thinking of the past you wonder how early explorers and soldiers were able to accomplish any thing worth while in that terrain. There is much food for thought there so, again, I say allow plenty of time and take advantage of this wonderfully interesting park.

We spent some time in the "real" Everglades -- that is, within the actual park boundaries from the entrance near Florida City/Homestead, Florida. Compared to the hub-bub of the adjacent commercial areas, the park is an oasis of natural calm. We did a ranger-led walk that we would highly recommend, and we spent time on our own on the boardwalks that meander through a small section of the park. The wildlife sightings of birds and reptiles were plentiful and close-up. Probably because we were on their "turf", they were pretty casual about being observed, so we got very good looks at a number of species that we would normally see only in short glimpses, in captivity, or otherwise not at all.The first alligator sighting was an event exceeded only by the sight of dozens of them basking in the sun near a boardwalk lookout point.There is very limited access to the park and minimal paved surfaces within, so we followed what road there is to Flamingo where we saw manatee and crocodile. All-in-all it was a very good experience, perhaps even more so, because it was so much better than we had expected.

This stretch of back roads through the Everglades was the best ride in all of Florida in my book. Loved that we could see so much wildlife at our own pace on our own time as we enjoyed the landscape. The Birds were Amazing! The Alligator & Crocadile were very plentiful along the way. After seeing "Panther Crossing" signs, I was hoping to get to see one, but we didn't. We weren't even aware that Florida had them. That was just one of the several things we learned along the way on that trip. If you can, surely take the time to visit this area. We will surely go back through on our next trip.

We have been to the park several times over the years and enjoyed seeing the wildlife. This time we were fortunate to take a tour of the former Nike missile site. The guide has done a lot of background reading and our tour had a veteran who actually worked at this site. There is much to see including an actual missile. Check the Everglades NP website to find times and availability of tours and be aware there is a good amount of walking in the Florida sun. A hat and water are very nice to have on this tour.

Very nice trail. Flat and wheelchair accessible. Spent about an hour and a haft photographing birds, turtles, and alligators.

The boat trip inside the park is wonderful and the guide very informative, Got lots of pictures of wildlife. Then took a hike at one of the sites, more great pictures.

I went there to spend the afternoon. It was a sunny day but it was not so hot. It is the perfect day to take a walk, see animals, plants, flowers and appreciate the landscape.I recommend the place!

The Everglades is one of the most amazing national parks I have seen. There is incredible wildlife and vegetation. It is incredibly scenic and a wildlife photographers dream.

We visited the park in February, driving to the far side of the park first. 32 miles to get there as we wanted to see the Crocodiles. However it is a one mile walk, and then further than that to see them so we did not go there. We did however stop at several places on our way back through the park. There are some interesting birds, animals etc., but you take a chance on whether you are actually going to see them or not.Once you get to the entrance again there are lots of alligators, and bird wandering around. and quite a nice walkabout.

Spent 2 wonderful days in the park. Was most impressed by the volunteer guides and their knowledge. Two great experiences were the night boardwalk seeing the gators by flashlight, and a great tour by Scott at the Nike site. He brought the 13 days of October, 1962, alive for us. A tour that should not be missed!

I'm a big National Park nut and have been to more than half of them. I was not impressed with Everglades at all. But then again, I live in NJ by marsh lands so I didn't see anything that I don't see every day. Maybe other people will like it.