Land of Liberty Explorers

Overview

Everglades National Park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States. It was the first national park created to preserve a unique ecosystem. The Everglades consists of a series of wetlands fed by a river that flows south from Lake Okeechobee into Florida Bay. Many threatened and endangered species call the park home, including the Florida panther and the American crocodile. Over 350 species of birds can be found in the park.

Park History

Floridians began to worry about overdevelopment and losing the resource in the early 1900s. In 1916, Royal Palm State Park was established in Homestead to begin preserving the area. In 1923, Floridians began discussing the idea of a national park. The Florida legislature established a commission to study a proposed national park in 1928. The Commission was led by Earnest F. Coe, who became known as the Father of the Everglades. The U.S. House of Representatives authorized the creation of a park in 1934. Marjory Stoneman Douglas published The Everglades: River of Grass in 1946, raising awareness about the importance of preservation and giving the park its nickname. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman officially dedicated the park.

Visiting the Everglades

Because we only had one day to spend in the park, we left Miami early to experience as much of the park as possible. Our first stop was the Earnest F. Coe Visitors Center at the main park entrance. We grabbed a park map and enjoyed watching the lizards race around the palms.

Anhinga & Gumbo Limbo Trails

Our next stop was at Royal Palm, which serves as the trailhead for the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails. The Anhinga Trail was our favorite experience in the park! The loop trail is only .8 miles long and is primarily on raised boardwalk that pass over wetlands. It is great spot to see alligators, but beware their natural camouflage might make them difficult to see, even if they are very close to the boardwalk! We really liked seeing the alligators getting in and out of the water and swimming under us while we stood on the boardwalk.

The Gumbo Limbo Trail is shorter at only .4 miles and passes through a grove of gumbo limbo trees. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to linger long on the trail because mosquitos relentlessly pursued us.

Main Park Road

Back on the Main Park Road, our next stop was the Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook. This overlook provides a sweeping view of the river of grass. After taking in the view, we headed to the Mahogany Hammock – a little island of dense trees. Our final stop, was the Flamingo Visitors Center, where we looked out onto Florida Bay before retracing the road back to Miami.