JimMIA
01-16-2006, 10:01 PM
I know a lot of people do more than Disney on their trips, so as a Florida native, I thought I'd start a non-Disney thread to give y'all some ideas on what else our state has to offer. And since I've sorta half-stumbled into a seasonal gig as a Park Ranger at Everglades National Park, I thought Everglades would be a good place to start...for me, at least. So here goes:
Everglades National Park encompasses most of the southern tip of Florida, from the Miami/Homestead/Florida City area on the East Coast to Everglades City on the Gulf Coast. The park contains 1 1/2 million acres, which makes it the third largest park in the lower 48 states, larger than all but Death Valley and Yellowstone. A big difference with Everglades, though, is that about 1.3 million acres of the park (87%) is designated wilderness area -- which means there can be no development of any kind (even by the National Park Service) without a 60% vote of both houses of Congress. The current Everglades National Park comprises about 1/6th of the historic Florida Everglades. Half of the original Everglades is now subdivisions, shopping malls, golf courses, and parking lots.
There is no place on earth like the Florida Everglades, for many reasons. It's the only place in the world alligators and crocodiles live side by side. It's the home (and primary breeding place, in most cases) for not one, but sixty-nine endangered and threatened species -- the last refuge for species like the Florida Panther, West Indies Manatee, Indigo Snake, Southern Bald Eagle, Wood Stork, and Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. Everglades is a birder's paradise during the winter months and birders from all over the world visit to see our more than 350 species of birds -- many of them in large flocks. EVER is not only a National Park, it's also an International Biosphere Reserve, Wetland of International Importance, and World Heritage Site -- all U.N. designations. Although humans have lived in this area for more than 10,000 years (it's the scene of hundreds of protected archeological sites), many parts of EVER have never been fully explored. For the visitor, one of the most memorable experiences is walking within a few feet (hopefully 15 or more feet -- not too close!:tsktsk: ) of a large, live, real, and wild alligator.
There are three primary visitor access points for Everglades National Park: the main entrance SW of Homestead/Florida City, Shark Valley on the northern boundary of the park, and the Gulf Coast area in Everglades City on the west coast of Florida. An Entrance Fee ($10 per car) is charged at the main entrance and Shark Valley, but that fee is good for unlimited visits to any part of the park for seven days. In a nutshell, here's what those areas currently offer.
Main Entrance -- Once the primary visitor area, this part of the park is a shadow of its former self thanks to Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. The Flamingo area, once the primary destination and site of the only lodge in the park, was devastated by 8-10 foot storm surges by both Katrina and Wilma.
The main attractions now are the Coe Visitor Center at the entrance to the park, and Anhinga Trail in the Royal Palm area just a few miles inside the park. The main park road is open 24 hours a day to Mahogany Hammock (about halfway to Flamingo), and all trails are open to that point. Long Pine Key Campground is also open.
However, everything below Mahogany Hammock is essentially closed. The road between Mahogany Hammock and Flamingo is open only from 6 AM to 6 PM.
There are currently no visitor facilities open at the popular Flamingo end of the main park road -- none: no water, no bathrooms, no lodge (and no plans yet to rebuild one), no camping, no hiking trails, no boat or canoe rentals, no interpretive programs, no boat cruises...nothing. The only thing open at Flamingo is one boat ramp to the Whitewater Bay backcountry area. There is also no backcountry camping anywhere in the Flamingo area, or in the southern half of the Wilderness Waterway. I do not expect the situation at Flamingo to change appreciably any time soon, and Flamingo -- quite frankly -- is not worth the trip.
Shark Valley -- I work at Shark Valley, so naturally I am biased, but I have always considered Shark Valley to be the real crown jewel of the Everglades. For one thing, it is smack in the heart of the Everglades -- on U.S. 41, 25 miles west of the Florida Turnpike in Miami and 70 miles east of Naples on Florida's west coast. The Shark Valley area is open 24 hours a day, but the vehicle parking lot is only open from 8:30 AM to 6 PM (You can walk in or bike in anytime).
Shark Valley is the heart (both geographically and emotionally) of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (River of Grass) country. Although completely blind by that time, Marjory had her 100th birthday party on the Shark Valley Observation Tower. Shark Valley IS the "River of Grass." SV's primary attraction is a 15-mile loop tram road which takes you deep into the actual heart of the Everglades. The road is closed to vehicles, but you can bike it or walk any part of it (24 hours a day), or you can take a two-hour open-air tram tour narrated by a Ranger, volunteer, or tram company naturalist. The tram tour takes you through the sawgrass prairie and tree island landscape to an observation tower 7 miles deep in the backcountry. The visitor portion of the tower rises 50 feet above the surrounding terrain, and you can sometimes see for 20 miles.
Other visitor opportunities at SV include a Shark Byte (20-30 minute talk by a Ranger or volunteer naturalist) at 2:15 PM each day; "Slough Slog" every Saturday afternoon, and Full-Moon Bike Tours each month. (this is the "season" schedule, from now to about the end of March) Fees are charged for the trams, bicycle rentals, Slough Slogs, and Full-Moon Bike Tours, but they are very reasonable.
Gulf Coast -- The Gulf Coast Visitor's Center is located on the South side of Everglades City (yes...there is a south side!), and it is the gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands area and the Wilderness Waterway. The Ten Thousand Islands area is the estuary area of mangrove islands and forests along the lower west coast of Florida. It is a very important historic area, the setting for Peter Mathieson's best-selling book, The Killing of Mr. Watson. Activities here include canoe and kayak tours, boat tours, interpretive talks, bike tours of Everglades City, and evening programs. There are fees for some of the programs, but the GC area itself is not a fee area. GC is also the place where you get permits for backcountry camping in the Wilderness Waterway.
For additional information, the best source is the park's website: www.nps.gov/ever NPS websites are a bit clunky, but clicking on "In Depth," "For Kids," and "Activities" will be your best bet. The main park info line is 305-242-7700, but we've been stuggling to get the HQ folks to answer the darn thing. If they don't answer, click on the "Contact us" link on the website and send them an email.
Everglades National Park encompasses most of the southern tip of Florida, from the Miami/Homestead/Florida City area on the East Coast to Everglades City on the Gulf Coast. The park contains 1 1/2 million acres, which makes it the third largest park in the lower 48 states, larger than all but Death Valley and Yellowstone. A big difference with Everglades, though, is that about 1.3 million acres of the park (87%) is designated wilderness area -- which means there can be no development of any kind (even by the National Park Service) without a 60% vote of both houses of Congress. The current Everglades National Park comprises about 1/6th of the historic Florida Everglades. Half of the original Everglades is now subdivisions, shopping malls, golf courses, and parking lots.
There is no place on earth like the Florida Everglades, for many reasons. It's the only place in the world alligators and crocodiles live side by side. It's the home (and primary breeding place, in most cases) for not one, but sixty-nine endangered and threatened species -- the last refuge for species like the Florida Panther, West Indies Manatee, Indigo Snake, Southern Bald Eagle, Wood Stork, and Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. Everglades is a birder's paradise during the winter months and birders from all over the world visit to see our more than 350 species of birds -- many of them in large flocks. EVER is not only a National Park, it's also an International Biosphere Reserve, Wetland of International Importance, and World Heritage Site -- all U.N. designations. Although humans have lived in this area for more than 10,000 years (it's the scene of hundreds of protected archeological sites), many parts of EVER have never been fully explored. For the visitor, one of the most memorable experiences is walking within a few feet (hopefully 15 or more feet -- not too close!:tsktsk: ) of a large, live, real, and wild alligator.
There are three primary visitor access points for Everglades National Park: the main entrance SW of Homestead/Florida City, Shark Valley on the northern boundary of the park, and the Gulf Coast area in Everglades City on the west coast of Florida. An Entrance Fee ($10 per car) is charged at the main entrance and Shark Valley, but that fee is good for unlimited visits to any part of the park for seven days. In a nutshell, here's what those areas currently offer.
Main Entrance -- Once the primary visitor area, this part of the park is a shadow of its former self thanks to Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. The Flamingo area, once the primary destination and site of the only lodge in the park, was devastated by 8-10 foot storm surges by both Katrina and Wilma.
The main attractions now are the Coe Visitor Center at the entrance to the park, and Anhinga Trail in the Royal Palm area just a few miles inside the park. The main park road is open 24 hours a day to Mahogany Hammock (about halfway to Flamingo), and all trails are open to that point. Long Pine Key Campground is also open.
However, everything below Mahogany Hammock is essentially closed. The road between Mahogany Hammock and Flamingo is open only from 6 AM to 6 PM.
There are currently no visitor facilities open at the popular Flamingo end of the main park road -- none: no water, no bathrooms, no lodge (and no plans yet to rebuild one), no camping, no hiking trails, no boat or canoe rentals, no interpretive programs, no boat cruises...nothing. The only thing open at Flamingo is one boat ramp to the Whitewater Bay backcountry area. There is also no backcountry camping anywhere in the Flamingo area, or in the southern half of the Wilderness Waterway. I do not expect the situation at Flamingo to change appreciably any time soon, and Flamingo -- quite frankly -- is not worth the trip.
Shark Valley -- I work at Shark Valley, so naturally I am biased, but I have always considered Shark Valley to be the real crown jewel of the Everglades. For one thing, it is smack in the heart of the Everglades -- on U.S. 41, 25 miles west of the Florida Turnpike in Miami and 70 miles east of Naples on Florida's west coast. The Shark Valley area is open 24 hours a day, but the vehicle parking lot is only open from 8:30 AM to 6 PM (You can walk in or bike in anytime).
Shark Valley is the heart (both geographically and emotionally) of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (River of Grass) country. Although completely blind by that time, Marjory had her 100th birthday party on the Shark Valley Observation Tower. Shark Valley IS the "River of Grass." SV's primary attraction is a 15-mile loop tram road which takes you deep into the actual heart of the Everglades. The road is closed to vehicles, but you can bike it or walk any part of it (24 hours a day), or you can take a two-hour open-air tram tour narrated by a Ranger, volunteer, or tram company naturalist. The tram tour takes you through the sawgrass prairie and tree island landscape to an observation tower 7 miles deep in the backcountry. The visitor portion of the tower rises 50 feet above the surrounding terrain, and you can sometimes see for 20 miles.
Other visitor opportunities at SV include a Shark Byte (20-30 minute talk by a Ranger or volunteer naturalist) at 2:15 PM each day; "Slough Slog" every Saturday afternoon, and Full-Moon Bike Tours each month. (this is the "season" schedule, from now to about the end of March) Fees are charged for the trams, bicycle rentals, Slough Slogs, and Full-Moon Bike Tours, but they are very reasonable.
Gulf Coast -- The Gulf Coast Visitor's Center is located on the South side of Everglades City (yes...there is a south side!), and it is the gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands area and the Wilderness Waterway. The Ten Thousand Islands area is the estuary area of mangrove islands and forests along the lower west coast of Florida. It is a very important historic area, the setting for Peter Mathieson's best-selling book, The Killing of Mr. Watson. Activities here include canoe and kayak tours, boat tours, interpretive talks, bike tours of Everglades City, and evening programs. There are fees for some of the programs, but the GC area itself is not a fee area. GC is also the place where you get permits for backcountry camping in the Wilderness Waterway.
For additional information, the best source is the park's website: www.nps.gov/ever NPS websites are a bit clunky, but clicking on "In Depth," "For Kids," and "Activities" will be your best bet. The main park info line is 305-242-7700, but we've been stuggling to get the HQ folks to answer the darn thing. If they don't answer, click on the "Contact us" link on the website and send them an email.